{"id":1317,"section":"sports","section_label":"Sports","url":"https://www.brokenews.co/sports/1317","headline":"Defending champion Knicks open season 0-3","dek":"New York has lost to the 76ers, Celtics and Magic, including one game they led for most of the way before collapsing in the fourth quarter.","body":"The Knicks are off to the worst possible defense of their title, dropping their first three games despite bringing back essentially the same roster that won it all. Losses to Philadelphia, Boston and Orlando have the defending champs searching for answers, with the Orlando game particularly sour since New York held the lead for most of it before fading in the fourth quarter.\n\nPart of the problem looks less like a hangover and more like a tougher neighborhood. The Eastern Conference has gotten stronger around them, and the margin for error that got the Knicks through last season appears to have shrunk.\n\nHistory offers a sliver of comfort. The Knicks are just the third defending champion this century to start 0-3, and at least one team has managed to open 0-3 and still win the title, though that was Michael Jordan's Bulls, not exactly a reassuring comparison for anyone else. There is also a reminder that this roster has weathered rough stretches before without it meaning much by season's end.\n\nFor now, nobody is panicking, at least not publicly. But three games in, the champs look nothing like one.","published_at":"2026-10-26T22:20:53.943122+00:00","source_count":3,"written_from":[{"outlet":"CBS Sports","publisher":"CBS Sports","title":"More than a championship hangover: Four reasons behind Knicks' troubling 0-3 start","url":"https://www.cbssports.com/nba/news/more-than-championship-hangover-four-reasons-behind-knicks-troubling-start/"},{"outlet":"Yahoo Sports","publisher":"Yahoo Sports","title":"Knicks are 0-3, and Michael Jordan’s Bulls are only team in NBA history to start 0-3 and win title","url":"https://sports.yahoo.com/articles/knicks-0-3-michael-jordan-154819306.html"},{"outlet":"New York Post","publisher":"New York Post","title":"These Knicks have had bad stretches before, so don’t panic at 0-3 — yet","url":"https://nypost.com/2026/10/25/sports/these-knicks-have-had-bad-stretches-before-so-dont-panic-at-0-3-yet/"}],"more_coverage":[{"outlet":"Yahoo Sports","publisher":"Yahoo Sports","title":"How to watch Magic vs Knicks: NBA, live stream, TV channel","url":"https://sports.yahoo.com/articles/watch-magic-vs-knicks-nba-220000773.html"},{"outlet":"Yahoo Sports","publisher":"Yahoo Sports","title":"Knicks stumble again as defending champs start 0-3 after loss to Orlando Magic","url":"https://sports.yahoo.com/articles/knicks-stumble-again-defending-champs-015514417.html"},{"outlet":"Yahoo Sports","publisher":"Yahoo Sports","title":"Knicks drop to 0-3 after 111-102 loss to Magic","url":"https://sports.yahoo.com/articles/knicks-drop-0-3-111-020900201.html"},{"outlet":"Yahoo Sports","publisher":"Yahoo Sports","title":"Knicks match troubling trend last seen in 2011 after loss to Magic","url":"https://sports.yahoo.com/articles/knicks-match-troubling-trend-last-032007351.html"},{"outlet":"Yahoo Sports","publisher":"Yahoo Sports","title":"Mike Brown gets brutally honest as Knicks’ winless streak continues after loss to Magic","url":"https://sports.yahoo.com/articles/mike-brown-gets-brutally-honest-052941289.html"},{"outlet":"Yahoo Sports","publisher":"Yahoo Sports","title":"‘Embarrassing,’ ‘Serious Wake-Up Call’ — Concerns Mount As Defending NBA Champion Knicks Make Unwanted History With Disastrous 0-3 Start","url":"https://sports.yahoo.com/articles/embarrassing-serious-wake-call-concerns-061523604.html"},{"outlet":"Yahoo Sports","publisher":"Yahoo Sports","title":"New York Knicks tie 2011 Dallas Mavericks record for worst season start from reigning NBA champions","url":"https://sports.yahoo.com/articles/york-knicks-tie-2011-dallas-080000826.html"},{"outlet":"Yahoo Sports","publisher":"Yahoo Sports","title":"Knicks Have Issues To Sort Amid 0-3 Start","url":"https://sports.yahoo.com/articles/knicks-issues-sort-amid-0-103956670.html"}],"image":{"url":"https://sportshub.cbsistatic.com/i/2026/10/26/ffd8984f-e635-4c59-8fd7-4356c31dea05/mikal-bridges-getty-4.png","credit":"CBS Sports","width":1920},"embed":null,"license":"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/","attribution":"Analysis data is licensed CC BY 4.0. Credit brokenews and link to the story page you took it from. Source headlines, story titles taken from a source headline, and quoted passages remain the property of their publishers and are quoted for comparison, not licensed onward.","terms":"https://www.brokenews.co/about#reuse"}