Knicks Search for Answers After Embarrassing Loss: “We’re Falling Into Bad Habits”
The New York Knicks are deep in the thick of it. Just weeks removed from lifting the NBA Cup and months after making a run to the Eastern Conference Finals, the same roster that looked like a rising force now looks disjointed, frustrated, and-by their own admission-embarrassed.
Monday night’s blowout loss to a banged-up Mavericks team at Madison Square Garden wasn’t just a bad game. It was a flashing red warning light. And inside the locker room, the players knew it.
“We’re playing embarrassing basketball,” Josh Hart said bluntly. “I think we all need to do some soul searching, some looking in the mirror and figuring out what we’re going to do individually, what we’re going to do as a team, what our identity is.”
Jalen Brunson didn’t sugarcoat it either: “We didn’t show up. Yeah, there’s been a lot of things to pinpoint.
But as a team we know what we have to do. Either we do it, we care enough to do it, or we don’t.”
The Knicks are saying the right things. They’re owning the mess.
But the path forward? That’s where it gets complicated.
A Team at a Crossroads
The front office made aggressive moves last summer, going all-in on Mikal Bridges and Karl-Anthony Towns, reshaping a roster that had built chemistry and identity under Tom Thibodeau. Then they fired the coach who had brought them to the brink of a Finals appearance. That’s not just a tweak-it’s a seismic shift.
Enter Mike Brown, a respected coach with a different system and a fresh approach. But the early returns?
They’re rough. The Knicks have plummeted to the bottom five in both offensive and defensive rating-a stunning drop for a team that finished last season top-five in offense and middle-of-the-pack on defense.
This isn’t just a slump. It’s a trend. And it’s raising real questions about fit, identity, and direction.
The Coaching Conundrum
Making another coaching change now would be an admission that firing Thibodeau was a mistake. That’s not a move teams make lightly-especially not when they’ve already doubled down on a new era.
But the contrast is hard to ignore. Thibodeau’s Knicks made four straight playoff appearances, two second-round runs, and came within one step of the Finals last season.
That kind of résumé doesn’t usually end in a pink slip. And yet, here we are.
Brown has a track record of adapting to his roster. If there’s a silver lining, it’s that he may be willing to scrap the new system and pivot back to what worked. That could mean more touches for Towns in familiar spots, more movement for Bridges, and a return to the gritty, physical identity that defined the Thibs-era Knicks.
Trade Winds Blowing?
Of course, the front office could look to shake things up again. The Knicks are taking calls.
They’re listening. Guerschon Yabusele and Pacome Dadiet are reportedly being floated in trade talks.
But dealing Towns? That’s not on the table-not unless the return is significant.
And that’s the trap. Making a big trade now would be another admission that the summer’s moves didn’t work.
It’s one thing to pivot. It’s another to backtrack.
There’s no easy fix here. No magic button. The Knicks either ride this out and rediscover the chemistry that got them to the top-or they risk unraveling a team that, not long ago, looked like a legitimate contender.
A Team That’s Lost Its Identity
Josh Hart nailed it: this isn’t the same team as last year, even if the names are the same.
“Every year is new,” Hart said after Tuesday’s practice. “You have to start from ground zero and continue to build.
Last year was a different team altogether. Same people, but a different team-different coach, different identity.”
And that identity? Right now, it’s missing.
The Knicks aren’t a bad team. They’ve shown flashes this season.
But this isn’t a cold streak. When you’ve played poorly for 10, 11, 12 games, that’s a trend.
That’s a problem. And it’s one the Knicks have to solve from within.
“We’re falling into bad habits,” Hart said. “We’ve got to fix that.”
What Comes Next
There’s still time. Game 42 or 43 isn’t the end of the story-it’s the midpoint.
But the Knicks can’t afford to keep sliding. The East is too competitive, the expectations too high, and the margin for error too thin.
Maybe the solution starts with Brown adjusting his system to better fit the roster. Maybe it’s the players holding themselves accountable the way they did under Thibodeau. Maybe it’s just remembering who they were-and who they can still be.
Because the team that made the Eastern Conference Finals and won the NBA Cup didn’t just disappear. They’re still here. They just need to look in the mirror and find themselves again.
The road back starts Wednesday night.