The Knicks keep losing, and a big trade should be strongly considered

NEW YORK — New York Knicks owner James Dolan got out of his courtside seat at halftime and never returned.

He didn’t miss much except for louder boos and another loss.

On Monday, Dolan’s Knicks were down 75-47 at halftime to a Dallas Mavericks team with an injury list longer than a CVS receipt. New York lost the game by 17, a result still not indicative of how bad the Knicks were on this night. They were dominated from the start by yet another one of the NBA’s worst teams in the 114-97 loss. Remember, Dolan recently said he expects his team to make the NBA Finals and that it “should” win the title.

Yet, New York is trending in the opposite direction, with nine losses in its last 11 games, and two of those coming against the lowly Mavericks and Sacramento Kings. It’s far closer to being a Play-In team than the No. 1 seed in the East. New York can’t score. It can’t defend. Remember the hard hat and Timberland boots handed out after every win to the best defensive player? Me, neither. I forgot about it, too. I heard the Knicks turned it into a helicopter hat and clogs.

New York isn’t in a funk anymore. The statute of limitations passed on this being called that. This feels more like what the Knicks are becoming. And because of that, a major shakeup needs to happen by the NBA’s trade deadline.

“They scored 75 points in the first half,” coach Mike Brown said. “At halftime, we usually do the clips and talk about technical X’s and O’s, all that crap that coaches and teams do. There was nothing to be said at halftime except for ‘Lock in and do your f—ing job.’”

This feels like a group that just isn’t on the same wavelength, with flaws throughout the roster that make it hard to dominate in today’s NBA game. Jalen Brunson disguised a lot of New York’s core issues last season because he is one of the best players in the world. His clutch play bailed the Knicks out on many nights. The issues that were in New York last year are still here today. The team doesn’t have multiple ballhandlers who can break defenses down and create advantages. The team still doesn’t play fast. It doesn’t have any stifling point-of-attack defenders. It lacks rim protection. The team isn’t very athletic.

All of these issues have been highlighted because the Knicks aren’t winning anymore, but they’ve always been present.

Since winning the NBA Cup last month, the already-blah defense has turned into mush. The high-octane offense can’t make shots and has started to turn the ball over at an alarming clip.

On the surface, many would point to the one thing that did change from last year’s squad to this year’s squad as the issue, and that’s Brown. However, Brown wasn’t seen as the problem through the first two months of the season when the Knicks were winning, essentially, every night and were the last team standing in the NBA Cup. He wasn’t the problem when he was giving young players such as Tyler Kolek and Mo Diawara real opportunities. That guy is still there.

Brown didn’t ask for Tom Thibodeau, who led New York to its best season in 25 years, to be fired. Dolan did that, and the front office, led by Leon Rose, obliged. They wanted a coach who would collaborate. Brown said before the game — a night in which he had a healthy roster for the first time, seemingly, all season — that he sent a lineup to their analytics group to learn the numbers, only to be told they hadn’t tried that group yet. He didn’t sign Guerschon Yabusele with their minimal financial flexibility this offseason. He didn’t trade five first-round picks for Mikal Bridges or trade part of their identity for Karl-Anthony Towns. Brown isn’t the reason Towns is having the worst shooting efficiency of his career at the rim and from 3 (when you factor in the volume).

Rose and the front office did all of these things, and though it worked out last season, the signs of what we’re seeing now have always been there. The Knicks didn’t push up against the second apron to barely beat the young Detroit Pistons in the playoffs or be down by 20 multiple times to the Boston Celtics. They expected to be dominant, and they’ve never been close to that at any point over the last 1 1/2 years. That’s where Thibodeau comes back into play. It appears he might have maximized this group and got every little ounce out of it.  Yet, the suits in New York thought he was the only change needed.

It’s not just that the Knicks are losing every night that’s the issue. It’s that far too often they’re not even competitive. New York allowed Dallas to score 70-plus in the first half. It trailed the Kings by 15 after the first quarter. It lost to Detroit by 30. A recent loss to the Atlanta Hawks was never really competitive after the first quarter.

There’s no urgency or, it appears, care. That’s the problem, and why it feels like this roster needs to be shaken up in some capacity.

“Obviously, I want to win,” Brunson said. “But if we’re playing hard and doing the things we’re supposed to be doing — executing the game plan to a certain extent, or even 80 percent of it — that’s stuff we can live with. If they’re making tough, contested shots, those are things we can live with and be like, ‘OK, better offense beat better defense today.’

“But we can’t even say that.”

The Knicks might be just in need of an extended break, and the combination of winning the Cup plus the dog days of the season has caught up to them. Maybe they’ll get back to the team we saw in November after the All-Star break. New York, though, doesn’t have the luxury to wait and find out. The break comes after the NBA’s trade deadline, and Dolan made it clear what his expectations for this season are. The Knicks have to be proactive. The sample is large enough now to suggest this team just might not work.

So, whether it’s trading Towns to somewhere he feels more comfortable or one of the wings they’ve invested real money and draft capital in to be lockdown defenders, the Knicks need to do something. Changing the coach after the big deal the organization made last offseason about the previous coach being the lone issue would be too much egg on the face.

New York needs to address the roster before a finger is pointed back toward the sideline.