The Knicks Are Exuding Toilet Aromas

The New York Knicks, beautiful NBA Cup champions of December, have drifted toward the toilet. After winning the midseason trophy amid a 23-9 start, they have gone 2-9 in the weeks since. Monday night at Madison Square Garden, a severely undermanned Dallas Mavericks squad racked up 75 first-half points, and the home team, trailing by 28 points, was getting booed vigorously by their own fans. "If we're playing crappy, boo. If I were in the stands, I'd probably boo too," said Knicks head coach Mike Brown, who seems to have lost control of a roster that he was orchestrating deftly in the first few months of the season.

Brown is scrambling for answers, but there are suddenly far too many questions. The Knicks have fallen apart on both sides of the floor during this calamitous 11-game stretch, where they have the 28th-ranked defensive rating and 25th-ranked offensive rating. Injuries have been mild: Josh Hart and Jalen Brunson missed a few games with ankle issues, but they've struggled with them back in the lineup, too. Yesterday's 114-97 loss to Dallas was inexplicable: The Knicks enjoyed a rare day with the roster at full health and proceeded to get routed by an offense spearheaded by Naji Marshall and Max Christie.

“Halftime, we usually do the clips and talk about technical X’s-and-O’s and all that crap that coaches do, teams do," Brown said after the game. "There was nothing to be said at halftime. Except for lock in and do your fucking—excuse me on that—do your job." Their problems are so widespread as to defy crisp diagnosis.