3 Biggest Culprits That Are Behind Knicks’ Frustrating 6-6 Start

Some fans and pundits predicted that the Knicks, like some of the previous champions before them, would suffer from a little post championship hangover. While not all teams succumb to it, it's understandable.

Yet even if you did expect this team to get out of the gates a bit slow, their 6-6 start is likely still worse than you anticipated. Some it can be chalked up to the aforementioned hangover. But some of it goes beyond that. Today, we go over the biggest reasons the Knicks have faltered thus far.

1. The starters are missing shots they were previously making

Of all the concerns, of which there are several, this is the one that should give Knicks fans the most hope. New York currently ranks 22nd in the league in effective field goal percentage with an EFG% of just 51.9%. Last season, they had an EFG% of 55.7% and tanked ninth in the league.

All six of their losses have been by nine points or less. It's unlikely that they would have won all of those games. Had this team made the same kinds of shot they made last season, though, you are probably looking at a team that's a lot closer to an 8-4 or even 9-3 record.

The Knicks' three-point percentages have actually held up. Regardless of how open or contested the shots are, their outside shooting has been relatively akin to what they were last season. But the team has seen some drastic drop-offs in field goal percentages from mid range and near the rim.

Last season, the Knicks took 27.9% of their shots at the rim and converted at a 66.6% clip. This season, they are taking a higher percentage of their shots at the rim, doing so 30.1% of the time. But are shooting a noticeably worse 59% on those attempts.

The team is also seeing a significant drop in field goal percentage in the in-between game where the likes of Jalen Brunson, Karl-Anthony Towns, OG Anunoby, Mikal Bridges, and Josh Hart so often found success.

Through the first 12 games this season, they are shooting just 38.5% on mid range shots, despite shooting 45.1% from there last season. The bad news is that they are missing them and have been doing so for some time now. The good news though is that these are not only shots that they have often made, but shots that are pretty high quality looks.

It also doesn't help that outside of Karl-Anthony Towns, every starter is underperforming. Brunson recently won Eastern Conference Player of the Week but he's failed to live up to his lofty expectations due to a slow start and some tough late game performances. Anunoby has shown some nice improvements in his ability to get to the free throw line, but he's shooting just 32.5% from three, which would be the lowest of his career. Hart's also struggled from three.

Then there's Bridges. Mike Brown has stuck by the veteran guard but he's shooting just 37.4% from the field and 28.9% from three even after a nice showing on Friday. When these trends see some positive regression, the Knicks' offense, and in turn, their record, should follow suit. But until it does, the Knicks' offense will continue to be extremely Towns and Brunson reliant and very inconsistent.

2. Mike Brown has been experimenting

When Tom Thibodeau was the Knicks' coach, a lot of fans complained about his lack of regular season experimentation. It often led to not only the overuse of his starters, but also a bench unit that wasn't always prepared for the biggest moments and a lack of knowledge in what this team can and can't do.

In his 16 months since being announced as the Knicks' coach, Brown has been quite the opposite. He has been open to, if not downright making it a priority, to experiment a bit in the regular season.

Brown has sat his starters, utilized his bench, played around with different rotations, and experimented with different strategies. And he's done so despite knowing that those decisions may not always be the ones that give him the best chances to win that game. Twelve games into the 2026-27 season, Brown has stuck with that philosophy.

There were games early on this season when Brown and the Knicks went extended minutes without Brunson and Towns despite seeing how bad the results tend to be last postseason. He ran more offense through guys not named Brunson or Towns.

Against the Cavaliers on Wednesday, he waited longer than usual to bring Brunson back in the fourth. Brown has also kept limited Jordan Clarkson's minutes early on despite being one of the more impactful players this season. He even found himself early in the season testing just how long Andre Drummond can play and how impactful he can be. Shoot, even Pacome Dadiet, who is clearly not ready to be a consistent contributor, has played.

The results haven't always been pretty. In fact, they've often been ugly. But this is all a part of Brown process. The Knicks are gaining valuable information and learning how to play under difference circumstances.

It won't result in the best regular season record. But in the lone year Brown has coached this team, he got them to peak when it mattered, went with what worked, and led his team to victory.

3. They are losing close games

Last season, the Knicks were very good in close games. They went 9-4 in 13 one-possession games and had a +20.5 net rating in 124 minutes which the NBA defined as clutch thanks to an offensive rating of 123.5 and a defensive rating of 103.1. And in those games, New York went 21-13.

So far, the Knicks have already played seven games which the NBA considers clutch, and the Knick have not fared well. They have a -17.4 net rating with an offensive rating of just 100 and a defensive rating of 117.4 and are 1-6 in such games.

The Knicks defense has been pretty good so far so their defense late in games has been disappointing. They've had some breakdowns in point-of-attack defense and physicality in these close games and in their Friday night loss to the Pacers, even their rebounding fell apart.

Their lackluster clutch time offensive rating has also been difficult to watch. But it should see a good amount of positive regression once the aforementioned shot making balances out.

Losing close games in the fashion that the Knicks have is always a tough pill to swallow. This is a very good and experienced group that has played in an incredible amount of close games. And they've done well in a lot of them.

Whenever it is that they pull themselves out of their current rut, hit some shots, and clean up their defense, some of these close losses should flip into wins.

Get Knicks On SI straight to your inbox: sign up for our free newsletter here.

Add us as a preferred source on Google