Just when it seemed like the New York Knicks were figuring it out, they took a few steps back that calls into question the validity of their status as a contending team. On Monday night, the Knicks lost another game in Los Angeles, this time against the Clippers, New York did not have enough strength on both ends of the court and lost 126-118.
The Knicks, in particular, struggled taking care of the basketball. They turned the ball over 19 times as a unit, and a balanced table-setter would have caught on for New York, especially when they could rely on Karl-Anthony Towns to score the rock on a night where he tallied 35 points.
The Knicks have some depth uncertainty behind Jalen Brunson, which is why they brought in Jose Alvarado via trade in the first place. But head coach Mike Brown hasn't exactly given Alvarado a long leeway; On Monday, he played only eight minutes and could not score, adding three points to his troubles.
After the game, Brown explained his decision to bench Alvarado and dust off Tyler Kolek.
According to James L. Edwards III of The Athletic, Brown said, "I thought Jose was struggling a little bit so I moved Tyler out there and wanted to see if we could get a boost."
The Knicks have no defense right now
This may be where Mitchell Robinson's absence is felt most. The Knicks have allowed the Los Angeles Lakers and Clippers to get whatever they wanted on back-to-back nights. A common factor in those losses has been the Knicks' turnover problems, and the team's guard struggles haven't helped either.
The good news is that the schedule suits the Knicks for the next few weeks. They next face the Utah Jazz, followed by games against the Indiana Pacers, Golden State Warriors, two tanking teams in the Pacers, Brooklyn Nets and Washington Wizards, and then the New Orleans Pelicans.
It won't be until March 26 when they take on the surging Charlotte Hornets and until March 29 when they take on the Oklahoma City Thunder.
