A grueling, championship-winning season always takes its toll, but for the Knicks, that bill is coming due hard and fast. After a tough 98-93 loss to the 76ers on Friday night, New York is staring down a rough 2-4 record through their first six games, and you can practically see the exhaustion. They’ve faced a ton of quality opponents, including the Sixers twice, but it is the way they’ve looked in these losses that’s got everyone raising an eyebrow.
Fatigue Is a Real Killer
Friday’s game against Philadelphia was a prime example of their early struggles. The 76ers absolutely feasted in the first half, taking advantage of eight Knicks turnovers and just carving up their defense in the paint. Philly shot a super efficient 55 percent from the field, going 6-for-8 near the basket in the first quarter alone. The Knicks, to their credit, locked down the paint in the second half and actually made a comeback, even grabbing a one-point lead late in the fourth quarter. But it wasn’t enough. They just couldn’t overcome that sluggish start. Karl-Anthony Towns put it bluntly after the loss, saying, “Today, we looked like a team that was at the end of a road trip. We got to find that gear, got to find that energy.” He acknowledged they found it in the fourth, but it put them in a spot where they needed “magic,” and they didn’t have enough to seal the win.
Josh Hart echoed that sentiment, hitting on the root cause head-on. “It’s a new year. The flow’s tougher. The ball gets stagnant, and I think that’s a little bit from fatigue,” Hart explained. He talked about how mentally they know what to do, but their bodies just aren’t there yet. When pressed about the fatigue, Hart didn’t mince words: “We all feel the fatigue. We have to fight through it. It’s six games in. We have to try and find a way to get our bodies ready to play every day. Mentally, we’re there. We just have to find it physically.”
Championship Hangover or Something More?
It’s not hard to see why this team is gassed. Most of the guys who brought home their first championship in over 50 years are back, and many of them played deeper into an NBA season than ever before. You also can’t forget that extra game they played a year ago to win the NBA Cup, plus all those grueling second-half comebacks they pulled off in the playoffs. It all adds up! This squad had a shorter offseason than any other team in the NBA, except for the Spurs. That’s brutal.
Jalen Brunson, who went off for 24 points and hit the three-pointer that gave them that late lead on Friday, even had a classic response to Hart’s comments. “Josh said he feels the fatigue? Well, Josh is old as s–t,” Brunson quipped. Classic Brunson! Even if their captain won’t admit to it, it is clear the team is feeling the strain. Fatigue or not, Brunson knows the Knicks can be better, and for him, it starts with one simple thing: limiting turnovers. That hesitation can kill you, and it has to get fixed.
The Knicks have got to figure this out fast if they want to get back to playing like the champions they are. Getting those bodies right and cutting down on the mistakes Brunson highlighted will be key to turning this early slide around.
This article was created with AI assistance and published under Seattle On Tap’s editorial standards. See our Editorial Policy.
Originally reported by Yahoo Sports.
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