I’m not sure what we’ve seen in these three games that differed from what we expected before the season. If anything, the biggest surprise has been how quickly Gallo seems to have reached a new level, which is a big positive. They’ve lost these games because of sloppy defense (which we knew was coming) and cold three point shooting (which is a high variance stat). They’re two shots away from being 2-1 and, while it would have been a pretty weak 2-1, we would all be hyperbolizing about their playoff chances had they completed back to back comeback wins.

The Knicks are who we thought they were. They give up runs and go on runs, they occasionally challenge good teams and frequently flop against bad teams, they glide through 3 quarters on defense and then turn up the (often misguided) intensity once they smell a chance to win. So it goes.

Harrington has a .583 TS% through 3 games. I can see what turns you off about his style, but the guy can score. Chandler, Nate, and Duhon have been weighing down the Knicks scoring so far. Danilo, Lee, and Harrington carrying it (and Hughes in the Sixers game, too).
As much as I love Nate, he has really killed the offense. If he starts the season with career average numbers the Knicks are probably 2-1. I’ve come to expect inconsistency from WC and Duhon is a low usage scorer anyway, but I was/am really hoping for another big year from Nate.
JJ has a .464 TS% despite his 3-4 night from downtown… Hopefully most teams don’t even know what TS% is and a couple more 3-4 nights get the Knicks some more cap room.

Dan,

The Bobs game was very ugly, but I wouldn’t agree that the Knicks looked bad during their comeback. I was quite encouraged by the way they played there.

“Still, there’s no reason this team should be the worst defense (or close to it) in the league.”

David, I think the reason is that they don’t play a center. It’s normally the most important defensive position and D’Antoni just acts as if it doesn’t exist.
The lack of effort is definitely a problem, but the lack of skill (and especially no center) is just as crucial in my opinion.

daaarn,

Your points aren’t wrong, but paint the absolutely worst possible scenario. You’re not describing reality, but what happens if everything goes wrong. There’s a good chance everything will go wrong, but let’s not get ahead of ourselves.

-We’ve lost a lottery pick for next year’s draft (a very high one at that),
-This past draft was a downer (Douglas seems to get some minor praise, but Hill? well, I didn’t like the pick originally, and tho it’s early, he hasn’t done anything to help change my opinion)
-Still have a doughy Curryboy who hasn’t played yet (not to mention JJ),
-The salary cap is getting lowered and will further kill our free agent signing potential (as if the roster and general suckiness weren’t already hurting us enough)
-We’re likely to lose and/or overpay to keep 2 fan favorites in D.Lee and Nate
-The entire roster is full of holes and is in general disarray (outside of Gallo, everyone is vulnerable for a trade)

Gamecast (I think it’s Gamecast) lists the following during each game:

“Mobley — Has not yet entered game.”

It either startles me or makes me laugh.

I mean, what did these guys do in camp?

Anywho, frustration aside, we have reason to believe the threes will start falling a bit more. Still, there’s no reason this team should be the worst defense (or close to it) in the league.