THE KNICKS ARE 0-3… SOMEBODY CHECK ON MADISON SQUARE GARDEN!

Somebody, please check on the Knicks fans because this season has officially gone from "Relax, it's early" to "Okay… what the hell is going on here?"

The defending NBA champions are 0-3.

YES… ZERO AND THREE.

And before somebody hits me with, "Errol, it's only three games!" I KNOW! But if your defending champion team starts the season 0-3, I'm allowed to raise one eyebrow and say, "UHHHH… WE GOT A PROBLEM!"

The Knicks lost to the Orlando Magic 111-102 Sunday night at Madison Square Garden, blowing a 10-point fourth-quarter lead with just over nine minutes remaining.

Let me repeat that. TEN-POINT LEAD. WITH NINE MINUTES LEFT!

And then Orlando scored 40 points in the fourth quarter. FORTY! At that point, the Knicks weren't playing defense. They were apparently running a "Please Score" promotion.

"Come one, come all! Everybody gets a bucket!"

And Jalen Brunson? Brunson finished with 28 points, but he shot 12-for-28 from the field and went 1-for-7 from three-point range. After the game, Brunson took responsibility for the team's offensive struggles, saying everything falls on his shoulders.

I appreciate the accountability. But Jalen… YOU DON'T HAVE TO TAKE ALL OF IT!

Somebody else needs to grab a piece of this mess!

Because the Knicks aren't just struggling to shoot. They're struggling with energy, defense, turnovers, transition defense, physicality and apparently remembering that the game lasts 48 minutes.

The Knicks came out Sunday like they had somewhere to be. They jumped out to a 12-0 lead. TWELVE TO NOTHING! Knicks fans were probably already planning the parade.

"OH YEAH! HERE WE GO!"

Then Orlando said, "Hold on. Y'all celebrating a little too early."

And slowly but surely, the Knicks gave the game away.

That's been the problem through these first three games. We've seen flashes of the team that dominated during last year's playoff run. Then suddenly… POOF! Gone.

It's like somebody keeps unplugging the Knicks.

Brunson said the Knicks need to keep their foot on the gas, and I agree. Because right now, they put their foot on the gas AND THEN TAKE IT OFF AT THE FIRST RED LIGHT!

And Coach Mike Brown wasn't exactly handing out participation trophies after this one either.

When asked if the Knicks looked lethargic and a step slow, Brown didn't hesitate. He agreed.

No hesitation. No political answer. No coach-speak. Just an acknowledgment that his team looks slow.

I LOVE IT.

And then Brown said something that might become the quote of the season:

"Our crap stinks."

Coach… THANK YOU!

Finally! Somebody in New York is telling the truth!

The Knicks' crap currently smells like three straight losses and an offense that entered Sunday's game ranked 29th in the NBA in offensive efficiency. And after what we just watched against Orlando, I don't think anybody's rushing to call this offense a masterpiece.

But here's the scary part. Paolo Banchero didn't even play for Orlando because of an ankle injury.

And Franz Wagner basically said, "Don't worry, I got this."

Wagner finished with 23 points, 13 rebounds and nine assists. But get this. TWENTY-ONE of those points came in the fourth quarter!

TWENTY-ONE!

The Knicks apparently watched Franz Wagner take over and said, "Yeah, let's see how this plays out."

IT PLAYED OUT BADLY!

And it wasn't just Wagner. Orlando started knocking down shots from everywhere, while the Knicks kept making mistakes. New York committed eight turnovers in the fourth quarter alone.

EIGHT TURNOVERS IN THE FOURTH!

You cannot expect to win basketball games when you're giving the other team that many opportunities, especially when you're supposed to be the defending champions.

And now, just when you think things couldn't get any more interesting, here come the undefeated Detroit Pistons.

Tuesday night. AT MADISON SQUARE GARDEN.

The same Pistons who handled the Knicks during last year's regular season are coming into the Garden with a perfect 3-0 record.

So let me get this straight.

The defending NBA champions are 0-3. Their offense is struggling, they're shooting bricks from three, they're turning the ball over, their coach says they look slow, and their star player is taking responsibility for everything.

And now the UNDEFEATED PISTONS are coming to town?

NEW YORK, PLEASE FASTEN YOUR SEATBELTS!

Because Tuesday night could either be the night the Knicks finally say, "Okay, enough playing around. We're back."

OR… it could be the night Knicks fans start Googling, "How early can you trade everybody?"

Now, I'm not saying the Knicks are finished. NOT EVEN CLOSE.

It's three games. There are 79 games left in the regular season, and nobody wins or loses a championship in October.

But this is exactly what Jalen Brunson said we'd learn about this team. He said the first couple of weeks would tell us who they really are and how they respond when things get difficult.

Well, Jalen… CLASS IS IN SESSION.

And right now, the Knicks are sitting in the back of the classroom going, "Can we get the homework extension?"

The good news? They still have plenty of time.

The bad news? THEY BETTER FIGURE THIS OUT QUICK.

Because New York doesn't do patience very well.

You win? WE LOVE YOU!

You lose three straight? TRADE EVERYBODY! FIRE THE COACH! SELL THE TEAM!

That's New York basketball.

And look, I understand the frustration. This is a team that just won an NBA championship. The expectations aren't just to make the playoffs anymore. The expectations are to get back to the Finals and do it all over again.

But right now, they don't look like a team that's ready to defend anything.

They're not playing consistently, they're not finishing games, and they're allowing opponents to come into Madison Square Garden and take over when the game matters most.

That's not championship basketball.

So Tuesday night against Detroit is already starting to feel like a "prove it" game. Not because the season is over, but because the Knicks need to show everybody that this 0-3 start is just a bump in the road and not the beginning of a very long episode of:

"WHAT THE HELL IS WRONG WITH THE KNICKS?"

And if they blow another fourth-quarter lead?

I'm bringing the emergency equipment.

SOMEBODY CALL 911.

THE KNICKS ARE ON FIRE…

AND NOT THE GOOD KIND.