Around this time of the year, especially on social media, many people say ” New year, new me” or “New year, same me.” Well, in this case, its, “New year, same Knicks.”
The New York Knicks have gotten off to an underwhelming start to the 2021-22 season, and the future looks bleaker with each passing game.
New year, same New York Knicks: Plenty of people to blame in 2022
The Knicks lost pretty handily on New Year’s Eve to the OKC Thunder, and after a Sunday afternoon loss to the Toronto Raptors to begin the new year, the Knicks have fallen to 17-20 on the season.
Like every other team, the Knicks have been ravaged with injuries and players sent into health and safety protocols. Eight players missed Sunday’s game, four of whom were in health and safety protocols.
The problem isn’t just injuries or Covid-19. Even when fully healthy, the Knicks haven’t looked like the team fans fell in love with last season. Heading into Sunday’s matchup against the Raptors, the Knicks defense ranked 18th in the league (109.2), and their 108.1 offensive rating ranks 22nd in the NBA.
Last season, New York ranked in the bottom-ten offensively as well but was a top-four defense. Although they’ve fallen into the bottom-ten in defensive rating this season, the Knicks are only allowing 0.6 more points per game than they did last year.
While there’s been a lot of finger-pointing this season, there isn’t just one person to blame for the New York Knicks struggling mightily this season.