Jalen Brunson can keep the blame, the Knicks' real problem is 9 for 38

Jalen Brunson says the Knicks' 0-3 start falls on his shoulders. That's a nice thing for a captain to say, and it's the wrong diagnosis. If New York buys it, the Knicks are going to spend a week fixing something that isn't broken.

What broke on Sunday was the jump shot. The Knicks went 9 for 38 from 3 in the 111-102 loss to Orlando at Madison Square Garden, and Brunson was 1 for 7 of those. He scored 28 and needed 28 shots to get there. ESPN had them walking in 29th in offensive efficiency. You don't need a leadership retreat to read that. You need the ball to go in.

Brunson talked about organization and making sure guys are ready in the right spots, and I'll take him at his word that there are little things. Now look at how the game was actually lost. New York led 86-76 with 9:20 left after an OG Anunoby floater. Franz Wagner, who started the night 1 of 10, scored nine points in an 11-0 run, and Orlando closed on a 35-16 burst. The Knicks gave up 40 in the fourth quarter and committed eight of their 14 turnovers in it. That's cold shooting, sloppy hands and a defense that went home early. The point guard was still the best scorer on the floor.

The best argument against me comes from the head coach, so let's hear it. Mike Brown said his team looks a step slow, agreed it looked lethargic, and said there was "no crispness or sharpness" in the frontcourt on either end. He pulled Andre Drummond in the first half after Wendell Carter Jr. beat him down the floor for a layup. That's effort, and if you want to call effort a leadership issue, fine. I'll concede the Knicks look like a team that hasn't won a game since Game 5 of the Finals and isn't in a hurry about it.

Slow doesn't explain 9 for 38, though. And slow teams don't open on a 12-0 run, which is how this one started. Brunson even said it himself: when they get those runs, they look like the team they've been. He should've stopped talking right there.

The scary-sounding part is the trivia. First defending champion to start 0-3 since the 2011-12 Mavericks. Those Mavericks won their fourth game. Three games is three games, and I'll say every year that October results mean almost nothing. I'm not changing that because the team plays in New York and the graphic looks bad.

What would worry me is the Knicks taking Brunson's version seriously and rebuilding an offense that mostly needs a normal shooting night. Detroit comes to the Garden unbeaten on Tuesday. If New York shoots like itself and still loses, I'll start taking the leadership talk seriously and admit Brunson knew something I didn't. Until then he can set the blame down. He's carrying enough already.

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