With the Knicks close to the second seed, they are going to need everyone at their peak heading into the playoffs.
The New York Knicks came into Thursday night's game in Charlotte looking like a team that had finally figured things out.
Winners of seven straight and sitting at 48-25, they were pushing hard for the No. 2 seed in the Eastern Conference with momentum and real confidence building.
Then the Hornets happened.
Charlotte's 114-103 win wasn't just a loss on the schedule.
This one raises real questions about how ready this group is for the postseason.
The Hornets (39-34) controlled the second half from start to finish and made the Knicks look a step slow on both ends.
Kon Knueppel went off for 26 points and became the youngest player in NBA history with 250 threes in a season, while LaMelo Ball added 22 and Brandon Miller chipped in 21 to push Charlotte's own win streak to five.
The Win Streak Was Real, but So Were the Cracks
Before Thursday, the Knicks had won 10 of 13 and owned the league's best defensive rating since late January.
But five of those seven straight wins came against losing teams, and New York made most of them way closer than necessary.
Slow starts were a theme all month long, and the Charlotte loss felt like those warning signs finally catching up.
The Hornets jumped ahead 24-14 early behind Ball's hot start, and even though Jalen Brunson scored 17 in the first quarter to keep it close, Charlotte took over late in the second quarter and led by 18 heading into the fourth.
Josh Hart's Shooting Has Been a Bright Spot
One of the better storylines for the Knicks lately has been Josh Hart's shooting from deep.
Since March 1st, Hart has averaged 13.8 points, 8.5 rebounds, and 4.1 assists while connecting on 1.4 threes per game, and he went 5-for-5 from deep against Indiana on March 17th while dropping a season-high 33 points.
Even in Thursday's loss he was one of the few guys who actually competed, putting up 16 points on 7-of-11 shooting with a career-high-tying five steals.
Health has been the main concern with Hart since he's been dealing with knee issues off and on this year, but when he's on the floor he's been one of the most valuable role players in the East at 12.2 points, 7.6 rebounds, and 5.0 assists on 50.5 percent shooting.
Can Mikal Bridges Be Trusted When It Matters?
And then there's Mikal Bridges, who has become maybe the most talked-about Knick for all the wrong reasons.
His season averages look fine, with 14.8 points and 3.9 assists on 48.6 percent shooting and 37.2 percent from three.
But since the All-Star break, the drop-off has been steep, with Bridges shooting just 32.6 percent from deep and averaging around 10.8 points while scoring in double figures just twice over an eight-game stretch.
He went scoreless against the Los Angeles Lakers and got benched in crunch time against the Los Angeles Clippers, which is not what you want from a guy on a four-year, $150 million deal.
Teammate Josh Hart defended him publicly, noting that the offense doesn't run many plays for him and that the criticism has been somewhat unfair.
That may be true, but the Knicks gave up five first-round picks for Bridges, and the results have to match the investment.
The Knicks sit at 48-26 with eight games left, still in good shape for the third seed.
But with Oklahoma City and Houston on the schedule next, the answers need to come fast.