Jalen Brunson sees a need for improvement.

Josh Hart is not as concerned. 

There have been plenty of positives eight games into the season and into Mike Brown’s Knicks tenure. One of the biggest has been their 3-point transformation. 

But it’s how they defend 3-pointers on the other end of the floor that is their biggest weakness.

It has not overly hurt them this year, but it is certainly something that can emerge as a problem. 

“We have to close out better, obviously,” Brunson said after Knicks practice Friday. “I think we’re doing a decent job of being there for each other in the gaps. If we’re there in the gaps even better, there’s not gonna be lanes to drive, there’s not gonna be rotations, there’s not gonna be closeouts. Being able to contain the ball better is definitely gonna help our group on defense. We gotta stick to our technique and get better at it and obviously limit the disadvantages on defense.” 

Timberwolves Julius Randle puts up a shot over New York Knicks guard Jalen Brunson Charles Wenzelberg / New York Post

Knicks opponents are averaging 15.9 made 3-pointers per game and shooting 40.6 percent from behind the arc.

Entering Friday, both were second most in the league, behind the Clippers and Nets, respectively. 

Despite blowing out the Timberwolves on Wednesday, the Knicks allowed them to shoot 47.5 percent (19-for-40) from deep, the highest mark against the Knicks this year. 

“Teams are making shots,” Hart said Friday. “It’s the NBA, man. It goes in flows. We’ve played eight games, the next eight games we could have the best 3-point defense. It might not be because our defense is great, but just because some teams miss shots. As long as we’re flying around defensively, contesting shots, doing all we can, then we’re gonna live with the outcome, no matter what that outcome is.” 

With significant investment in top-level defenders in OG Anunoby, Mikal Bridges and Mitchell Robinson, fans often wonder why the unit as a whole has been closer to average than elite the past two years.

The reason largely stems from 3-point defense. 

And the weak 3-point defense is mostly due to the other two starters — Brunson and Karl-Anthony Towns. 

Josh Hart brings the ball up the court during the third quarter against the Minnesota Timberwolves at Madison Square Garden on November 5, 2025. Getty Images

They are the Knicks’ two best scorers, but are liabilities on the defensive end. Brunson, though his effort on that end can’t be questioned, is slow and at times late getting out to shooters. Against the Timberwolves in particular, he often gave too much space to Donte DiVincenzo. 

And Towns is incredibly slow, often resulting in him being late in rotations. Opponents relentlessly put Towns in pick-and-pop actions to free up easy — and open — 3-pointers. 

Against the Timberwolves, players guarded by Brunson and Towns shot 5-for-9 from 3-point range, according to NBA.com’s tracking stats.

For the season, opponents are shooting 40.0 and 38.8 percent from deep when guarded by Brunson and Towns, respectively. 

What’s happening on and off the Garden court

Sign up for Inside the Knicks by Stefan Bondy, a weekly exclusive on Sports+.

Thank you

“We’re getting a little better with it,” Brown said. “There’s a couple of things technique-wise that we could do better. Even if you don’t feel like you can get a great contest, still put a hand up and contest. That’s the first thing. The second thing is we were doing a great job of protecting one another and scrambling and trying to close out. But sometimes we’re closing out so hard we’re overrunning guys and then the side-step dribble 3 is available. So we’ve gotta close out, take away air space first and then second, even if you can’t get there, give the effort to be there while being the second jumper and not flying by a guy so that you can box out in case that ball bounces long off the miss.” 

New York Knicks center Karl-Anthony Towns blocks Bulls Tre Jones’ shot in the second half at Madison Square Garden in New York, New York, November 2, 2025. JASON SZENES/ NY POST

Yes, shoddy 3-point defense has perhaps fallen to the background amid a three-game winning streak and plenty of reason for optimism. But it bears monitoring. 

And in a league that has shown how quickly leads can change with 3-point shooting, it would behoove the Knicks to clean it up.