The New York Knicks managed to pull out a 110-107 comeback win over the Golden State Warriors Sunday night and, in turn, put themselves just one game behind the second-seeded Celtics in the Eastern Conference standings.
However, all coach Mike Brown could seemingly talk about following the contest was his disdain for the team's sloppy performance, particularly on the less glamorous side of the ball.
While speaking to reporters, the club's first-year headman said he was "not happy" with how his team performed "most of the game" and specifically called out their lackluster start as a catalyst for their unappealing play.
He would continue on to lambast New York's defensive efforts early on (trailed by as many as 21 points in the second quarter), and suggested he was so disappointed that he didn't even name a Defensive Player of the Game.
In any primetime exhibition, both a team's triumphs and tribulations are viewed under a microscope and, for better or worse, often exaggerated and inflated in viewers' and analysts' eyes.
Sadly for the Knicks, these first-half defensive woes Brown highlighted are not a one-off. In fact, they've arguably been their biggest weakness all year long
Knicks are one of worst first-half defensive clubs in NBA
69 games into the season, it's clear that this Knicks team's defensive efforts are truly a tale of two halves.
Over the first two periods of gameplay, New York finds itself ranking 16 in defensive rating (114.1), 10-worst in opponent field goal percentage (47.5), and eighth-worst in opponent three-point percentage (37.0).
In the final two quarters, their production skyrockets to a ridiculous third-best defensive rating (109.7), second-best to only the reigning champion Thunder in opponent field goal percentage (44.0), and sixth-best in opponent three-point percentage (34.6).
Needless to say, starting out games with such porous defense only makes a team's margin for error gut-wrenchingly small.
It's no wonder the Knicks have had to shoot a whopping 40.1 percent from beyond the arc in the first half in wins, whereas they've gone a fourth-worst 31.7 percent in losses. Simply put, they have had to counter these putrid defensive starts with sensational efforts on offense -- otherwise, their shortcomings may be too great to overcome in the second half.
At this point, it's more than evident that New York has the pieces necessary to be a truly remarkable defensive unit. Of course, if they can't figure out how to effectively produce on this end of the floor for a full 48 minutes, it could prove costly come the postseason.
Heavily depending on one's ability to consistently play elite, two-way ball in the final two quarters of action to pull out a win is far from a recipe for success for any title hopeful.