The New York Knicks seemed like they were going to be one of the major favorites coming out of the Eastern Conference this season, but it's been far from that to start the year.

In fact, their Friday night opponents, the Chicago Bulls, have surprisingly been the best team in the Eastern Conference so far. On Friday, the Bulls added an exclamation point to that fact when they defeated the Knicks 135-125 to have their first 5-0 franchise start since the 90s.

After the game, Knicks head coach Mike Brown called out his team's pride and urgency in defending the basketball, especially after allowing Chicago to score 135 points.

"You gotta keep telling them the truth," Brown said. "Imma keep telling them the truth. Imma keep coaching them. I have to keep trying to put them in the best possible position to win."

"We also have to take pride, like I said, tonight comes back to guarding the basketball. We got to sit down and guard the basketball with a sense of urgency and a little bit of physicality without sending them to the free-throw line," Brown added.

How Do the Knicks Look After the Loss?

After Friday night's loss, the Knicks are now 2-3 in the standings, good for the ninth seed in the Eastern Conference. While it's way too early to worry about their position in the standings, the team has lost its last three games straight.

When New York started the season, it began with two very difficult opponents in the Cleveland Cavaliers and Boston Celtics, both of which ended up in wins. However, things came to a volatile halt since October 26, when the team lost 115-107 against the Miami Heat. Despite getting Mitchell Robinson back against the Bulls on Friday, it wasn't enough to win.

Where Do the Knicks Go From Here?

The next 10 games for the New York Knicks could very much go either way. Over the next 10, the Knicks face the Chicago Bulls, Washington Wizards, Minnesota Timberwolves, Brooklyn Nets, Memphis Grizzlies, Orlando Magic, Miami Heat, and Miami Heat again.

Roughly half of those teams are struggling, while the other half of them are surging. If the Knicks want to gain some level of momentum to move up the standings, this is the time for them to start.

If there's one thing that coach Brown wants to hammer home, it's that everything should start with the defense.