“Turning it around” these days for the New York Knicks entails nothing more than perhaps breaking even.

Following their ninth consecutive defeat, the Knicks are merely searching for the land of .500 basketball in 2013-2014. They sit at a miserable 3-13, are just one-half game removed from last place in the Eastern Conference and haven’t had the taste of victory in over three weeks.

The Knicks are a dysfunctional unit, complete mess and unmitigated disaster wrapped all in one. The truth hurts.

They cannot score on a consistent basis—ranking No. 25 overall (92.8 PPG), with just three games of netting more than 100 points. They cannot consistently defend either, giving up 100-plus in eight of their 13 losses.

Only five teams sport a lower point differential than New York’s negative-6.3. And only one of those squads—the 3-14 Milwaukee Bucks—suffers under a worse record.

Lowly statistical totals don’t paint the entire picture. Though, we’re still not entirely done with numbers-based analysis.

But let’s first give respect to some notable injuries.

Starting center Tyson Chandler sustained a non-displaced fracture of his right fibula on November 5. The Knicks’ inside presence and blue-collar defensive leader will not return until mid-December at the earliest.

Reigning Sixth Man of the Year J.R. Smith missed the team’s first five games after undergoing surgery on his left knee. The usually reliable scorer has averaged a measly 11.7 points per game on 33.1 percent shooting. Festering pain is certainly a major contributor toward that decline.

Injuries also forced point guard Raymond Felton (hip) to the sideline for four games. New York went 0-4 during that span.

The Knicks’s issues, however, extend far beyond physical ailments. To put it bluntly, they are fundamentally flawed from the level of ownership to head coach, from franchise player to roster placeholder.

Leading scorer Carmelo Anthony does just that—he scores. He ranks second only to Kevin Durant at 26.3 PPG. At the same time, he’s been totally inefficient.

Anthony takes more shots than any other player in the NBA (22.2). Yet, only one other player in the top-15 in scoring—Kevin Martin—averages a lower shooting percentage than Melo’s now career-low of .423.

And Anthony’s 27.7 percent from three? That comes in at 132nd among 135 qualified.

The Knicks’ franchise centerpiece completely neglects the other end of the floor to boot. He has contributed all of 0.4 wins based on his defense this season, according to basketball-reference.com. Chalk this up to defensive liability.

So, while 26-plus PPG and a career-high 9.9 RPG are nice, constantly hogging the ball—made apparent by his stingy 12.3 assist percentage—to the detriment of his team’s betterment is not.

Using up 32.1 percent of the Knicks’ offensive plays while contributing just 1.5 wins this year simply will not cut it from a supposed No. 1 superstar.

Compounding this situation are the players surrounding Anthony and the decision-makers in charge of putting them there.

Andrea Bargnani is a seven-footer that shoots but does nothing else. A glorified shooting guard masquerading at center does a total disservice to the game of basketball—Knicks or otherwise.

Smith, meanwhile, is a volatile personality who demands the ball just as much as Anthony. And like his teammate, he is shooting at a career-worst clip. Putting these two together on the hardwood is incomprehensible at best.

Felton, for his part, is an overrated piece. He has not approached his career-best averages of 17.1 PPG and 9.0 APG from 2010-2011 over the past two-plus campaigns. The Knicks are presumably operating under nostalgic pretenses with him at point guard.

Rounding out the noteworthy disappointments are Iman Shumpert, Metta World Peace and Amar’e Stoudemire.

Shumpert is a defensive stud at shooting guard but contributes next to nothing offensively. A below-average 10.7 player efficiency rating is proof enough. One can generally find his name in weekly trade talks as well.

World Peace—or the man formerly known as Ron Artest—is well past his prime at age 34 and doesn’t strike the same fear in opponents on either end of the floor. He is worth negative-0.1 wins at this stage in his career.

And the ghost of the once prolific Stoudemire can be seen hobbling around for 12 or so minutes per game. He and his preposterous $21.6 million salary this year continually hamper the Knicks from all possible angles.

Now, head coach Mike Woodson is a quality, no-nonsense leader. He has certainly won in the past with these very same Knicks, finishing in first place in the Atlantic at 54-28 last season.

But his defensive acumen and team-building leadership has run its course. He is simply over his head at this point with this defunct roster.

In that respect, blame lies at the feet of owner James Dolan and general manager Donnie Walsh. They championed the idea of the Knicks being a championship-worthy team, despite assembling a total non-complementary personnel grouping.

Here are the shortcoming highlights:

• Felton is not an adequate floor general.
• Chandler is rarely healthy and Bargnani is not a viable backup at center.
• Metta World Peace, Pablo Prigioni and Kenyon Martin are all on the wrong side of 34.
• The entire bench for that matter is either too old or too ineffective.
• Smith cannot play well with others, Stoudemire cannot play at all and Anthony cannot function efficiently with either Smith or Stoudemire on the floor at the same time.

Yes, the Eastern Conference is officially awful from the No. 3 seed on down. Not one single team has a record above .500 apart from the Indiana Pacers and Miami Heat.

But the Knicks are certifiably worse from top to bottom.

They will not be turning around this breaking ship in 2013 or anytime soon.

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