The New York Knicks had a rough night again.
They lost to the Detroit Pistons on Thursday. That made it 3 losses to Detroit this season. A full regular season sweep.
What makes it worse is how the games looked. The Knicks were not really close in any of them. They lost Thursday by 15 points. On January 5 they lost by 31. On February 6 they lost by 28.
For a team that is supposed to fight for the top spot in the East, that is not a good sign.
Still, the players do not seem too worried.
Recent trade pickup Jose Alvarado spoke after the game. He said the regular season does not mean everything. He said the playoffs are different. He made it clear the team is not thinking they cannot beat Detroit just because of these losses.
His message was simple. When it really counts, that is when it matters.
This is not the first time the Knicks have been in this spot. Last season they were swept in the regular season by the Boston Celtics and the Cleveland Cavaliers.
They did not see Cleveland in the playoffs. But they did face Boston. And they beat them in 6 games in the Eastern Conference Semifinals.
That gives fans some hope.
It shows that regular season results do not always decide what happens later.
There is one difference this time. Those teams were led by Tom Thibodeau. Now the Knicks are coached by Mike Brown.
The big question is whether Brown can get this group to raise their level when the playoffs arrive.
Right now the losses look bad. But inside the locker room, the belief still seems strong.