Knicks captain Jalen Brunson didn’t mince phrases.
After back-to-back blowout losses on nationwide tv to each the Cleveland Cavaliers and Boston Celtics, Brunson mentioned his staff must be “embarrassed” and must “wake the hell up” in the event that they count on to compete for a championship.
“The frustrating part about all this is we have what it takes, we have the personnel, we have everything we need in that locker room. We’ve just gotta put it together,” Brunson mentioned on the Feb. 27 episode of his Roommates Podcast with Josh Hart. “The X’s and O’s and all that stuff. That’s an easy fix. But the amount of times we’ve been embarrassed on national television, that should ring a bell.
“That should be a wake-up call in itself, not just for those games, but for the rest of the season. We’ve gotta wake the hell up.”
The Knicks fell to 0-7 towards the NBA’s prime three groups over the weekend, and the way in which they’ve misplaced is simply as troubling because the report itself.
These aren’t nail-biters. They’re blowouts — the sort that recommend an inevitable second-round conflict between the No. 3 Knicks and No. 2 Celtics can be extra formality than combat, barring a significant shift in efficiency.
With the Cavaliers (48-10) six-and-a-half video games forward of Boston for the highest seed and the Knicks (38-20) four-and-a-half video games away from Indiana for the No. 3 spot, New York is on a direct collision course with the reigning champions in Spherical 2.
And proper now? That’s trying like a matchup they’re not prepared for, although Brunson identified the Knicks had momentum in a handful of the losses.
“I’ve got a lot to say but I think the main focus that we should have is obviously use [the 0-7 record] to push ourselves — but it sucks because the first time we played Cleveland at The Garden, we were up 14. Lost. We played OKC. We were up [14]. Lost. So we’ve shown that we’ve competed, right?” he mentioned on the Feb. 27 episode. “Boston, we cut it to four last time, and then obviously s–t the bed the rest of the game. But I see where we have opportunities to where we can be aggressive and pounce on them and win.”
Extra regarding than the 0-7 report itself has been the margin of defeat towards the highest groups.
The Knicks misplaced to:
Boston by 13 on Feb. 23, however trailed by as a lot as 27, then minimize the result in 4 earlier than the Celtics went on a game-sealing run
Cleveland by 37 on Feb. 21. A no-contest
Boston by 27 on Feb. 8. One other no-contest.
Cleveland by six on Oct. 28 in a sport they led by double digits
Boston by 23 within the season opener on an evening the Celtics tied the NBA report for threes made in a sport and led by as a lot as 37
There are additionally the disappointing losses to the Thunder: by 25 on Jan. 10 and a blown 14-point lead turning right into a 10-point loss per week earlier on Jan. 3.
Hart prompt the 0-7 report gave every participant a chance to look themselves within the mirror.
“For a team to see that stat and to recognize it, I think it could be taken two ways. It could be taken extremely beneficial because it could put you in a position of being humbled and realizing where we have a lot of room to go if we want to compete with these guys and these teams,” he mentioned. “Or it could kind of break a team and you think you’re not as good as these teams.
“I think with the mentality that we have and the character of the team that we have, I think it would be the first one. I think it would be more of a humbling statistic for us and shows us that we have great players and good talent.”
The Knicks (38-20) can have a shot at redemption, although not till the ultimate weeks of the common season.
They may play the Cavaliers (48-10) in Cleveland on April 2 and at MSG on April 11 and have another matchup at residence towards the Celtics on April 8.
“We’ve gotta go out there, and we’ve gotta put forth the effort every game and every possession and not concede easy baskets or start the game off slow or anything like that,” mentioned Hart. “We’ve gotta start pushing ourselves to the limit on both ends of the floor, which is why I’m not really panicking with that stat. It will open our eyes to realizing we have to get to another level individually and as a team obviously. But I think we’ll do that.”
Initially Revealed: February 27, 2025 at 7:31 PM EST
