One of the New York Knicks' biggest themes this season has been inconsistency. New York barely beat a Charlotte team without LaMelo Ball in NBA group play and followed that up with three blowout wins. Then, the Knicks lost to the Pistons. Karl-Anthony Towns missed that game, but that's no excuse.
New York narrowly defeated Toronto on Monday, a team with the second-worst record in the conference. Two days later, however, things didn't go in the Knicks' favor.
On Thursday, New York lost an early lead against Atlanta for the second time in as many months. The Hawks stormed back in the third quarter to win the NBA Cup quarterfinal matchup 108-100. The Knicks' shots weren't falling (they shot 26.2% from three), Jalen Brunson finished with an uncharacteristic 14 points on 5-of-15 shooting, and the Hawks outrebounded the Knicks on the offensive glass, 22-12.
New York will look like a contender one night and turn around and look like a team playing its first-ever game together (remember Thanksgiving Eve against the Mavericks?). It's normal to experience bumps in the road during the first few weeks of the season, especially for a team that made a significant trade days before training camp. However, this has become a troubling trend for the Knicks.
The Knicks have lost to the Hawks twice, the Pacers, the Jazz, the Bulls, and the Pistons lmao
— Michael Grogins (@mikeygrogins_) December 12, 2024
Inconsistency continues to plague the Knicks in loss to Hawks
Fans are worried about how New York will fare in the postseason when the intensity ramps up. The good news is that the playoffs won't start until a few months, so there's still time for the Knicks to figure things out. Towns isn't hitting the panic button yet. He said he and his teammates will continue to work hard every day.
Karl-Anthony Towns on how long it'll take for consistency"
— Knicks Videos (@sny_knicks) December 12, 2024
"Miami Heat years ago with LeBron had a whole year it took before they figured out how to put a banner up. I don't have a crystal ball. I can tell you that every day we're working to be the best version of ourselves" pic.twitter.com/r3rBF7RXOb
If New York continues to have the same issues throughout January and February, its chances of contending for an NBA title will be in serious doubt. Every team will have off nights no matter what time of the season it is, but consistently having off nights, particularly against teams that aren't top seeds in the conference, could ultimately doom the Knicks.
Losing in the NBA Cup quarterfinal isn't the end of the world for New York, even though it might seem that way based on social media. It will be interesting to see how the Knicks respond against the Magic, a team they routed less than two weeks ago. Orlando will be without its top two players, Paolo Banchero and Franz Wagner, but as Knicks fans know, that doesn't mean it'll be an easy win.