These Knicks go from scintillating to aggravating and back again

The Knicks can be scintillating. They can be fascinating. They can look like the most advanced form of basketball geometry some nights, when the passing is on point, and when the defense produces fast break opportunities. They can be electric. They can be a delight to watch. They can make you dream big, crazy dreams.

The Knicks can be agitating. They can be aggravating. They can sometimes get bogged down on both ends, the ball too often staying in one place, and there are nights when it seems they do little other than allow wide-open 3s. They can be dull. They can be a chore to watch. They can make you wonder if they can even get out of the first round.

The Knicks, in short, are impossible to pigeonhole.

And that makes them an anomaly in a sporting time when we legislate all seasons on a game-by-game basis. Time was, only football received this treatment, and that was natural since it has the fewest games and the shortest season. A two-game losing streak in football in a 12- or 16- or 17-game season is a potential calamity.