The New York Knicks have hit a rough patch.
After they were blown out at home Monday, Jan. 19 by a middling Dallas Mavericks team – marking their fourth consecutive loss and ninth in 11 games – team captain Jalen Brunson called a players-only meeting to sort through their struggles, according to ESPN.
Per the report, Brunson challenged his teammates to uncover solutions for their poor play, rather than to wait and defer to the coaching staff.
This came after the Knicks were booed at home Monday night, down by as many as 30 points. New York would lose 114-97, and it was the offense that once again let the Knicks down. Brunson and Karl-Anthony Towns combined for 44 points, but the rest of New York’s starters (Josh Hart, OG Anunoby and Mikal Bridges) contributed only 24 points.
“I mean, I’d be booing us, too,” Brunson told reporters after the game. “Straight up.”
The Knicks began the year with promise, jumping to the No. 2 seed and winning the NBA Cup in mid-December. Once the new year began, however, the team has struggled to find consistent offense, with the ball stagnating; in January, the Knicks have scored 109.4 points per 100 possessions, which ranks 26th in the NBA.
“We’ve got to lock in,” Knicks coach Mike Brown said Monday night after the loss. “We’ve got to do our job for 48 minutes. They scored 75 points in the first half. And at halftime, we usually (show) the clips and talk about technical Xs and Os and crap that coaches do and teams do. There was nothing to be said at halftime, except ‘Lock in and do your (expletive) job,’ excuse me on that.”
Brown pointed out how the Mavericks scored 39 points in the second half, compared to 44 in just the second quarter.
“It’s within our guys,” Brown said. “But we all have to do our job for 48 minutes.”
The Knicks (25-18) are still third in the Eastern Conference, and they have the chance to course correct against crosstown rivals, the Brooklyn Nets (12-29) on Wednesday, Jan. 21.