Playing through what is, as of now, the worst season in franchise history has left the New York Knicks searching for answers.
On the heels of their Sunday loss to the Milwaukee Bucks—the team’s 11th in a row—the Knicks now sit at 5-31, with the most losses in the NBA. And just about everyone, from head coach Derek Fisher to the aging Amar’e Stoudemire cannot understand why.
Here’s what some of the team had to say of the Knicks’ current state, per ESPN New York’s Ian Begley:
“It’s beyond my imagination at this point,” [Stoudemire] said Sunday before a 95-82 loss to the Milwaukee Bucks that extended their losing streak to 11 games. “I never thought I’d see this. … This is definitely kind of mind-boggling.” …
“It’s a tragic thing,” said center Samuel Dalembert of the mounting losses. …
“Losing isn’t enjoyable, in any way, shape or form,” Fisher said. “So from an emotional standpoint, you have to just continue to manage what you can control and continue to keep your mind focused on positive things. I’m trying to make sure that I’m being the right type of leader for these guys. … We’re going through a lot right now as a group, so it’s my job to hold it down for them as they struggle. So if I have to take the brunt of whatever it is, then I’ll take it. That’s my job.” …
“It will turn for us,” Fisher said. “It just doesn’t look like it right now.”
No, it doesn’t look like that right now.
The Knicks’ offense is a snail-paced mess, their rotations are horrible, their defense is nonexistent. Impending cap space and a high draft pick are keeping some fans sane, but you have to wonder which free agents will want to join this dumpster fire. You also have to wonder if even the most starry-eyed prospect—say, Jahlil Okafor—can make enough of an immediate impact that the Knicks have cause to keep losing.
That’s how bad things are. It’s nearly impossible to find silver linings, even though some have tried. There isn’t a healthy Carmelo Anthony to enjoy, and Phil Jackson’s mystique is no longer an acceptable source of solace. There is only losing, and the hope that this shitshow will somehow pay off in the end.
And perhaps it will. Maybe the Knicks strike lottery gold. Or, more likely, maybe Jackson will in fact be able to parlay New York’s financial flexibility into another star. The latter seems imperative at this point, after re-signing Anthony and given the circumstances under which Jackson arrived. He’s never built a winner from the ground up before. The Knicks, then, aren’t paying him for his front office experience; it’s his clout that they’re after.
If he can make good on his name and convince free agents to join the cause, Jackson will be afforded more patience than anyone before him. If he doesn’t, well, those “Fire Fisher” chants that rang loudly throughout Madison Square Garden on Sunday will find him eventually.
Dan Favale is a firm believer in the three-pointer as well as the notion that defense doesn’t always win championships. His musings can be found at Bleacherreport.com in addition to TheHoopDoctors.com.
