The New York Knicks never really got going on Sunday in Los Angeles, providing support to those who believe that the team's biggest problem isn't a lack of high-end play: it's a team-wide philosophy that "flipping the switch" and pulling off big comeback wins is a sustainable practice.
That didn't work against the Lakers, even though New York was right in the game at the start of the second half. The team's 3-point shooting never got going, and Luka Doncic was too much for them to handle. Even though their road trip has mostly been successful thus far, the flat effort in LA stung extra.
Knicks need to find consistency in final weeks of regular season
It's becoming clear that this team needs to get a running start into the postseason. They've been steadily building up some rhythm over the last several weeks, finally buying into head coach Mike Brown's system on both ends of the court (as the coach has continued to tweak his approach throughout the year). But the way in which they laid an egg against the Lakers gave new life to all of the most stress-inducing fears that Knick fans have about this roster.
Karl-Anthony Towns and Jalen Brunson led the team's scoring attack with 25 and 24 points, respectively. But neither shot 50% or better from the floor, fitting in a game where the Knicks shot 43% as a team and made just 24% of their 3-point attempts.
The most noticeable struggles were those of Mikal Bridges, mostly because his inability to convert on any of his six shot attempts, or get to the free throw line, left him scoreless in 27 minutes of play. Foul trouble stopped him from getting his normal amount of run, which isn't necessarily any better.
Brown's group will always go as far as its stars can take it, in theory, but the way the Knicks are built requires full-team efforts to come out on top of significant games. It's not a coincidence that the team's premiere wings, Bridges and OG Anunoby, have great games when New York is outmatching a fellow championship contender. It's also not a coincidence that the Knicks have a tough time finding ways to win when both of them are struggling.
The stretch ahead should prime the Knicks to really be able to rev their engines and see how high their level of play can rise going into this year's postseason. Even with Jayson Tatum returning up in Boston and several Western Conference teams giving New York trouble in the last week, they're still one of the better groups in the NBA.
If they can act like it consistently, they might be able to author a second-straight deep playoff run.