Josh Hart has game to forget in Knicks' loss to Pacers

Through their first 12 games, the New York Knicks look nothing like the team that won the NBA championship five months ago.

At this point, they don't even look like the team that won the NBA Cup. 

Thanks to their 106-104 loss to the Indiana Pacers on Friday night, they not only dropped to 6-6 overall, but they are also 0-2 in NBA Cup play and have likely seen their chances of repeating as the in-season tournament champions disappear. 

While the Knicks have had a lot of problems this season, and had a lot of problems on Friday, one of the most glaring issues on Friday was a night to forget for Josh Hart.

Josh Hart goes scoreless in Knicks loss to Pacers

Hart played just 23 minutes for the Knicks and failed to record a single point, shooting 0-for-4 from the field, including 0-for-3 from 3-point range. He was also a team-worst minus-11 and barely played in the second half.

While offense was never the central part of his game, he has been a non-factor when he has been on the floor this season, and especially over the past couple of weeks. He has not reached double-digit scoring in a single game since Oct. 25, and has just 28 points over his past six games.

That is only 4.6 points per game, while he is shooting just 28% from the field (10-for-35) over that stretch. It is a problem. It is becoming an even bigger problem when added to the bad start for Mikal Bridges.

The Knicks were not only a well-balanced team that received contributions from all over their lineup during their championship run, but they also had a knack for coming up big in the clutch moments. Right now, none of that is showing up for them. They still have a lot of time to get it right this season, but so far they have not picked up from where they left off back in June during the playoffs.