By the sheer eye test, it appears quite evident that this New York Knicks team has struggled with their on-court production during these early stages of the 2025-26 season.
Through eight games played, the Knickerbockers find themselves placed in the middle of the pack in a number of key areas. From their eighth-worst shooting percentage of 44.9 percent to their middling 15-ranked fast break defense, there's no denying that the Mike Brown era has gotten off to a less-than-pretty start.
And yet, despite these glaring issues, New York still finds itself just two wins behind the first and second-placed Detroit Pistons and Cleveland Cavaliers, which, quite frankly, suggests they may be right on the verge of total domination if regression back to the mean soon kicks in.
Knicks are a sleeping giant in the Eastern Conference
It was always a realistic possibility that the Knicks would stumble out of the gates during this new season. Bringing in a new coaching staff, as well as a bevy of new role players to the rotation is always something that comes with a learning curve.
Right now, New York is experiencing exactly that, and it more than shows in their star players' production to this point.
Jalen Brunson finds himself serving in a rather different role than he's been used to during his tenure in the Big Apple, especially when it comes to the team's need for him to dominate the scoring department in order to come away from games victorious.
He's also seen a slight reduction in his dominance in the possession battle as well this year, going from 524 dribbles per game, 8.8 minutes of possession per game and 6.1 seconds per touch last year to 431 dribbles, 7.7 minutes and 4.8 seconds, respectively, in 2025-26, as per the findings of Zach Kram of ESPN.
Karl-Anthony Towns has clearly struggled to find his groove on a consistent basis with this Brown-led Knicks scheme, even publicly admitting earlier in the season that he doesn't even know what his role is.
What has resulted from these growing pains is uncharacteristically poor shooting and scoring production from Brunson (33.3 percent from deep) and Towns (19.8 points per game).
Fortunately, guys like Mikal Bridges and OG Anunoby have seen completely different effects from the coaching regime change, with the former setting a career-high in three-point shooting percentage (46.5) while the latter is averaging a career-high 18.1 points per night.
With their help, the Knicks are sustaining a top-six status out in the conference standings while the All-Stars search for their rhythm.
Once things finally click for both Brunson and Towns, and they revert back to their typical level of play, it only seems logical that this sleeping giant should skyrocket toward the upper echelon of the East and perhaps even the entire league.