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As of the moment, the New York Knicks hold the third seed in the Eastern Conference. Hopes are still high for the squad led by Jalen Brunson but it looks like they have not been at their best in the past few games. Karl-Anthony Towns has observed this slight dip in performance after their games against the Charlotte Hornets and Oklahoma City Thunder. Even he posits that they should do better as the NBA Playoffs looms over.
Towns knows Knicks have been dipping a bit heading into NBA Playoffs
Make no mistake, the Knicks have won seven of their last 10 games. However, it is these losses to the Thunder and Hornets which raised eyebrows. A lot of other title contenders have managed to win against the defending champions but the Brunson-led squad has not managed to pull off a victory. In fact, they have not won against Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Co. since November 21, 2022. Yes, it has been nearly four years.
To add insult to injury, they also lost to the Kon Knueppel and Lamelo Ball-led Charlotte Hornets by 11 points. Towns and the rest of the Knicks know that they can do better but those better versions have just not surfaced for them, via James L. Edwards III.
"I don’t think we’ve seen it yet. We still have these games to show it. I still think we’re learning what we’re trying to accomplish in the system and everything. I think, for us, our best basketball is when we’re causing turnovers and turning those into transition points, playing with pace and maximizing what everyone does so well and makes them great," the Knicks big man said.
The numbers do back the fact that the Knicks could do better. They have an offensive rating of 119.6 which ranks sixth in the league despite playing at a very slow 97.2 pace. Their defensive rating is also very decent at 113.2 and is ranked as the sixth-best in the NBA. On most nights, they just shine at one end of the floor and sag on the other. Towns might be pointing out that the Knicks should be handling both sides simultaneously together in the remaining games to be better in the NBA Playoffs.
"We have time; not a lot, but we have time. It can come randomly. It can come at Game 80 or 81. We have a lot of tape, too. Maybe this offensive game was our best offensive game or this defensive game was our best defensive game. We just haven’t always put those two together. There’s a lot of good to look back on, especially when you’ve won as much as we have, to see what has worked well," he added.
Tough opponents are in the Knicks' schedule before the NBA Playoffs start. They will have to face the Houston Rockets, Memphis Grizzlies, Chicago Bulls, Atlanta Hawks, Boston Celtics, and Toronto Raptors. Their season closer? It's a rematch with the Hornets. Will the Knicks be able to light up and show their true potential?
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