Allan Houston never saw this coming. Latrell Sprewell was taken by surprise as well.

None of the Knicks even considered the possibility of a 2-5 start, but that's where they are. Perhaps the warped sense of reality contributed to their approach in the more troubling losses. Or maybe it really does come down to lousy defense and poor shooting.

"What we didn't realize is how much we're going to have to put into it," Allan Houston said yesterday after practice. "We put a lot into it in the past and we set that as our standard. We have to put even more into it now. That's what we're realizing."

And there's no easy road ahead.