The New York Knicks might be considered one of the most talented teams in the Eastern Conference, but even powerhouses can be stifled on any given night.
Following the Knicks' 133-121 loss to the Orlando Magic on Saturday night, veteran Josh Hart offered a blunt assessment of the squad’s performance.
“That’s just a bad job on us,” Hart told Stefan Bondy of the New York Post. “Obviously, there are guys who are out there that we could have played off of a little bit, and we didn’t do that. We let guys drive across the paint and do all that kind of stuff with no help, no resistance, so we’ve got to watch the film and get better.”
Despite the game being close for the first three quarters, a 20-4 scoring run by Orlando in the fourth quarter allowed the Magic to pull away. All told, New York surrendered 64 points in the paint and allowed the opposition to shoot 55 percent from the field.
“[Defending] on ball, we got to be better. But also there was no secondary help, no second effort. That’s the biggest thing,” Mikal Bridges said. “There are going to be blow-bys. There’s going to be stuff that happens, miscommunications. But we weren’t connected. We weren’t on our toes and ready to make a play. I think we were on our heels a little bit and reacting late, which I think is unacceptable.”
The loss pushed the Knicks to a 1-5 road record and a 9-6 mark on the season. Despite the group’s defensive struggles, head coach Mike Brown remains confident that they can make the necessary adjustments.
“I'm confident we can be where we need to defensively,” Brown told SNY. “We played well in some instances, and we haven't played well, and that's what you kind of go through, especially during this part of the year. So, I do think we can be a really good defensive team. But again, no matter who we throw out there, we gotta have a feel and understanding what we're trying to do on that end of the floor to get things done.”
