Insider Warns Jalen Brunson Over Fractured Knicks Locker Room

"The chemistry is not where it was last year going into the playoffs. That’s something this team is going to have to find quick,” Szczerbiak said on MSG Network's playoff preview show. “Jalen Brunson is the captain. He’s the head of that locker room. He’s going to have to lead by example and play at a high level to get all those guys comfortable. Because I think there is some fractured confidence in that locker room."

The Knicks posted an 11-11 record over their final 22 games during the regular season. Brunson, Towns and company failed to beat any of the Boston Celtics, the Cleveland Cavaliers, or the Oklahoma City Thunder -- the three teams that would likely make up the Knicks' path to the NBA Finals.

Szczerbiak insists that only "throttling" the upstart Pistons can prove that the Knicks are on the right track ahead of a potential second-round matchup with the defending champion Celtics. But even the Pistons are a tough matchup for the Knicks. Detroit won three of its four regular-season meetings with New York, and the Pistons' All-Star guard Cade Cunningham averaged nearly 31 points per game against the Knicks' defense.

"We’re going to learn a lot about the interior of this locker room in this series quick,” Szczerbiak said. "Because the talent is there. They should blow out this Detroit team when you go player for player. If they don’t dominate this series, there’s something going on in that locker room that’s not right.”

Brunson and the Knicks can respond to those concerns beginning Saturday night, when they host the Pistons at Madison Square Garden.