The New York Knicks have their sights set on becoming NBA champions, but their current ball-handling efforts resemble those of a team destined for the lottery. If they aim to maximize their potential in an Eastern Conference that seems more accessible than ever—especially with the Indiana Pacers and Boston Celtics hindered by injuries—they need to make significant changes quickly.

Saturday’s game against the Orlando Magic saw the Knicks conceding 133 points, a near repeat of the season-high 135 points they allowed in their Halloween clash with the Chicago Bulls. The Magic dominated the paint with 64 points, handing the Knicks their sixth loss of the season, even with their defensive stalwart, Mitchell Robinson, in the lineup.

Following the defeat, Mikal Bridges voiced his concerns, saying, “On-ball we’ve got to be better. But also, there was no secondary help, no second effort. That’s the biggest thing. There are going to be blow-bys. There’s going to be stuff that happens, miscommunications. But we weren’t connected, we weren’t on our toes and ready to make a play. I think we were on our heels a little bit, and reacting late, which I think is unacceptable.”

Robinson, crucial to the team’s defense, logged only 17 minutes during the game against Orlando, and the Knicks were narrowly outscored by three points during his time on the court. Despite the recent defensive struggles, head coach Mike Brown remains optimistic about his team’s potential to excel defensively.

After the game, Brown expressed his confidence, stating, “I’m confident we can be where we need to defensively. We played well in some instances, and we haven’t played well. That’s what you go through, especially during this part of the year.”

He added, “I do think we can be a really good defensive team, but no matter who we throw out there, we’ve gotta have a feel and understanding of what we’re trying to do on that end of the floor to get things done.”

Health, of course, is going to play a big part in New York’s defensive potential. OG Anunoby is the team’s best defensive player, and he remains out working through a hamstring strain he sustained on Nov. 14. Landry Shamet, too, appeared to re-dislocate his right shoulder three minutes into the Orlando game, and Miles McBride was a late scratch after entering Saturday’s matchup questionable with an illness.

“OG is one of the best defenders in the NBA,” Karl-Anthony Towns said. “He’s highly valuable to any team. Missing him is big. And Deuce not being available. And Landry getting hurt obviously hurts our team.”

The Knicks entered Monday’s matchup against the Nets ranked 18th in defensive rating, giving up 114.8 points per 100 possessions. They allow the fifth-fewest points in the paint on the season, per NBA tracking data — but that number has ballooned to 50 per game since Anunoby exited the rotation.

“[We just have to] continue to try to keep the ball out front. That’s the start of it. Obviously we have to help each other out when it comes to rotations, but it starts with just guarding the ball,” said team captain Jalen Brunson, later noting his own role in the team’s poor defensive effort. “I mean, I’ve got to do a better job of [guarding the ball], clearly. No matter what the situation is with the coverage, we’ve got to have each other’s backs and we were just a step late.”

The Knicks, however, want to be a competent defensive team no matter who is available on a game-to-game basis. They are a long way from that reality, but Brown believes his team is trending in the right direction — even if their last outing was an undeniable step backwards.

“We’ll keep working on it. We’ll keep addressing it. Again, we’re gonna be fine at the end of the day cause our guys want it,” Brown said. “They have been better. We were better in Dallas. We were even better in Miami. There was a stretch where we were getting better.”

“We’re gonna do this,” he said, gesturing upward, “and then we’re gonna do this,” gesturing downward, “and hopefully we don’t do this too long. But we want to keep trying to climb up, and I’ve seen us climb up in that area. We’re gonna keep pushing them to be great in that area, and they’re gonna keep responding by being great in that area.”