For the first-time since 2013 last season, Madison Square Garden saw playoff basketball being played in it and the Knicks were finally relevant again in the NBA. They may have lost their first-round series, but the future looked extremely bright for this franchise, one that had been near the bottom of the league for quite some time.
Just several months later, the Knicks find themselves 12-16 and on the verge of seeing their season slip out of their grasp. New York finished with the 4th best record in the Eastern Conference last season, but to this point in the season, they are 12th in the Eastern Conference and have a lot of work to do if they are to get back to the playoffs.
Defense has always been the Knicks identity under head coach Tom Thibodeau, as they ranked 3rd in defensive rating a season ago, but that has not been the case so far this year.
The Knicks rank just 23rd in defensive rating this season and are allowing their opponents to shoot 35.4% from three-point range (19th in the league).
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Their interior defense has looked good, as the Knicks are only giving up an average of 42.1 points in the paint per game, fourth-best in the NBA, but this team has a lot to fix on the offensive-end of the floor, as well as in terms of personnel.
Evan Fournier and Kemba Walker were New York’s two big signings this past offseason, but neither guy has really impressed. Fournier is only averaging 12.0 points on 36.8% three-point shooting and Walker has not played since being taken out of the rotation in late-November.
The clock is ticking for the Knicks to get back on-track and with the Eastern Conference being the strongest that it has been in recent memory, the margin for error is extremely slim.
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We have seen teams enter the All-Star break with a losing record before and wind up making the playoffs, but this may not be the case this season in the East. Julius Randle cannot do everything for this team and that is starting to show.
If the Knicks are to turn things around and try to avoid this season being a “lost cause,” then they may have to consider one of the following three moves.
