There were a handful of defensive possessions in the Knicks’ 116-99 loss to the Minnesota Timberwolves on Friday where the shell remained intact, the defense was sound, and Wolves shooters made the shot anyway. There were other moments, albeit fleeting, where the defense was up to par on superstar scorer Anthony Edwards, who turned a blind eye to the heavy contest and made the shot anyway. But the vast majority of the remaining defensive possessions were troubling for a team supposedly tailor-made to stop these very problems in their tracks. The Knicks went all-in on acquiring Mikal Bridges and OG Anunoby to be the backbone of a defense capable of neutralizing elite perimeter scorers. Yet Edwards exposed their shortcomings on Friday. So did Julius Randle, who beat the Knicks with the pass. Edwards missed six of his first seven shots — all his own doing — but went on to make 11 of his final 14 attempts. He finished with 36 points, dismantling a Knicks defense that struggles to guard the point of attack and does not rotate efficiently to contest open shooters. Randle scored just eight points, but five of his six assists were to open three-point shooters. He generated 17 points by commanding a double team, reading the porous Knicks’ defense and hitting the open man. The Timberwolves shot 22-of-40 from downtown on Friday. This wasn’t simply a case of Minnesota getting hot from beyond the arc. It was yet another example of an opponent systematically dismantling one of the league’s worst three-point defenses. Opponents know the Knicks’ pressure points — and on Friday, the Timberwolves pressed them all. At the heart of New York’s defensive struggles lies a fundamental breakdown in what Tom Thibodeau often emphasizes: moving on the flight of the ball. “It’s two-fold. It’s containment and the dribble penetration. And there’s so many different aspects of you’re in defensive transition, individual defense, and then it’s your shell. Your shell really applies to everything,”  Thibodeau said after the loss. “So that’s why I’m saying when you’re guarding the ball, there needs to be communication: You can’t get beat with a penetrating drive on the first drive. Maybe our physicality could have been better there. So that’s a big part of it. And then are we caught in-between [a rotation]? You want to be in already, so when the ball is being picked up, you’re starting your recovery. A step makes a big difference.” PRESSURE POINT 1: BRUNSON DOES NOT GUARD HIS POSITION Rarely, if ever, do the Knicks task Jalen Brunson with defending the point of attack — despite it being his natural position. At 6-1 with below-average foot speed, Brunson is ill-suited to match up against himself. To mitigate this, the Knicks hide him on the opposing team’s least threatening non-center scorer. Against the Timberwolves on Friday, Brunson opened the game defending 37-year-old Mike Conley. But when Conley torched him for the first seven of his 10 first-quarter points, the Knicks shifted Brunson onto one of Minnesota’s non-scorers, such as Jaden McDaniels or reserve wing Nickeil Alexander-Walker. The problem is, smart opponents exploit this strategy. They create cross-matches off the ball or set screens to force Brunson to switch onto the ball. It’s exactly what the Timberwolves did late in the fourth quarter to help keep the Knicks at bay. Yet it’s one thing for Brunson to struggle as an on-ball defender. The issue becomes magnified when he falls asleep off the ball, leaving his team vulnerable to unnecessary breakdowns. The lapses began immediately on Friday when, on the very first play of the game, Brunson was caught ball-watching as Edwards missed a mid-range shot and Randle secured the offensive rebound. Meanwhile, Conley began getting back on defense but stopped above the break, and received a pass for an uncontested three-pointer as Brunson lagged behind. “There’s always room for improvement in every single aspect of our game and we’re not going to just single [defensive rotations] out,” Brunson said. “It may have looked like that tonight but as a team we just need to be locked in, and for me, I have to be locked in as well. It starts with me.” These moments aren’t isolated. They happen often, exposing weaknesses in the Knicks’ defensive shell. With under 9:30 left in the fourth quarter and the Knicks down six, Randle forced the New York defense to collapse in the paint, pulling four Knicks into his vicinity. Brunson made it five, inexplicably turning his head away from his man to watch Randle, who saw the overcommitment and kicked the ball out to Alexander-Walker for an open three, with Brunson arriving late on the contest. It’s the type of play that doesn’t always get noticed because Brunson’s defensive assignments often miss a few open looks each night. But on a team struggling with defensive rotations, these lapses compound the problem. PRESSURE POINT 2: BRIDGES GUARDING THE POINT OF ATTACK Give Bridges credit where it’s due. Despite Anunoby’s reputation as the Knicks’ premier defender, the responsibility of guarding the opposing team’s best scorer often falls on Bridges’ shoulders. Whether or not Bridges is the right fit for this role has been an ongoing debate at Madison Square Garden this season. At 6-6 with a 7-1 wingspan, he certainly profiles as a defensive stopper. Yet his foot speed — or reaction speed — has been a glaring issue. His overall strength and physicality when fighting over screens or defending the ball-handler have also left something to be desired. The result? Opposing point-of-attack scorers frequently gain a step on Bridges, leaving him trailing behind after being shifted out of position by a well-placed screen. And sometimes, the screen isn’t needed at all. Sometimes, an opponent can go between the legs, hesitate, then uncork a crossover to shift Bridges out of his defensive stance and get a straight line drive to the rim. It’s the move Edwards used to get an uncontested layup midway through the third quarter on Friday. Yet this issue extends well beyond individual matchups. It’s the broader impact of Bridges’ struggles that truly exposes the Knicks’ vulnerabilities. When Bridges is beaten at the point of attack, the Knicks’ defensive shell collapses, forcing rotations that often come late — or not at all. The ripple effect compromises the entire system, creating open looks for shooters or easy lanes to the basket. The Knicks’ defense often starts with Bridges but ends with a teammate rushing late to close-out on the open shooter. “[Edwards] was very, very aggressive throughout, and the one thing is his volume of 3s has gone way up this year, so I knew he would keep shooting, and he made a number of good plays as well,” said Thibodeau. “But he’s a tough cover, and you need all 5 working together and you’ve gotta try to make him work, and that’s probably the biggest thing is to make him work. He’s gonna get some, but you’ve gotta make him work for those points, and that requires everyone working together.” PRESSURE POINT 3: INCONSISTENT DEFENSIVE PLAY AT THE FIVE This might be the most critical piece of the Knicks’ defensive struggles. The center is the backbone of any defensive scheme, responsible for anchoring the paint, communicating rotations and directing traffic. Yet, this season, the Knicks have been without a proven defensive anchor, leaving their system vulnerable. Karl-Anthony Towns, while a gifted scorer, is not a natural rim protector. His time alongside Rudy Gobert, a four-time Defensive Player of the Year, hasn’t translated into an elite defensive presence. Precious Achiuwa offers versatility, physicality and rebounding, but his 6-8 frame is better suited for the four, a position where Thibodeau has praised his effectiveness in the past. Jericho Sims is an athletic option but lacks the defensive IQ needed to anchor a system, and it’s no secret the Knicks have been exploring trade options for him ahead of the Feb. 6 trade deadline. Mitchell Robinson, on the other hand, has the potential to change everything. As one of the league’s premier rim protectors and offensive rebounders, Robinson could be the missing piece for a defense that has devolved into a liability this season. However, he has yet to make his debut after undergoing a second surgery to repair a stress fracture in his left ankle, and his ability to stay healthy remains a question mark. Without Robinson, what was once a stout Knicks defense has been masked by their all-time potential offense. Yet even with Robinson in the past, the Knicks have struggled against stretch fives, a weakness that opponents like the Timberwolves have learned to exploit. On Friday, Minnesota weaponized Naz Reid in this role, often positioning him alongside Randle, who commands frequent double teams. The result was a defensive collapse. Reid hit his first three 3-pointers, yet Achiuwa still cheated off him to help Bridges — despite Anunoby already rotating off of Edwards to help contain Randle. The poor decision-making left Reid wide open for his fourth consecutive three-pointer. By the night’s end, he was a perfect six-of-six from beyond the arc. The ripple effect of inconsistent play at the five is clear: the Knicks’ defense struggles to rotate effectively, opponents exploit their lack of size and discipline, and the absence of a true anchor leaves gaps that no amount of scoring can consistently cover. Until Robinson returns — or the front office addresses the issue via trade — the Knicks’ defensive woes at the five will remain a glaring pressure point. And opponents will continue to press all three as the Knicks continue their spiral to start the New Year.