The New York Knicks got their title defense off to a rocky start, suffering three straight defeats right out of the gate at the hands of the Philadelphia 76ers, the Boston Celtics, and the Orlando Magic. 

The champions bounced back with six wins in their next seven games, signaling that they figured some things out. The Knicks are now 6-5 and cruising through calm waters again after weathering the storm. 

But even after accomplishing what they did last year — the franchise's first NBA championship in 53 years — they were forced to look in the mirror and learn about themselves in order to steady the ship when early adversity hit. 

"The group is resilient," superstar Jalen Brunson said. "[We learned] that it's gonna be hard. This is a new year, new season, and new challenges, so we have to embrace all the little details while trying not to have much slippage in our process because nobody is handing anything to us. 

"And if we want to have success, which we're more than capable of, that's what some of these wins show you: that we have to go earn it."

What's not talked about enough when it comes to championship-winning teams is the extra pressure that comes with the throne. 

Yes, when you reach the summit, it can truly feel like you're on top of the world. However, the target that the success puts on your back is like nothing you've ever experienced before. 

Night in and night out, teams around the league are determined to give you their best shot, and it's not out of the realm of possibility that the Knicks simply were not ready for that. 

Befitting of champions, though, they may have wobbled, but they never fell. 

The Knicks leaned on the pedigree of their two best players, Jalen Brunson and Karl-Anthony Towns, and quickly proved that form is temporary, but class is permanent. Tough times don't last, but tough people do, and toughness is almost synonymous with the city of New York. 

Brunson himself had a slow start to the year, but he figured it out. He's now leading the team in scoring with 25.9 points per game and assists with 5.2 dimes per tilt. 

He has paced the Knicks in scoring in the last four games and in six of the last seven. 

Towns, despite contract extension turmoil in the offseason, never really looked off the pace. However, he has shifted into a different gear in recent weeks — further cementing himself as arguably the best center in the league. 

Towns is averaging 20.9 points per game and leading the NBA in rebounds with 13.8. He has notched 11 straight double-doubles. 

The Knicks had their four-game win streak snapped by the Cleveland Cavaliers on Wednesday, losing 115-107 at Madison Square Garden. But the magnitude of the defeat is nowhere near what it would have been in the first couple of weeks of the season.