Carmelo Anthony agrees the Knicks are “the laughingstock of the league,” and just about all of his teammates concur with Jason Kidd’s assessment that both the Knicks and the Nets “stink.”
Well tell us something we don’t already know. Better yet, the Knicks need to show us what they’re going to do about it.
The self-deprecation that went on Wednesday after the Knicks held their last full practice before Thursday night’s showdown with the Nets at the Barclays Center was noble on the surface. You are what your record says you are and the Knicks’ 3-13 says they, well “stink.”
But if there is ever going to be a time when the Knicks can slow their free-fall into oblivion and further chaos, it must begin Thursday night against the Nets in Brooklyn.
Seldom has a franchise so desperately needed to win a game. The signs of implosion are starting to multiply like mold on bread. There are rumors coach Mike Woodson will lose his job if the Knicks don’t beat the Nets. There are rumors Anthony has already decided to opt out of his contract and the negativity surrounding the franchise. There are rumors that anyone from Jeff Van Gundy to Allan Houston could succeed Woodson and there are rumors the players don’t get along.
A victory over the Nets quiets all that noise at least for the moment and gives the franchise a much-needed chance to exhale. “When you win it settles a lot of things,” Anthony said. “We’ve got to start somewhere. Just as quick as we started losing games in a row, I feel like we can start winning games in a row.”
It’s sad when you think about it. This should be a rivalry game with bragging rights to the city at stake. Instead, there’s little to brag about, especially when it comes to a Knicks team that’s searching for an identity and confidence.
The cliché is records go out the window when rivals meet, but for the Knicks this game is all about trying to end their nine-game losing streak that has ruined their own record.
“We’ve got to start off with one win whether it’s Brooklyn or anybody else,” J.R. Smith said.
That’s easier said than done. There’s no real reason to believe things will getter much better for the Knicks anytime soon. Smith, who pointed out he has played only three weeks of basketball in the last six months, missed two valuable days of practice resting his surgically repaired knee. The second-best player on the team said he intends to play Thursday night, but the rust in his game isn’t going away any time soon.
“It’s frustrating because I want to play,” Smith said. “Whether it’s pickup, practice or a game, I always want to play because basketball is what I love to do. But at the same time I have to listen to my body and not overdue it.”
The Knicks maladies — Smith’s gimpy knee, Tyson Chandler’s broken leg, Amar’e Stoudemire’s lack of production, and a team aversion to playing consistently good defense — are being compounded by all the growing distractions surrounding the team.
Questions about Woodson’s job security, Anthony’s impending free agency and the shame of being the league’s laughingstock came on a day when team owner Jim Dolan visited the Knicks and Rangers training facility. General manager Steve Mills and Houston, the assistant GM, were all at practice though no one offered anyone a vote of confidence.
You would think the players would rally and try to save Woodson’s job. Last season, he got them to the Atlantic Division title, got the best out of Smith and got them into the second round of the playoffs. But the Knicks can’t seem to help themselves, much less their coach.
“It’s hard to go from the highs of last year to the lows of this year in a matter of seven months,” Smith said.
That’s nothing to laugh about.