Knicks Analyst Explains Difference Between Last Two Seasons

It’s said that everything is bigger in Texas. For the New York Knicks, that included the offensive lapses.

The Knicks never recovered from a slow start against the Dallas Mavericks, as they dropped a 129-114 decision to even up a five-game road trip that ends on Friday in Charlotte (12 p.m. ET, MSG). Though New York (10-8) holds the fourth seed on the premature Eastern Conference playoff bracket heading into the brief Thanksgiving hiatus, this is far from where it envisioned itself to be with the quarter-mark of the season approaching.

Monica McNutt, one of the Knicks’ primary radio voices for ESPN New York, analyzed the Knicks’ biggest problem from this season to last, nothing that the modern edition has had trouble winning games when the offense isn’t flowing.

“Last year the offense was not this potent. But if this team was in a rock fight they were able to get stops,” McNutt noted during a stop on MSG Network’s televised postgame show (h/t New York Basketball on X). “The inability to get stops was glaring tonight. The Knicks currently can’t afford to not shoot well. You can’t give it 24 percent from the three-point line. They don’t have that wiggle room because of what their defense is right now.”

New York fell behind by 24 thanks to frozen firsts, which saw them set a season-low in scoring in both the period (15) and half (38) varieties. Another valley lingered in the three-point department, as they shot 7-of-29 with an extra point on the line–yet another misfire on a night of many. To make things more shocking, the defensive issues against Dallas came less than 48 hours after the Knicks posted one of the best offensive games in team history, as they set several personal and team records in a 145-118 win over Denver.

To McNutt’s point, the Knicks were able to muster 13 victories when they scored no more than 110 points in a game last season but have no such triumphs so far this year. New York ranked fourth in the league in scoring entering Wednesday night action after placing 19th en route to the East’s runner-up spot.

In contrast, the Knicks let up 120 points on only 14 occasions last year, tied for the second-fewest in the Association. They’ve already done so three times on this road trip alone and Wednesday was the eighth total occurrence this season.

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