Knicks Stars Explain Rejuvenated Defense

When they lost nine of 11 games between New Year's Eve and the middle of 2026's first month, they were ranked as one of the worst stopped units in the game. Towns' inconsistent focus was just the tip of the iceberg for a team who couldn't seem to lock in hard enough to defend meaningfully against anyone, regardless of the numerous name-brand deterrents on the Knicks' roster.

Despite all of those brewing tensions, they've looked like a completely different team in flipping the calendar to February, arguably even better than they were before the mid-season blues caught up to them. They have, far and away, the best defense over their active six-game win streak, holding opponents to 95.2 points per possession, and the buy-in to a recent schematic change is palpable among prominent players.

New York's All-In Adjustment

Just last week, following the Knicks' 119-92 beatdown over the Toronto Raptors, Mikal Bridges telegraphed a turnaround in the works, going off on an impromptu monologue about his desire to be more coachable, reflecting a storyline that's recently bounced around the locker room. He wondered aloud whether he'd been too entitled to play his role as he knows he should, and all he's done since is partner with OG Anunoby to reignite belief that they can be one of the league's top defensive wing tandems when they're in sync.

As it turns out, the shift goes beyond a simple increase in effort. As Bridges told SNY's Ian Begley, "effort can (only) do so much without having a plan."

After spending the first half of the season sending drivers down the middle of the court and into the gut of the defense, the wing stoppers have opted to push them further to the baseline, taking away the creative room that attackers once enjoyed by holding strong and refusing to collapse. The adjustment has spared rim-protectors from having to over-exert themselves in rotation, featuring as Brown's shift to suit the team he has.

Defensive engagement has sustained as a noteworthy storyline during the Knicks' overnight bounce-back from one of the NBA's worst defenses into one of its best. They've needed that continuity in keeping five of their last six opponents from breaking past 100 points, a tough task in the modern game.

“I think the biggest part of our defense has been our communication, physicality and accountability without having to point fingers and say who was wrong and who wasn’t,”Jalen Brunson said to Begley. “Just kind of being on the string and being on the same page is the biggest part of our turnaround so far.”

That togetherness is just what they'll need in braving the dreaded trade deadline together, with all sings pointing toward this core being who the front office will stick with heading into the postseason. When others around the league are crumbling under outside noise, they're binding together to finally fix one of their most glaring on-court weaknesses.