Red Bull F1’s TP Christian Horner has a saying: “The higher you rise, the sharper the knives.” Well, we will come back to this, but let’s mourn the Knicks’ loss. All they had to do was fill the first quarter gap of 7 points. Alas, not their day. The usual suspects were very unusual this time around. When the Knicks lost Game 2 of their series against the Pistons, two players were under great scrutiny- Jalen Brunson and Karl-Anthony Towns. While their contributions have led the Knicks to the #3 seed and a home court advantage, it was KAT’s humble contributions of 10 points that caused the game 2 loss as well. The fact that they now have two games at the Little Caesars Arena won’t bode well. So let’s break it down.

Now, re-read the first line. The most hated is usually the best. And for the Knicks, it’s Jalen Brunson. The hatred usually stems from a place of jealousy, but we all know what a player he is. But one aspect of his play really grinds the gears of the NBA- and for good reason. Any guesses? It’s his foul-baiting in the second game. And former player Chandler Parsons wasn’t having any of it. And the problem? Not the score, but the fouls. The unwanted ones.

“It’s a lot, it’s a lot. We were talking about this. He plays so many minutes, we see it all game long too… for a lot of these guys it’s part of the game, it’s part of their philosophy it to get to the whistle, get to the line, get to easy buckets. He- I feel like he’s gotta have a little bit more of a balance. ‘Cause he’s also doing it so much he’s gonna get hard to officiate. Like how do you determine what’s real, what’s not? And when you review half of these foul calls and the other team reviews them, they’re not fouls. They’re almost offensive fouls- the way he throws his body onto the defense,” said Parsons on FanDuel TV.

This has been a cause of concern for a while. The fans really hate it, and it needs to be brought into question at this point. Chandler did say that a lot of the great scorers do it. For some, like James Harden, Jimmy Butler, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, and Luka Doncic, it’s a skill. But those greats know where to draw the line. And Jalen Brunson needs to as well.

Now, we move on to Karl-Anthony Towns. The 7-footer has been a revelation at the Knicks. And he showed his reliability when the Brunson Burner was under covers, recovering. But his performance in the 100-94 game 2 loss to Detroit was deemed ‘lackluster’, which highlighted deeper, but ever-present issues in the Knicks’ squad as a whole.

“Very unacceptable. I mean, it all goes back to the physicality of this series. Like I said, this Pistons team, it is a tough team. They rely on their physicality, they rely on their toughness and this is something that’s been talked on all season when it comes to this Knicks team. Everybody labelled them soft. And I think that’s gonna be the determinant factor in this series,” said DeMarcus Cousins.

I mean, Boogie knows what he’s talking about. And for KAT‘s 7-foot frame, he needs to be at the forefront of aggression and tenacity in the squad. If he doesn’t bring it, who will? These issues have gotten the Knicks under a bucket load of scrutiny. And that’s highlighted by the Athletic’s ratings of the NY squad.

Athletic rankings of New York Knicks and HC Tom Thibodeau are unflattering

The Knicks are arguably the NBA’s star jewels. The MSG attracts the world’s stars to the courtside. But for a team with such a superstar pedigree, they do seem to be lacking on the results front. In Athletic’s annual anonymous NBA player poll, their results in some categories were unflattering, to say the least. But the worst part is, it wasn’t just the org- it was their HC Tom Thibodeau, too.

After being taken over by the New York Times, The Athletic is now valued at a whopping $550 million. Their takes are always considered to be from the best of hearts. But to consider that the Knicks ranked the 8th worst organization and Thibs ranked 6th as the league’s worst manager? It’s tough to take if you’re a NY fan. To be honest, if their history is considered, it’s hard not to accept that reality. As disrespectful as it seems, there are more chances of it being right than wrong.

All eyes will be on the Knicks during game 3. The Pistons are on home turf now, so their physicality won’t even be the Knicks’ biggest test. This calls for a huge change of philosophy if you’re Thibs. Your team just got disrespected by the Athletic. It’s time to pull your socks up and prove the doubters wrong. Do you think this was justified? Well, this is a battle for those who love the game, and it is always fair here.