The New York Knicks have a problem with playing away from Madison Square Garden. Losses in Chicago and San Antonio this week have dropped the Knicks to 2-12 on the road, where they’ll be spending most of the next six weeks.

But those losses also exposed another issue for the Knicks. They were the 10th and 11th time that the Knicks have failed to make more than five 3-pointers. Only two other teams — the Lakers (eight) and Timberwolves (five) — have had more than four games in which they haven’t made more than five 3s. There are six teams who have never failed to make at least five 3s this season.

The Knicks have taken just 25 percent of their shots from beyond the arc, the lowest rate it the league. They’re the only team that has taken more mid-range shots than 3-pointers. So, while they rank eighth in the league in field goal percentage (46.6 percent), they rank 20th in effective field goal percentage (51.1 percent). They shoot well, but don’t get good value from their shot selection, because two is less than three.

Stefan Bondy of the New York Daily News addresses the issue:

Unlike while under Phil Jackson’s triangle spell (when the Knicks were in the bottom-10 in 3-point attempts for three straight seasons), this isn’t by design.

Hornacek is encouraging more 3-pointers. It just isn’t happening.

“Of course I want more,” the coach said. “We’re not getting many. Some of them we’re passing up. We’re not getting the penetration sometimes to kick it out. On the break, they got to be able to let them fly.”

So what’s the problem? The Knicks are slow and their point guards — Jarrett Jack and Frank Ntilikina — are neither great at shooting 3s (35 percent between them) nor good at penetrating to create that shot for others.

Tim Hardaway Jr.’s absence — which is at 14 games and counting — has dampened New York’s transition game, cutting into those 3-pointers created early in the shot clock.