3 reasons why the New York Knicks have fallen into a slump.
Just a couple of weeks into the 2021-22 NBA season, the New York Knicks were the talk of the Eastern Conference. At the very least, they looked like a team that was ready to take the next step after making a return to the playoffs a year ago.
Getting off to a 5-1 start, with signature wins against the Boston Celtics, Philadelphia 76ers, and Chicago Bulls, the Knicks sent a strong message that they were going to be a factor in the Eastern Conference.
And through those six games, the Knicks were spearheaded by a top 3 offense in which they were No. 1 in the league in 3-pointers made and No. 2 in the league in 3-point percentage. Since the start of November, however, something has changed.
In the last month, the Knicks are only 4-7 and have fallen to 9-8. That fast start is all but forgotten and the Knicks are now struggling mightily. New York no longer has a top 10 offense, their defense is still middle-of-the-pack and they are now just an average 3-point shooting team in the league.
So what went wrong? We explore three reasons for the Knicks’ fall back to reality over the last month.
Offseason additions have been bad
Through the first six games of the season, the Knicks looked like geniuses. The additions of Evan Fournier and Kemba Walker were paying dividends and the team was winning. Since then, though, they’ve taken a huge dive in their production.
In the first six games, Fournier was shooting 43 percent from the field and 45 percent from 3-point range. Kemba was shooting 50 percent from the field and 58 percent from 3-point range.
Over the last 11 games, Fournier is shooting 38 percent shooting from the field and just 27 percent shooting from 3-point range. Walker is shooting 39 percent shooting from the field and 28 percent shooting from 3-point range over that span.
They’ve both been net negatives for the team when they had emerged as key players for the Knicks during their early-season hot streak. If the Knicks are going to recover, they’re going to need Fournier and Walker, their two big offseason additions, to take a significant step forward in their respective games.
RJ Barrett has fallen into a slump
In addition to the downward spiral in production from the Knicks’ two key offseason additions, RJ Barrett has also fallen into a slump over the last month of the season. Even though his counting numbers haven’t suffered that much, his efficiency has taken a big hit.
Barrett went from shooting 48 percent and 38 percent from the field and 3-point range respectively to just 34 percent and 26 percent. If the Knicks were going to take a step forward in their progression this season, they were going to need Barrett to be a consistent No. 2 or to take over the reins as the No. 1.
Through the first few weeks of the season, Barrett appeared well on his way to doing that. However, he’s fallen into a slump recently and needs to figure his way out of it. The last time that Barrett shot over 50 percent from the field in a game this season was November 1. That’s not going to cut it from New York’s No. 2 option.
Julius Randle hasn’t overcome those setbacks
As much as the supporting cast has struggled, perhaps the biggest issue for the Knicks is that they have an imposter playing the role of their No. 1 options. And this is not a knock on Julius Randle. He’s a really good player that’s going to get some all-star consideration. He’s just not a pure No. 1 option.
And that’s what the Knicks are trying to force him into being. He hasn’t been able to overcome the setbacks of the supporting cast to carry the Knicks over the last 11 games, even though he’s still averaging respectable numbers.
He hasn’t taken his game to the next level this season and, in fact, has taken a bit of a step back himself when it comes to his offensive efficiency numbers.
The Knicks could probably get away with a struggling supporting cast if they had a true No. 1 on their team. Right now, that’s something they simply don’t have and that’s perhaps the biggest reason why their struggles have been magnified even more over the last 11 games.