The New York Knicks are trapped in an early-season free-fall, losing five of their last seven games after a scorching 5-1 start.

After the latest debacle on Friday night — where the Knicks jumped out to a 16-point lead against the Hornets before eventually losing by eight, 104-96 — Kemba Walker offered his take on why the Knicks have struggled so mightily at converting their early leads to victories this season.

“I wish I could tell you,” Walker said of the cause of the Knicks' troubles. “That’s been our problem this season. Our starts, especially in the third, haven’t been great for us. We’ve got to find a way, we’ve got to find a way to be better.”

To say that the Knicks' starters have been bad in the third quarter is quite an understatement. Per NBA Stats, the Knicks rank 18th in the NBA in third quarter points surrendered so far this season at 27.2. That number has ballooned to 30 in the last three games.

That would be fine if the offense was clicking, but unfortunately, they're near the bottom of the league in third quarter offense as well — the Knicks rank 26th in the NBA in third-quarter scoring at 24 points per game, and are dead last in the NBA in their last three games with a putrid 19.7 points per third quarter.

The Knicks' ineptitude was on full display in the second half against the Hornets on Friday, as the starters scored just 12 total points among them after the half. It's made even more astonishing by the fact that Walker scored six of those points himself, meaning the combined efforts of Julius Randle, RJ Barrett, Evan Fournier, and Mitchell Robinson only resulted in six points over a whole half of basketball.

The third quarter struggles really just undercut a greater problem, however. The starters are the second-worst five-man lineup in the entire NBA that has played at least 120 minutes together — per NBA Stats, the Knicks' starters' net rating is -14.4, by far the worst of any starting lineup in the NBA, all while being the second-most played five-man lineup in the Association.

Time will tell what the Knicks do about this continuing problem. In each of the last two games, they were buoyed by strong performances by Randle and Walker, respectively, to start the games before ultimately faltering once those two calmed down. The defensive intensity was up against the Hornets to start the game, but once adversity kicked in in the third quarter, that intensity evaporated. Based on their public comments, it seems the Knicks are at least aware of these shortcomings, but whether they end up addressing them or not will be a storyline to follow as a once-promising team attempts to right the ship.