The Knicks host the Butler/Mirotic-less Bulls tonight in a game that is a key game for the future of this squad. They’ve been losing some hard-luck games recently, which suggests that they’re probably a little better than this current streak shows, and, of course, being “a little better” is the worst thing for this team overall, so a win tonight could be very bad for them.
I’m attending the game. I presume they’ll win because they’re better off losing, so at least I’ll get to see the stupid Bulls lose. They’re so dumb. They’re like the mirror image Knicks, except they have a legit superstar on their team in Jimmy Butler (already – while KP is on his way).
EDITED TO ADD: Oh boy, I get no Butler AND no Porzingis. Awesome.
This has to be the Knicksiest last 48 hours. Well maybe not the Knicksiest, as they didn’t trade any draft picks for an overpaid and over-the-hill scorer in that time. But it’s hard to argue that it hasn’t been a Knickly two days.
It started when New York drops a home game to the Pelicans, competing like an actual NBA team for a half, before playing a third quarter that saw a 9 point deficit balloon to 25. In that period Knicks star Carmelo Anthony got himself ejected. And tough-guy Kyle O’Quinn decided to try to end the career of Anthony Davis. Or as I like to call Davis, “the super star most likely to move teams and win a championship in his next stop.” Way to make him cross off the Big Apple as a destination, KOQ. (Although it’s hard to argue that New York, given the current state of affairs, was a destination for The Brow anyway.)
On the court last night, the team toys with the Sixers, taking them about as seriously as the adults playing the nieces and nephew’s in a backyard game after Thanksgiving dinner. Of course despite their mediocre effort, the Knicks had the opportunity to close the game out on the final possession. Instead of running a play that might give them a chance to score, they allowed their point guard to dribble into a triple team and … well … I know you know what happened next.
If their on the court performance wasn’t enough, reports surfaced that the franchise’s main off-season acquisition, Derrick Rose, went AWOL for Monday’s game. Supposedly he left the team to go back to Chicago, but didn’t notify management with a call, text, or email, despite going to an airport. (You know the place you wait for hours doing nothing but play with your phone.)
The Knicks’ suits botched their handling of this situation, much like the team bungled their last 2 games. There’s a reason some franchises win year after year. Good owners hire competent front offices and the trickle down effects results in wins. Maybe not every year, but surely more often than not. And if that were ever in doubt, look at the Los Angeles Lakers, and how their dynasty has suffered since the death of Jerry Buss. Or look at how Mark Cuban turned around perennial loser Dallas into a solid franchise.
The Knicks lose on the court, because the ownership hires the wrong front office staff, who acquire the wrong players. Our team is so incompetent that they can’t even get some basics right, like how to discipline players or what basketball philosophy to enact on the court.
This will not change, because ownership is blind to the problem. Everyone who has suffered through an addiction problem, or knows someone who has, understands there is no progress until the addict can admit they have a problem. Yet before the start of the last season MSG thought the Knicks were a playoff team, and they ended with the worst record in franchise history. This year, our “Big 3” was supposed to make the playoffs and then some. Yet statistical minded folk knew both teams were doomed to the lottery from the start.
I started this blog in 2004, and the Knicks have given me 10 losing seasons and only 4 playoff appearances. And I’m pretty sure every fan here reading this has been a Knick fan for at least that long. Last night I had my notes ready for a game recap. I had some witty ideas of a Russian/Wikileaks hacked version. But then New York put on their perverse show, and a wave of disgust came over me — and I couldn’t stomach the joy to go through with writing about them in a fun & light way. So all I’m left with is this:
Butler, an All-Star swingman, is averaging career highs of 25 points and 6.7 rebounds a game, but Chicago, like the Knicks, is lingering outside the playoff pack.
PHILADELPHIA — In Clarence Gaines Jr. We Trust. According to a source, the major reason the Knicks kept defensive forward Maurice Ndour over point guard Chasson Randle coming out of training camp was the lobbying by Gaines, a trusted confidant of Phil Jackson, who has gone from an adviser to vice president of player personnel….
PHILADELPHIA — Disappearing Knicks point guard Derrick Rose was fined roughly $200,000 for missing Monday’s loss to the Pelicans without notification, sources said. Coach Jeff Hornacek indicated the Knicks followed the code used for a player being suspended for one game — which is 1/110th of his $21 million wage or roughly $200,000. A source…
PHILADELPHIA — All Kristaps Porzingis really had to do was hit the rim. Oh, making the shot would have been nice, but the Knicks would have settled for a piece of the rim. Or even the backboard. Just not the bottom of the net, which was all that Porzingis’ 3-point shot found with 6.8 seconds…
PHILADELPHIA — At one end of the Wells Fargo Center on Wednesday night, 76ers coach Brett Brown, who has won just 20 percent of his games since the 2013-14 season, spoke of optimism for the future, admitting his team was much closer to being where they have tried to get for three-plus years. At the…
PHILADELPHIA — Derrick Rose showed up, shined and still couldn’t prevent the Knicks from losing a buzzer-beating heartbreaker. T.J. McConnell scored on a spinning, off-balance 10-footer after faking out Carmelo Anthony as the Sixers stole a 98-97 victory Wednesday at Wells Fargo Center, setting off a wild celebration after the Knicks blew a 13-point fourth-quarter…
PHILADELPHIA — Carmelo Anthony admitted it was “scary’’ and “worrisome for everyone’’ when the Knicks took the court Monday night not knowing whether Derrick Rose was in serious danger. Monday night turned into a horrible one for Anthony, too, as he got ejected in the third quarter of a blowout loss to the Pelicans at…
Guard Jimmy Butler and forward Nikola Mirotic will both miss Thursday’s game against the Knicks with an illness, reports K.C. Johnson of the Chicago Tribune.
New York Knicks forward Mindaugas Kuzminskas is feeling better and should be good to play in Wednesday night’s game against the 76ers, head coach Jeff Hornacek said.
PHILADELPHIA — Derrick Rose was present and accounted for and showed up for the Knicks in the fourth quarter. But the Knicks’ defense and ability to hold a big lead went AWOL down the stretch.
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