Tracking the highs and lows of the New York Knicks
With the recent, apparently “contentious” meeting between ostensible franchise cornerstone Carmelo Anthony and president Phil Jackson behind them, the New York Knicks have hit another ebb in a vast sea of disappointment stretching back to the end of the Patrick Ewing era. With a handful of notable exceptions — the 54-win 2012-13 season foremost among them — the Knicks have been nothing short of Enron-esque in their ability to convince themselves, and only the foolhardiest among their fans, of their own importance and relevance despite the flood of fire surrounding them.
All of this, after charging out of the gate 14-10 and at one point sitting alone with the No. 4 seed in the Eastern Conference. Their unique ability to immediately juxtapose hope and any success with a self-implosion is almost impressive, though the millions of their fans certainly beg to differ.
To count every Knicks’ low point going back to Ewing’s trade to the Seattle SuperSonics would take a lifetime, yet to count every point of joy in that same time may only last a lunch break. When taking the stroll through recent Knicks fandom, certain guidelines are necessary. As such, what follows are singular moments, highs and lows from each season of the past five, beginning with that magnificent run to the No. 2 seed in 2013.
2012-13
High: May 3, 2013 – Knicks 88, Celtics 80, clinching the first playoff series win for the Knicks since 2000
First, the happier times. After reaching the playoffs for the third consecutive season following a 54-win campaign, their most since 1997, the Knicks finally won a playoff series after consecutive first round exits in the previous two years. Following his scoring title victory, Carmelo Anthony averaged 29.2 points and 5.3 rebounds as New York knocked off Boston, in what turned out to be the final Celtics game for both Paul Pierce and Kevin Garnett.
Low: May 18, 2013 – Pacers 106, Knicks 99, losing the second round series to Indiana
Fifteen days later, however, the Paul George-Roy Hibbert Pacers shooed the Knicks out of the playoffs once again after six, not particularly close games. While much has changed, with Roy Hibbert in Charlotte and Lance Stephenson being out of the league, the Knicks regressed to their seeming mean and haven’t returned to the playoffs since.
2013-14
High: Jan. 24, 2014 – Knicks 125, Bobcats 96; Carmelo Anthony sets his own career high while breaking the Knicks’ and Madison Square Garden’s single-game scoring record with a 62-point outburst
In the singular performance which may very well come to define his career, Carmelo Anthony scored 62 points on 23-35 shooting, including 6-11 on 3-pointers and 10-10 from the charity stripe. He pitched in 13 rebounds. As one may assume, he did not contribute a single assist but was a game-high +34 in 39 minutes of action. It was a truly mesmerizing display of all-around scoring with Melo at his absolute best.
Low: July 10, 2013 – the Andrea Bargnani Trade
Pop quiz, hot shot: Do you know what costly Italian big man did not play in that Carmelo game? Not so fast, Luigi Datome. Against the Philadelphia 76ers two nights previous, Andrea Bargnani tore a ligament in his left elbow during, of all things, a gloriously failed dunk attempt. Bargnani went on to miss the rest of the regular season, which wouldn’t have been a terrible tragedy given that he was playing essentially league-average basketball at the time, but for the fact that the price tag which brought him to New York the previous summer had been, to put it lightly, preposterous.
For the underperforming former first overall pick, the Toronto Raptors had received Marcus Camby, Steve Novak, Quentin Richardson and — I rolled my eyes just now, because here it is — a future first round draft pick (2016) and two future second round picks (2014 and, of course, 2017). That trade pulled the mind-bending trick of essentially ruining the Knicks’ season before it even began, as well as much of their future. The 2014 second rounder became Xavier Thames, currently playing in Macedonia, but the first rounder became Jamal Murray, who has shown flashes of solid play in Denver this year. Reminder: the Knicks could really use a point guard whose knees aren’t made of talc.
2014-15
High: Feb. 16, 2015 – Buying out Amar’e Stoudemire’s contract, concluding All-Star Weekend
All-Star Weekend 2015 was a period of great relief for Knicks fans. On the one hand, Carmelo Anthony was going to shut it down after playing in the game, which he felt obliged to do after being named a starter given that it was occurring in New York. Despite his ongoing knee troubles, which eventually led to surgery, Anthony insisted on playing in and ultimately helping to win meaningless basketball games for a bad team which, for once, owned its own first round pick in the upcoming draft. Once the break passed, Anthony chose to rest for the remainder of the season. To go along with that, the Knicks finally bought out Amar’e Soudemire’s contract, roughly four years and one Chauncey Billups amnesty too late. Still, it felt like the Knicks were returning the favor to Stoudemire, who deserves a slice of credit for returning New York to basketball relevance after signing there in 2010.
Low: April 13, 2015 – Knicks 112, Hawks 108, costing New York undisputed top-two lottery seed
It turned out to be a blessing in disguise, but at the time it felt like a betrayal. A Knicks team heavily featuring Langston Gallaway, Tim Hardaway Jr. and Jason Smith somehow beat the 60-win Hawks who were missing only one of their four All-Stars, Paul Millsap, that night. The win meant that the Knicks had played themselves out of a guaranteed top-two slot in the lottery for a loaded NBA Draft. Eventually sliding to fourth, Knicks fans felt that the gods had rectified the universe after whatever happened in 1985 by exacting some punishment.
2015-16
High: June 25, 2015 – At the NBA Draft, the Knicks select Porzingis
That pick became Kristaps Porzingis. Initially bemoaned by fans who had never heard of the Latvian. Under the stereotypical “soft European” label, Porzingis has grown into the clear centerpiece for a post-Carmelo Anthony future. In only his second season, he may very well be New York’s best player already. The 21-year-old has captured the fickle hearts in Madison Square Garden with his unique and growing combination of skills, all in an otherworldly 7-foot-3 frame.
Low: Feb. 22, 2016 – The world becomes aware of Kurt Rambis’ Twitter
In a year full of problematic internet tendencies and polarizing social media presences, it seems only fitting that Kurt Rambis, former 7th Heaven guest star and the interim Knicks head coach at the time, got caught having liked salacious content on Twitter. Yet again, the theatre-style lighting in the Garden appropriately shone upon a court full of jesters.
2016-17
High: Dec. 11, 2016 – Knicks 118, Lakers 112
The Knicks’ win, on the road in Los Angeles, capped off a marvelous stretch of basketball during which they had won six of their previous seven. At 14-10, New York appeared to be firmly in contention for a playoff spot, with the Porzingis-Anthony dynamic having generally reached an amicable equilibrium. Complementary pieces Courtney Lee, Kyle O’Quinn and Brandon Jennings were contributing well, and Mindaugus Kuzminskas and Willy Hernangomez were pleasant surprises. Even Derrick Rose was playing with a consistency not seen in years.
Next: John Wall has transcended space and time
Low: Jan. 9, 2017 – Derrick Rose goes AWOL
The Knicks’ season has fallen apart since roughly Christmas, as they have won just two of their previous thirteen games. Of the utmost embarrassment was Derrick Rose’s surprising absence from the starting lineup on Jan. 9 against the Pelicans after leaving without telling the team. That night, Anthony Davis put up 40 points and 18 rebounds in just under half an hour of work, as both Carmelo Anthony and Kyle O’Quinn were ejected in the loss.