The New York Knicks came under heavy criticism during their four-game losing streak, which included losses to the Dallas Mavericks and the Sacramento Kings. Coming off an Eastern Conference Finals appearance in the year prior, it seemed as though the Knicks were steering away from that in a year that was supposed to be a major step.

Luckily, the Knicks dug themselves out of that hole, putting together a six-game winning streak as of late after their recent victory against the Los Angeles Lakers on Sunday. While the Knicks' offense has improved, the major key to their success as of late has been on the defensive end.

During the six-game winning streak, the Knicks are allowing just 91.8 points per game, and while it's heavily weighted by the 66 points the Brooklyn Nets scored, they've held four of their six opponents under 100 points.

After the victory over the Lakers, star guard Jalen Brunson was asked about the team's changes on the defensive end.

"I mean, schematically, we may change things here and there. It's definitely helped. The biggest part of our defense has been our communication, our physicality, our accountability, without having to point fingers and say who was wrong or who wasn't," Brunson said.

While the Lakers haven't been strong at three-point shooting this season, the Knicks still held them to 29% shooting from beyond the arc.

"Just kind of being on the same page, I think that's the biggest part of our turnaround so far," he added.

Looking at the upcoming schedule for the Knicks, they'll face the Washington Wizards on Tuesday before starting a stretch of three tough contests, featuring the Nuggets, Pistons, and Celtics. While winning all three would be stellar, realistically, going 2-1 is still just as good.

Entering Monday's NBA slate, the Knicks are tied for the second seed with the Boston Celtics, both teams being 5.5 games back of the Detroit Pistons for the first seed in the Eastern Conference. They likely won't have a chance at passing Detroit before the All-Star break, but could very much do so after the break.

Additionally, reporting has indicated that the team doesn't plan on making an offer for Giannis Antetokounmpo, keeping the team together as they continue this stretch of basketball. A smaller addition to their rotation might be ideal, but it's hard to say anything needs fixing given how they've played as of late.