Friday night in Philadelphia did more than hand the Knicks another loss. It sharpened the picture of where this team stands early in its title defense, and it left New York staring at a stretch that could either steady the season or deepen the hole.
The immediate concern is the standings. By dropping the game to the 76ers, the Knicks put themselves behind in the race for tiebreakers and seeding if these two teams end up meeting again in the postseason. New York has already lost both matchups this season, but the bigger question is whether Philadelphia has actually found a real answer for Karl-Anthony Towns.
That answer still looks shaky. In last year’s second-round series, Towns averaged 15.5 points and eight rebounds a game.
He also added seven assists a game while shooting 62/55/82. This season, the Sixers have allowed him 20.5 points per game on 59% shooting in their two meetings.
He’s been matched up with Embiid six times this season and scored five times. Against Adem Bona last night, he still hit half his shots.
Whatever Philadelphia thinks it has figured out, it hasn’t shown it on the floor.
Mike Brown isn’t about to tip his hand this early, especially not to the team that looks like New York’s biggest threat in the East. Brown, Towns and the Knicks do not need regular-season validation, and they do not need to prove themselves in the playoffs either.
The 76ers do. That starts with finding a way to slow down the Knicks’ top scorer, and so far that part of the job remains unfinished.
The Knicks’ uneven start also fits the shape of their schedule. They were a candidate to stumble early anyway, with the usual championship hangover and a first 15-game stretch that was less a gentle opening than a brutal run of opponents.
Now they’re about to hit a softer patch. Three of their next four games are against Brooklyn, Chicago and Milwaukee, the only three teams below them in the East, and those clubs entered Friday with a combined record of 2-14.
That gives New York a chance to settle in and start climbing.
But the relief won’t last long. After that brief break, the Knicks face a tougher six-game stretch against Cleveland twice, Toronto twice, Indiana and Minnesota. That’s a conference finalist from last season, a dark horse this year, the team that knocked New York out in 2024 and 2025, and a Western contender that has won more playoff series over the last three years than everyone except the Thunder and the Knicks.
For now, New York is tied for 10th in the East. That number doesn’t mean much yet. Nine games from now, it might mean a lot more if the Knicks are still stuck instead of moving up.
The broader warning sign comes from recent champions. Oklahoma City opened last season 24-1.
Boston started the year before by winning seven of its first eight. Denver began its 2024 repeat attempt 8-1.
None of them repeated. The Thunder were missing Jalen Williams when it mattered most in the Western Conference finals.
Boston’s run was derailed by Jayson Tatum’s Achilles injury. Denver lost Jamal Murray for 23 games and still finished tied with Oklahoma City for the best record in the West, but the playoff breaks never fell their way.
That’s the frame for the Knicks now. Their 2-4 start looks more like the 2023 Warriors, who opened their title defense 3-7 and eventually lost in the second round, than it does the fast starts of recent champions.
Still, a hot October would not have guaranteed anything. What matters more is what the Knicks look like when spring arrives.
The danger is obvious: keep slipping now, and they could build a hole too deep to climb out of later. The good news is there’s still plenty of season left, and next week’s schedule gives them a chance to reset. With 76 games to go, there’s still time to turn this into something better.
In Other News...
Knicks Already Have An OG Anunoby Problem They Cant Ignore
OG Anunobys expanded offensive workload has become one of the Knicks more interesting early-season storylines. With more touches and more drives per game, the team has clearly tried to get him involved in ways that go beyond spot-up scoring, but the results have not been as clean as the role change might suggest. His efficiency has slipped, and the Knicks have had to weigh the value of pushing him into more creation against what he does best when the game is simplified.
The bigger concern is how the offensive burden is spilling into the rest of his game. When Anunoby is fighting through tough possessions on one end, it has shown up in his defensive impact and in the teams net rating with him on the floor. For a player whose value is built on being a high-level two-way connector, the Knicks may already be learning that there is a limit to how much primary creation his skill set can realistically absorb. [Read more 🡒]
Knicks Starters Suddenly Under Pressure After Another Loss To Philadelphia
The Knicks uneven start took another hit in Philadelphia, where a loss to the 76ers dropped them to 2-4 and kept the early-season questions coming. There were a few encouraging individual signs in the defeat, though, with Jordan Clarkson giving New York a lift off the bench thanks to his defensive work in his minutes and Mikal Bridges turning in a promising showing even as the team came up short.
The bigger concern sits with the starting group, which still has not found a clean rhythm. OG Anunoby struggled with his decision-making and efficiency, while Jalen Brunson had a tough night against the pressure Philadelphia put on him, leaving the Knicks with more to sort through as they try to steady themselves before the schedule gets any less demanding. [Read more 🡒]
Jalen Brunson Takes Playful Shot As Knicks Grind Starts Showing
The early-season grind is already showing up for the Knicks, and Josh Hart has been one of the players most openly feeling it. After the loss to the 76ers, Hart pointed to the teams demanding schedule, the shorter offseason and even his finger injury as part of the physical toll, a reminder that this start has been about more than just wins and losses. The defeat left New York at 2-4, with the kind of stretch that can expose how quickly legs and patience start to wear down.
Jalen Brunson, never one to pass up a little locker-room mischief, responded with a lighthearted jab at Harts fatigue, joking about his teammates age. It was a playful moment in a season that already feels like it has asked plenty of the Knicks, and it also underscored how much of the conversation around this team has shifted toward survival mode. The schedule will keep coming, and for New York, the challenge is finding enough energy to keep the early bumps from turning into something bigger. [Read more 🡒]