New York Knicks lose to the Sacramento Kings and Golden State Warriors: No Captain, no defense, no wins

The New York Knicks lost games against the Sacramento Kings and the Golden State Warriors on consecutive nights. They came out flat and never got going while losing to Sacramento 112-100. Then the Knicks visited Golden State, where poor defense led to a 126-113 loss.

The Knicks’ back-to-back started with a nightmare. Jalen Brunson left the game against Sacramento injured after just five minutes, and the team looked shell-shocked. They shot 1/19 from three in the first half, and spent virtually the entire game trailing by double-digits. The team never played enough defense to have a chance at a comeback.

The Knicks got their offense going against the Warriors, but their defense haunted them. New York came out of the gate with a three-point barrage and a 17-point lead, before the Warriors got going and reclaimed the lead by halftime. Once again, the Knicks fought and scored plenty, but never compiled enough stops to make a meaningful run.

Without Brunson, New York’s only hope was to mount enough defense to make up for his absence. But they looked as bad or worse defensively without the Captain as they have while he’s on the floor.

Let’s look at the disastrous two games through the player performances.

Vs. SAC: 13 PTS (5/14 FG, 0/1 3PT, 3/4 FT), 1 AST, 4 REB, 5 STL, 3 TO in 33 mins

Vs. GSW: 17 PTS (6/14 FG, 2/4 3PT, 3/4 FT), 2 AST, 20 REB, 1 STL, 1 BLK, 2 TO in 31 mins

After Jalen Brunson went down, the Knicks needed Karl-Anthony Towns to step up. Unfortunately, those needs only made Towns’ poor effort stand out more. The bigeman looked lackluster at every facet of the game, lowlighted by a lazy play that epitomized New York’s loss.

Let’s give Towns some props for bouncing back against Golden State. He had a double-double before halftime, and dealt with Draymond Green’s shenanigans admirably. The physicality seemed to catch up with him as he faded late, slowing down as a scorer.

Vs. SAC: 10 PTS (4/7 FG, 2/4 3PT, 0/2 FT), 5 AST, 5 REB, 1 BLK, 2 TO in 32 mins

Vs. GSW: 5 PTS (1/7 FG, 0/2 3PT, 3/4 FT), 10 AST, 5 REB, 1 TO in 37 mins

While Josh Hart’s performance in Sacramento wasn’t bad, it felt like a worse version of his typical night. He failed to produce the momentum-shifting plays that we’re used to seeing.

Things got tougher for Hart in Golden State, where he couldn’t get shots to fall. While he did a fantastic job playmaking for others and pushing the pace, he made just one field goal.

Vs. SAC: 10 PTS (4/14 FG, 2/8 3PT), 6 AST, 6 REB, 1 TO in 28 mins
Vs. GSW: 25 PTS (9/16 FG, 6/12 3PT, 1/1 FT), 6 AST, 3 REB, 3 TO in 37 mins

Miles McBride picked a terrible time have a bad shooting night. His role expanded after Jalen Brunson left the game injured, and he had an adjustment period. The good news was that Deuce got going as the game wore on, even flashing some nice passing when he ran pick and rolls.

Deuce provided an efficient offensive punch against Golden State. He got back on track from three and made some impressive moves to the basket along with it. Unfortunately, he couldn’t slow Steph Curry down, but it’s Curry, so I understand.

Vs. SAC: 19 PTS (6/20 FG, 2/9 3PT, 5/5 FT), 1 AST, 3 REB, 2 STL, 1 BLK in 36 mins

Vs. GSW: 21 PTS (9/11 FG, 3/4 3PT), 3 AST, 1 REB in 35 mins

It’s a tale of two halves for Mikal Bridges in Sacramento. He couldn’t hit anything and failed to help New York during the first half. But Bridges’ shot-making kept the game within reach throughout the second half, building a rhythm that he would carry into Golden State.

Bridges provided scoring punch against the Warriors by hitting his jumpers and constantly beating them in transition. But a familiar comment drags Mikal’s performance down. He wasn’t aggressive enough when his offense was hot.

Vs. SAC: 15 PTS (5/13 FG, 0/6 3PT, 5/8 FT), 4 AST, 3 REB, 2 BLK, 1 TO in 27 mins

Vs. GSW: 25 PTS (10/20 FG, 1/4 3PT, 4/5 FT), 1 AST, 5 REB, 1 STL, 2 TO in 37 mins

It took tough work for OG Anunoby to muster 15 points against the Kings. His jumper failed him again, so he had to attack the paint for most of his points. That left Anunoby inefficient by normal standards, and his defense couldn’t solve broader problems.

OG went into full wrecking ball mode against the Warriors. He flew into the lane for dunks and layups that Golden State couldn’t deny. His downhill work gave the Knicks a semblance of hope as the game began getting away from them.

Vs. SAC: 8 PTS (3/3 FG, 2/4 FT), 11 REB, 1 STL, 1 BLK in 19 mins

Vs. GSW: DNP

Mitchell Robinson was comfortably New York’s best player against Sacramento. He grabbed enough offensive rebounds to nearly make up for the team’s poor shooting. The Knicks’ interior defense looked better while he played, and this is a rare night where he looked visibly frustrated when teammates missed assignments.

Mitch gave the Knicks a pulse against the Kings. He sat out against Golden State.

This was rough. The Captain got hurt, the defense remains horrendous, and the team lost another two games. The fact that defense is the biggest concern from these two losses, even while Brunson missed action, is a scary proposition.

This team’s ceiling is capped until they figure out how to get stops and play with passion at both ends. I’ll see you next time, Knicks’ fam!