New York Knicks: 5 Takeaways From Their Homestand

Defense Remains An Issue

For as good as the Knicks played on defense against the Spurs, they played that badly the previous four games. While the scores make it look like the Knicks were close in some of the games, their performance defensively put them in a deep hole.

In the first four games of the homestand, the Knicks gave up an average of 120.5 points per game. That is an absurd number to be surrendering, with the two highest outputs, 131 and 121, coming against the two worst teams the Knicks faced in the Nuggets and Lakers.

The performance against the Lakers was especially deflating. The Lakers came into the game on a 12-game losing streak away from Staples Center, losers in 17 of their last 18 games on the road. That would be hard to believe with the beating they delivered to the Knicks.

Against Denver, Nikola Jokic scored a career-high 40 points as he did what he pleased against Kristaps Porzingis and company. The game against the Nuggets looked like a pick-up game as Denver wasn’t too interested in playing defense either; the Knicks lost despite scoring 123 points.

The Knicks defense let them down big time against the Clippers. They blew a 10-point lead in the fourth quarter, once again crumbling in crunch time. That has been a troubling trend for the Knicks this season.