Anthony Edwards struggled mightily through the opening six minutes of the first quarter on Friday in New York. He looked entirely out of rhythm, missing his first six shot attempts. Then he shifted gears and started aiming to get others involved,

The Knicks’ defensive shell is broken. Rotations are slow — or sometimes nonexistent. As a result, games that start as competitive contests often devolve into target practice for opponents. The issue runs deeper than just late closeouts.