After making the playoffs for the first time in eight years, many expected a lot from the New York Knicks in 2021-22. Knicks fans finally saw some playoff basketball and were not ready to let it go so soon.

Unfortunately for them, it seems like they might be in line for another disappointing season, a return to what they have had before last season. The Kemba Walker signing hasn't worked out, other parts of the roster are not pulling their weight, and the Knicks don't look good on the court with a 22-24 record heading into Sunday's game against the Los Angeles Clippers.

To fully grasp this, here are two glaring reasons for the Knicks' ongoing struggles.

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Reasons for Knicks' struggles

1. Roster not recreating their numbers from last season

The main issue with the Knicks is that their players have taken a step back or stagnated this season. The biggest proof of that is Julius Randle, who's following up his first All-Star campaign with a massive step back. In terms of pure numbers, Randle is really behind last season's form, falling from 24.1 points per game to 18.8, from 45.6% shooting from the field to 41.1%, and from 41.1% shooting from 3 to a measly 30.8%.

When we go further, it looks even worse.

Randle has had some good games this season, but he has also put up some absolutely tragic showings. For instance, in a recent game where the New Orleans Pelicans beat the Knicks at Madison Square Garden, Randle put up just four points, shooting 1-of-9 from the field. The worst thing about this for the Knicks is that this isn't the only game so far this season where Randle massively underperformed. He put up five points on 2-of-11 shooting against the Detroit Pistons in December, and just two points against the San Antonio Spurs on 1-of-6 shooting.

It's not only Randle, of course. RJ Barrett has also taken a step back. He's at 16.9 points per game on 41.7% shooting from the field, while he had 17.6 points per game and shot 44.1% from the field last season. It's not a huge step back, but as he's a young player, most expected him to perform even better.

The major Derrick Rose absence is just another factor. Rose hasn't played in over a month because of an ankle injury, and he wasn't quite as good before the injury as he was last season.

The Knicks' offseason acquisitions only add to the disappointment. Kemba Walker was taken out of the rotation for a stretch and is currently dealing with an injury, while Evan Fournier only shows up, seemingly, against the Boston Celtics. Unfortunately for him and the Knicks, there are 28 other franchises he needs to play against, and he's really not showing up against most of them.

Overall, this all means that the Knicks are the 23rd-ranked offense. Interestingly, they held the same position last season, but there's a key difference between the two seasons.

2. Defensive regression

With a third-ranked defense last season, the Knicks could cover for their below-average offense. Unfortunately, it doesn't seem to be working this season.

Right now, their defense is ranked 13th in the league. While that is still in the top half of the league, it cannot cover for the abysmal offensive attack. It's hard to pinpoint what exactly is wrong with the Knicks' defense, as they have a physical and athletic team that should be handling opponents without much trouble. Also, their coach is Tom Thibodeau, a gritty defensive coach who improved them in the first place.

When the specific numbers are considered, the Knicks are sixth in points allowed, fifth in opponent field goal percentage, and they allow just 37.9 field goals made per game to their opponents. The problem is that they're poor at defending the 3-point line. They allow 13 triples on 37.4 attempts per game for a 34.7% mark from behind the arc, all numbers in the second half of the NBA table. To provide more context for these numbers specifically, last season needs to be considered.

In 2020-21, the Knicks were league leaders in points allowed, opponent field goals allowed, opponent field goal percentage, and opponent 3-point percentage. They still allowed a good amount of 3-pointers and attempts, but the success rate wasn't as high. It's tough to say what exactly has happened and why the Knicks have taken a step back in so many areas, but with Thibs at the helm, they need to be doing better.

New York must figure out these problems, otherwise this franchise won't even make the play-in tournament. There's still a lot of time left this season, and perhaps newcomer Cam Reddish will help their cause.