Knicks Rumors on Team's 'Flaws' Under Mike Brown, Players' Struggles with Roles

Halfway through the 2025-26 NBA season, the New York Knicks still aren't adjusting to head coach Mike Brown's tactics and on-court vision, according to SNY's Ian Begley.

"This group is not tied together in the way that their early season success would suggest," Begley reported Tuesday. "Players haven't fully bought into their roles under head coach Mike Brown. Those reasons are cited often when you talk to people about the Knicks' flaws."

At 25-18, the Knicks are third in the Eastern Conference. Coming into the year, a top-four finish would've seemed acceptable.

But New York isn't clicking right now, as evidenced by Monday's 114-97 blowout at the hands of the Dallas Mavericks. Brown's squad trailed by as many as 30 points.

Mavericks-Knicks Full Highlights

01:30

The Knicks have dropped nine of their last 11. Celebrity superfan Ben Stiller spoke for many when he struggled to diagnose what's wrong:

A porous defense is at least one obvious problem. Since beating the San Antonio Spurs in the NBA Cup final on Dec. 16, the Knicks rank 29th in defensive rating (119.6), per NBA.com.

That's not sustainable for a playoff contender regardless of how the offense is performing.

It doesn't help that some of New York's heavy hitters aren't delivering.

Karl-Anthony Towns' scoring average (21.0 points) has dipped a bit, and he's shooting just 35.8 from beyond the arc, which is his lowest rate since his rookie year.

OG Anunoby is also performing below his usual standards from deep (33.9 percent) while failing to provide a consistent defensive impact.

Maybe it's a case of the Knicks simply needing more continuity. This roster didn't have a lot of time to mesh before the 2024-25 regular season tipped off, and a coaching change last summer meant having to learn an entirely new system again.

Team president Leon Rose and the front office will hope that's all it is. New York is pretty much all in with this roster.

The franchise is in serious trouble if Brown can't find a winning formula.