Anthony Edwards torches Knicks in 116-99 Timberwolves victory

The Knicks’ antiaircraft ammunition is broken.

Rotations are dilatory — oregon sometimes nonexistent.

As a result, games that commencement arsenic competitory contests often devolve into people signifier for opponents.

The contented runs deeper than conscionable precocious closeouts. The Knicks besides conflict to incorporate the constituent of attack. Mikal Bridges, the team’s prized antiaircraft addition, has been a valiant effort connected the perimeter, but his 6-6, 215-pound framework routinely gets tally into screens acceptable by players built similar ceramic walls.

This forces a concatenation reaction: either the opposing scorer gets the abstraction they request to occurrence disconnected a shot, oregon a Knicks defender has to rotate implicit — often late, oregon sometimes not astatine each — exposing the cracks successful a antiaircraft ammunition that isn’t astir arsenic connected arsenic it needs to be.

This domino effect has been glaring arsenic the Knicks person mislaid six of their past 9 games, the latest coming successful Friday’s disheartening 116-99 nonaccomplishment to the Minnesota Timberwolves. The crippled marked Julius Randle’s archetypal regular-season instrumentality to Madison Square Garden arsenic an progressive subordinate since the blockbuster offseason commercialized that brought Karl-Anthony Towns to New York.

Towns, however, missed his 2nd consecutive crippled with a close thumb strain sustained successful Monday’s nonaccomplishment to the Detroit Pistons. Without the gravity provided by his floor-spacing ability, the Knicks’ discourtesy struggled against the Wolves’ physical, stingy defense.

But the much pressing contented remains New York’s inability to drawstring unneurotic accordant antiaircraft stops.

The Knicks went all-in connected bolstering their helping defence this offseason. They handed OG Anunoby $212.5 million implicit 5 years successful escaped bureau and traded 5 first-round picks and a swap to the Nets to get Bridges. Yet, against high-level perimeter scorers, the results person been underwhelming.

Anthony Edwards provided the latest example.

After a quiescent archetypal 4th successful which helium scored conscionable 3 points connected 1-of-7 shooting, the Timberwolves’ All-Star caught fire. Edwards made 11 of his adjacent 14 shots, including 7 of his last 9 from deep, finishing with 36 points, 13 rebounds, and 7 assists.

Friday’s crippled was a acold outcry from Dec. 19, erstwhile the Knicks dominated the Timberwolves successful Minnesota, 133-107. That night, Edwards scored conscionable 17 points connected 16 shots, deferring to Randle, who was inactive acclimating to his caller squad aft the trade.

On Friday, Randle played a much subdued role, scoring 8 points connected 2-of-6 shooting, with 7 rebounds and six assists. He didn’t effort his archetypal changeable until 8 minutes into the archetypal 4th but yet walked disconnected the level victorious successful his instrumentality to The Garden.

For the Knicks, the crippled exposed a glaring weakness: mediocre antiaircraft rotations that undermine their high-powered offense’s chances of competing for an NBA title.

Without Towns, the Knicks’ discourtesy sputtered, failing to scope 100 points. Jalen Brunson led the squad with 26 points but needed 23 shots to get there. Bridges struggled from the field, shooting 6-of-17 for 15 points, portion Josh Hart, who had a little enarthrosis scare, added 12 points, 9 rebounds, and 3 steals.

The seat provided immoderate relief. Cameron Payne delivered an 18-point burst successful conscionable four-and-a-half minutes successful the archetypal half, though helium didn’t people again. Precious Achiuwa chipped successful six points and 9 rebounds portion Miles McBride added 4 points to support the seat tally adjacent to Minnesota’s, which got 23 points from hometown leader Naz Reid and different 9 from rookie Rob Dillingham.

Towns is expected to instrumentality soon, acceptable to play done his thumb injury. When helium does, the Knicks volition punctual everyone wherefore they’re 1 of the league’s astir potent violative teams.

But hoops is much than discourtesy — it’s astir stopping the different squad from uncovering theirs.

Despite their investments successful Bridges and Anunoby, the Knicks person yet to lick their antiaircraft woes. They’ve struggled to incorporate high-level scorers connected the perimeter, and their interior rotations stay a measurement excessively slow.

The adjacent trial comes Monday, arsenic Trae Young and the Atlanta Hawks instrumentality to Madison Square Garden.

Young, a subordinate who’s historically thrived successful hostile environments, represents yet different situation for a Knicks defence that has yet to beryllium it tin emergence to the juncture against elite competition.

If the Knicks can’t hole their rotations — oregon their broader antiaircraft individuality — soon, their aspirations of contending for a title whitethorn gaffe distant faster than 1 of Edwards’ unstoppable drives to the rim, similar erstwhile helium shed Bridges utilizing a screen, blew by Brunson, and double-pumped a rim-rocking two-handed dunk implicit Achiuwa to punctuate Friday night’s loss.