It's Not Alright to just be OK

There seems to be an outbreak of complacency spreading around the Knicks organization faster than the flu in a kindergarten class.
(quotes are courtesy of The New York Times)

Isiah: "Those who have been around a team that wins 42, 43 games, I mean, this is what it looks like."

Steph: "I think the way he's looking at it, he's trying to be realistic... If we do better than that, that's a plus. I feel if we're healthy, we can be better than that. But right now, where we're at, with so many guys out and guys down, it would be tough to win 50 games."

Lenny: "Let's get everybody healthy and see: Are we just .500, or what?"

It sure doesn’t seem like anyone is too frustrated with being mediocre. It doesn’t seem like anyone is disappointed with being average. It doesn’t seem like anyone is going man up and keep this team from slipping every time it manages to climb a little higher.
Just because every winning streak comes with a free a losing streak (of equal or greater value) doesn’t mean that it should be. Once again, this team is too talented to lose 4 games in a row in today’s NBA. Each loss is marked by a lack of effort, focus, and determination. The Knicks didn’t get beat by the Cavs on Sunday: they beat themselves by not showing up. Knicks losses are either blowouts (see Cleveland, Dallas, Boston) or games where they fall far, far behind in the first half, stage a strong comeback, but can’t compensate for their lackadaisical start. Regardless, it’s rare that this team plays a good game from start to finish and loses. The only thing stopping them from pulling away with the Atlantic division is consistent effort.