2017-18 Game Thread: Knicks vs. Cavaliers

Tonight is a huge game. It is the first night of a home and home against the Cleveland “Still in the hunt for the #3 seed and the chance to play the Kyrie-less Boston Celtics in the first round” Cavaliers, which the Knicks should be destroyed by the Cavaliers in both games, leading to a real possibility that the Knicks could end up tied for the #7 seed, by virtue of the Bulls beating the Nets tonight and then the Nets beating the “No reason to care” Celtics in their final game of the season.

Either way, so long as the Knicks lose the next two games, they are guaranteed to at least end up tied for the 8th worst record in the NBA. Which is a heck of a tanking feat.

Let’s go, Nick Fazekas!

Knicks Morning News (2018.04.09)

  • [NYTimes] On Pro Basketball: Omri Casspi a Casualty of Golden State’s Numbers Game
    (Monday, April 09, 2018 2:04:01 AM)

    An injury to Stephen Curry meant the team needed a reserve guard more than it needed an extra forward. And with that, a playoff drought will continue.

  • [NYTimes] In the N.B.A., the Court and the Canvas Are Increasingly Intertwined
    (Monday, April 09, 2018 12:44:52 AM)

    N.B.A. players, past and present, have become art collectors, in part out of enthusiasm, in part as an investment, in part to have something to pass on to the next generation.

  • [NY Newsday] LeBron, Cavs help Knicks turn out the lights at Garden
    (Sunday, April 08, 2018 10:03:24 PM)

    Frank Ntilikina has had some drives to the basket in the last few games that have shown his growth as a player. But his best move of the season might not have been a basketball one.

  • [NY Newsday] Jarrett Jack has been the consummate role model for Knicks’ young guards
    (Sunday, April 08, 2018 4:41:10 PM)

    Jarrett Jack walked onto the Madison Square Garden court carrying a black trash bag, went to the far end, and pointed to some young fans. The Knicks’ veteran point guard handed them sneakers.

  • [NYDN] J.R. Smith says he can’t see LeBron James coming to Knicks
    (Sunday, April 08, 2018 1:12:55 PM)

    Dwyane Wade offered a smirking “good luck” when asked Friday night about the recruitment billboard of LeBron James.

  • [SNY Knicks] Knicks already scouting for 2019 NBA Draft
    (Sunday, April 08, 2018 11:01:40 AM)

    NEW YORK — The Knicks are only about two months away from the 2018 NBA Draft where they figure to have a lottery pick who could impact the franchise’s fortunes for years to come.

  • [NYPost] Knicks rookies reveal thoughts on what it means to face LeBron
    (Sunday, April 08, 2018 8:10:03 PM)

    The standard of greatness. A childhood idol. A runaway freight train. The best player in the world. That is what awaits four Knicks rookies Monday when LeBron James visits for the final Garden game of the season. The rookies — Frank Ntilikina, Damyean Dotson, Luke Kornet and Isaiah Hicks — all have varying degrees of…

  • [NYPost] Knicks found yet another way to test their ‘ultimate professional’
    (Sunday, April 08, 2018 3:57:27 PM)

    Coming off a serious knee injury that took a season and a half off his career, Jarrett Jack was brought in by the Knicks to mentor the likes of Frank Ntilikina. Turns out he became a starter, too, when Plan A on the Knicks’ drawing board went up in flames. But in the franchise record-tying…