After losing their first four road games of the year, the Knicks have an opportunity against the lowly Hornets to secure two straight road wins and end this current five-game road trip with three wins.

As this road trip comes to a close, here are five things we have learned:

It’s not exactly a new revelation how good he is on that side of the ball, but this road trip showed the Knicks defense doesn’t have to just unravel without him.

He is by far their best on-ball defender, playing a key role in keeping ball handlers out of the paint. Without him, there is even greater importance on Miles McBride, Mikal Bridges and Josh Hart as point-of-attack defenders to keep opponents in front of them and prevent the defense from collapsing and needing to help.