“We just didn’t have that magic tonight.” This is what Karl-Anthony Towns said after the New York Knicks fell into a 1-3 deficit in the Eastern Conference Finals. But what magic was he talking about? Well, for most of the postseason, the Knicks have made their bones making clutch plays and late comebacks. We’ve all seen their 21-0 fourth quarter run to storm back against the Pistons, or KAT’s 20-point fourth quarter performance in Sunday’s win. So, you could say that New York has the ability to dig out of deep holes.

Well, that’s something they’ll need to do if they want to have any shot at making it to the NBA Finals. However, will they be able to climb out one more time?

New York has stumbled defensively throughout the series. However, in Game 4, they were terrible out of the gates. The Knicks gave up 43 points in the first quarter and a near triple-double to Indiana’s Tyrese Haliburton in the first half. While they stayed within striking distance, it was too much to take in the end. And the reason for their defensive struggles? A poor performance from their All-Star duo of Jalen Brunson and Karl-Anthony Towns. New York’s captain finished the game with 31 points and five assists, but the Knicks were outscored by 16 in the 37 minutes he was on the floor. As for Towns, they won by three in his 37 minutes of action. 

This is something ESPN’s Brian Windhorst pointed out, while talking about what cost New York Game 4. “He(Brunson) has had an awesome postseason. Where would the Knicks be without him? They’d be home. In this particular series, in this particular alignment where he plays with Karl Towns, Brunson’s potency has been dimmed. Is that a politically correct way to say it?” Windhorst said.

Indeed, as good as Brunson and KAT are offensively, it’s the other end of the court where they’ve struggled to find their footing. This has left the Knicks exposed to the Pacers, who love to play on the break. You don’t have to take Windhorst’s or even our word for it; their stats while playing together speak volumes. 

In this series, when Brunson and Towns are together on the floor, they’ve yielded a plus-minus of -24 in the first four games. That’s not good if you’re aiming to win the Conference Finals. While Windhorst was a bit shy with his words, fearing that the Knicks faithful might target him. “I am trying to avoid being attacked for saying a word about Jalen Brunson.”

However, Tim Macmahon did not hold back. “Look, it’s not a secret, like Brunson’s defensively challenged to say the least, you know. He’s athletically limited. He’s not very big. I, you know, you’ve got to protect him scheme-wise, which is more difficult with KAT. Um, and it’s been exposed in this series.” Macmahon stated on the ‘Brian Windhorst & Hoop Collective’ podcast. 

Indeed, there’s no doubt that Jalen Brunson has been arguably the Knicks’ best player not just in the postseason, but throughout the season. However, he isn’t the best two-way guard, and that has left a big gap in New York’s defense. Moreover, pairing that up with Karl-Anthony Towns’ defensive struggles is a recipe for disaster for the Knicks. However, this isn’t the only reason for the team’s catastrophic series against the Pacers. 

The Knicks face another huge problem apart from the Brunson-Towns defensive struggles

After four games in the Eastern Conference Finals, if there’s a problem with the New York Knicks apart from their defensive shortcomings, it’s turnovers. The massive 1-3 deficit that the Knicks are starting at right now is the result of turning the ball away too many times. “It’s tough to win against a team like that, who turn those turnovers into points,” New York star Josh Hart said. “I had like four or five, just bad, stupid turnovers that you can’t have that lead to easy baskets that lead to momentum.” Indeed, it seemed like New York had buttery fingers as their turnover tab for the night finished at 17! Yes, 17. 

Hart led the way individually, as the Knicks defender gave away the ball five times in the game. The Knicks might’ve gotten away with it, had there been another team in place of the Pacers. However, the Pacers thrive on sloppy plays, and they did just that against New York. Indiana ramped up 22 points on the fastbreak, thanks to the Knicks’ sloppiness. Apart from Hart, New York’s star point guard also gave away three turnovers. However, he was aware that this was a self-inflicted wound by him and his teammates. ESPN’s Tim Bontemps shared a similar opinion to Brunson’s.

 “If I’m the Knicks, if I’m looking at this game, the thing that I am carpet on are the turnovers, especially they just were really careless with the ball.” The journalist pointed out that at times it looked like the Knicks just threw the ball right into Tyrese Haliburton’s hands. There’s no doubt that the Knicks have to fix this problem if they want to make it to the Finals. However, will they be able to do so? That’s because the Knicks have a massive 60 turnovers in this series so far. That’s terrible! So, it will be an uphill battle for Jalen Brunson and Co., as they gear up for a must-win Game 5 against the Pacers.