New York Knicks:
Offense: (104.5) 29th
Defense: (111.9) 23rd
Net: (minus -7.4) 26th
Results Week 15: (1-2) Won vs. Pacers: 92-85, Lost vs. Hornets: 92-97, Grizzlies: 106-127
Games Week 16: (4 games) Mon at Cavaliers | Thurs vs Magic | Sat at Pistons | Sun at Hawks
It didn’t seem possible the Knicks season or the franchise could stoop lower than where they began the season. Then Wednesday night happened and the end of game brawl punctuated how frustrated the players, team, and fans are in the Mecca.
Was Jae Crowder out of line for his move to steal the ball and then dribble out to hit the 3-pointer? Absolutely – that’s not something a team or player with any insight on “proper protocol” does. Then again, I’m also not a supporter of teams who watch opponents dribble out the clock and not run up the score only to watch them run down count and put up an undefended 3-pointer to make the score appear less egregious.
The Knicks and Grizzlies had to be separated after Elfrid Payton’s hard foul on Jae Crowder late in the 4th. pic.twitter.com/t1YWR5Wxdt
— ESPN (@espn) January 30, 2020
The fact is we’ve seen the Knicks do precisely that in losses this season. So if you’re going to call out an opponent for running up the score you need to be equally cognizant of your own actions.
Regardless, for as much as what Elfrid Payton did was unacceptable in the old era of the sport his action would’ve been considered par for the course. The Grizzlies shouldn’t be happy with Crowder either, because his actions could’ve resulted in Morant or Valanciunas getting injured as Ja ran to defend him and then JV to protect Ja.
And this wasn’t the only drama as the Knicks (seemingly) decided to turn off the visitor’s water in the showers:
Ja Morant says there’s no hot water and only 3 drops of water coming out of the Knicks visitor showers.
— Kristian Winfield (@Krisplashed) January 30, 2020
“This is beyond me,” he said.
The Grizzlies are actively trying to get both hot water and water pressure to take showers right now.
As for the Knicks, it’s understandable the vets, in particular, are frustrated with losing and equally understandable the fans have reached their threshold. Unfortunately, James Dolan has a cash cow in Madison Square Gardens and isn’t about to heed the chants of “sell the team”.
A loud "Sell the team" chant rises up at MSG with Knicks down 18 and a fracas on the court just broken up. MSG starts piping in loud music to break it up. Things are not going well in New York tonight. pic.twitter.com/X9zM0VQ3Vg
— Mike Vorkunov (@MikeVorkunov) January 30, 2020
While the NBA would be best served by the largest market being among the best teams the reality is as long as James Dolan owns the Knicks it’s hard to imagine that situation changing.