Fansided

How bad are the New York Knicks?

By James Simpson II

Jan 8, 2015; New York, NY, USA; Fans wearing paper bags sit court side at the game between the New York Knicks and the Houston Rockets at Madison Square Garden. Houston Rockets won 120-96. Mandatory Credit: Anthony Gruppuso-USA TODAY Sports
Jan 8, 2015; New York, NY, USA; Fans wearing paper bags sit court side at the game between the New York Knicks and the Houston Rockets at Madison Square Garden. Houston Rockets won 120-96. Mandatory Credit: Anthony Gruppuso-USA TODAY Sports /
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How horrific are the New York Knicks?

I hate to say it New York sports fans – I have to admit I’m a semi-Knicks fan – but the Knicks are without a doubt the worst team in the NBA this season and they have been downright horrific. That’s right even worse than the Philadelphia 76ers who were the runaway favorites for about a month-and-a-half during the season, however that title has been relinquished over to the Knicks and they won’t be giving it away anytime soon, you can believe that. For a franchise that has a deep historic background like the Knicks, this has to be the lowest of lows for the franchise and especially for die-hard fans.

The Knicks are currently 5-34 and have the worst record in the NBA and they seem to be getting worse every game. There’s no silver lining with this squad. The roof has officially collapsed on this team. Dare I say, this season is probably worse than any season when Isiah Thomas was the President of Basketball Operations…and that’s saying something (Still love you Zeke). My guess is Spike Lee is completely losing his mind and with stats and facts like this I can totally see why…

• The Knicks have had two double-digit losing streaks this season: their currently on a 14-game losing streak and had a 10-game losing streak earlier this year. To add, they’ve had a 7-game losing streak as well
• Ranked 29th out of 30 teams in Points per game at 93.1
• Ranked 29th out of 30 teams in Rebounds per game at 39.5
• Ranked 21st out of 30 teams in Points allowed at 101.2
• Ranked 24th out of 30 teams in Offensive Rating
• Ranked 28th out of 30 teams in Defensive Rating
• The Knicks are losing games by an average margin of 10.8 points per game
• They’ve lost seven games by 20 points or more
• They have the second worst point differential (-8.5) in the league behind Philadelphia

Those stats would freak anybody out.

Dec 25, 2014; New York, NY, USA; New York Knicks president Phil Jackson watches during the second quarter against the Washington Wizards at Madison Square Garden. Mandatory Credit: Brad Penner-USA TODAY Sports
Dec 25, 2014; New York, NY, USA; New York Knicks president Phil Jackson watches during the second quarter against the Washington Wizards at Madison Square Garden. Mandatory Credit: Brad Penner-USA TODAY Sports /

To add, their best player (Carmelo Anthony) has been injured of late and there’s talk about him possibly shutting it down for the rest of the season to pretty much rest for next year because this year is a lost season. Amar’e Stoudemire has actually been healthy for the first time in like four years and is playing pretty well (13.1 ppg, 7.4 rpg in 26 minutes) but it’s a waste because they stink. Youngster Tim Hardaway Jr. and Carmelo got into a rumored heated argument this year over Carmelo not going after a rebound during a game. Boy that’s comical!

The Knicks have been trying to run the triangle offense this season and they’ve had no luck whatsoever mainly because the personnel doesn’t fit. No disrespect to guys like Cole Aldrich, Quincy Acy, Travis Wear, Shane Larkin, and Jason Smith but these are the guys the Knicks are giving the bulk of the minutes to and that’s a recipe for piling up countless losses. First-year coach Derek Fisher is still trying to figure this thing out and I wouldn’t be surprised if Phil Jackson doesn’t show up at another home game at MSG for the rest of the season. I hear he’s been attending games for the Knicks D-League team instead. They just traded fan favorite J.R. Smith and Iman Shumpert to create more flexibility financially and waived center Samuel Dalembert which will save them 3.8 million in salary cap space.

At this point, Phil has already mailed in the season (which he should and is smart too) and their main focus should be on losing as many games as possible so they can set themselves up to have a good pick come time for the 2015 NBA Draft. So, if that means sitting your $120 million-dollar star player for the rest of the year, then go right ahead. What difference is it gonna make if he plays anyway? I’m not going to get into whether ethically it’s the right thing to do to sit your stars down and that ends up pissing off fans that pay their hard-earned money for tickets to see the best players in the world play, but it happens all the time people and if the Knicks decide to shut Melo down for the season, then so be it. In other words, they should just tank the rest of the year. Yes, the daunting T word.

Can you see Duke’s Jahlil Okafor or Kentucky’s Karl Anthony-Towns in a Knicks uniform next season New Yorkers? I certainly can. That’s what it has come down to.

Let’s all hope for better days in the future for the New York Knicks. The NBA is better when they’re relevant and appealing to watch.

Next: Who is the greatest player in the Knicks' storied history?

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