Open Letter to Knicks Fans: We are Delusional

Dear Knick Faithful,

I have been concerned with the overwhelming positive fan reaction regarding the Knicks’ offseason this summer, so in response, I am reverentially writing this letter to inform you: we are unequivocally the most delusional fan base in the National Basketball Association.   I assume you must be pondering: “Who the are you to say something like that?”

Please allow me to overture this by saying, we generally are the most obsessive fans in the league; it is admirable how we consistently fill the World’s Most Famous Arena, whether the team stinks or not.  Unfortunately, in regards to our Knickerbockers, while we excel in loyalty, we are severely lacking in intelligence.  It is baffling the amount of praise we are giving Phil Jackson for this offseason.  Let us not forget Jackson’s draft debacle. Despite what NBA draft experts claim, we were justified in booing Kristaps Porzingis. We decorously assumed the pick was catastrophic. Jackson drafted a player, who will probably make little to no impact, thus effectively wasting another year of Melo’s prime.  Don’t be shocked if Melo eventually waives his no trade clause, and decides he wants out of New York. A month later, we’re praising Jackson for taking the long-term approach in rebuilding this team back to prominence, instead of taking the “quick fix” approach, an approach that has bedeviled us for almost two decades. Of course, no one raised the question: how exactly does one rebuild with a 31-year-old star in Melo, who delayed knee surgery, just so he can impersonate John Starks, in an all star game?

 In addition, let us also not forget, when Phil Jackson was hired on March 18^th, 2014, he stated, he planned to make a big splash in this free agency class.  He reiterated this statement in March, as the Knicks were in the middle of the worst season in franchise history, stating, “We know what the first-round pick is going to mean for us, but we also know we're going to build our team with free agents.”

Jackson, whose  $12 million a year salary exceeds league MVP Stephen Curry’s[1], failed to make a big splash in free agency, in fact, he failed to even make a ripple. When did our standards become so low, as to where Robin Lopez, a decent center, but certainly not a game changer, Aaron Affalo, a pro who is basically on a one year deal, but is slightly overrated, especially on defense and Derrick Williams, an athletic four, but has been a bust since being drafted number two overall four years ago, warrants a successful offseason? [2], A few months ago, if someone had told you the Knicks would land Robin Lopez, Aaron Affalo, Kyle O'Quinn, and Derrick Williams this offseason, would you have been satisfied? I’ve heard fans claim this was the plan all along; Jackson wanted use cap space, to find role players, who fit his outdated system (The Triangle), instead of max guys like LaMarcus Aldridge or Marc Gasol.  Let’s be honest with ourselves, given the chance, do we really think Jackson wouldn’t have signed Aldridge or Gasol?  I’ve even heard fans claim players will perform at a higher level in a structured system. For example, Demarre Carroll was a journeyman his first few years in the league, before blossoming into an excellent ‘three and D’ player in Mike Budenholzer’s system in Atlanta and just became the highest paid player on the Raptors.  Do we really think Derek Fisher, who arguably was the worst coach in the NBA last season, can pull the same feat?

After all of these moves, according to the gambling website Bovada, the Knicks have just 150-1 odds to win the championship, after having 50-1 odds to win the championship last year. That’s right, there is actually a less chance the Knicks will win the championship. So I ask you again, how successful was this offseason?

I will give Jackson some credit: he and his eleven rings, have amazingly hypnotized an entire fan base, in such a way that makes even Sam Hinkie jealous.

Unfortunately, when someone constitutes a negative point, or a possible concern, we have a tendency to designate that person as a hater.  For example, we designate guys like Frank Isola and myself as “Knick haters” due to our propensity for negatively writing about the Knicks, but praise guys like Alan Hahn, who notably had Jason Smith in his “ideal starting five.” May I ask, what makes us Knick haters? Do we not bleed orange and blue, similar to the rest of you? May I remind you this is the worst stretch in franchise history? We’ve dealt with terrible teams, despite high payrolls, due to abysmal trades and draft choices. Not to mention, we’ve only had the pleasure to witness one playoff victory since 2000, after setting an NBA record for most consecutive playoff losses. Are we not allowed to be naturally pessimistic after nearly two decades of incompetence?  I understand things can eventually turn around, we need to look no further than the Golden State Warriors, the current NBA champions, who were incompetent for decades, before an ownership change and some shrewd moves, led to their first Larry O’Brien trophy since 1975.  Believe me, if the Knicks start to progress, I will be the first one to praise them, but I will continue to criticize the team, if need be. I’m not guiltless either, but at least I have the decency to recognize what is actually going on.

 If you want to join a Knicks group filled with positivity, join the Knicks’ Click, a group on Facebook, which is over 16,000 members strong.  It’s a closed group, but I’ll be glad to add you, if you’d like. You can all sing kumbaya songs, while holding hands and all of that jazz.

As long as James Dolan is the owner, we should continue to have my doubts on whether things will eventually turn around, no matter what high profile name Dolan decides to hire next. Oh believe me, it will happen again, and once again, we will be genuinely excited, despite the lack of experience that person may have in whatever position they’ll get hired for.[3]  How excited were Knicks fans, the day Phil Jackson was hired as President of Basketball Operations, despite never having experience running a team?  And as long as we continue to attend the game, purchase the merchandise,[4] Dolan won’t have any incentive to sell the team.

I urge you to open your eyes; hopefully after reading this letter, you will start to see what ‘s really going on. I don’t hate any of you, despite the ridiculous statements, in regards to the Knicks, I hear on a daily basis. I’ve consistently used the word “we”; despite our opposing views, we are in this together, And if you disagree, that’s fine, but try to articulate intelligently, instead of resorting to using the appalling “hater” phrase.

Of course, I’ll be watching our Knickerbockers this season, and I look forward to debating with you all.

                                                                                    Sincerely,

                                                                                    A realistic Knick fan.

 

 

---

[1] Curry signed a four-year, $44 million extension in October 2012

[2]  I will admit, I am a fan of the Kyle’ O’Quinn signing, as he is a fantastic passing big man and his some range; at only $4 million a season, I believe we are getting a steal.

[3] Isiah Thomas and Derek Fisher, are other examples that come into mind.

[4] I admit, I should be the last one discussing purchasing merchandise; after all, I’m considering spending over $100 dollars on a t-shirt.

Worst Knick Team of All Time?!

Horrid….

That would be the ideal word to describe the Knicks so far this season.  The first quarter of the season ended Friday night, with a heartbreaking loss to the Charlotte Hornets, a team who had previously lost 10 games in a row.  No equitable Knick fan thought the Knicks would contend for a championship this season.  But even the most cynical Knick fan could not have expected this! Conceivably, fans should have listened to Carmelo when he said, "It's about next year when we have cap space."

 Despite playing one of the easiest schedules in the NBA, the Knicks are now losers of eight games in a row.  The Knicks are now 4-18, which is the worst start in franchise history. They currently have the third worst record in the league; only the Detroit Pistons, who already beat the Knicks this season, and the Philadelphia 76ers, who are deliberately losing games for the 10000^th year in a row, are worse.  Although the Knicks play in the ghastly Eastern Conference, the Knicks’ playoff aspirations are nothing but a pipe dream.

            So far, the vaunted Triangle Offense has been a disaster.  The Knicks play at the slowest pace in the NBA (89.5 possessions per game), which isn’t unusual in the Triangle Offense; the 90s Bulls routinely played at a slow pace.  But unlike Phil Jackson’s Triangle Offenses in the past, the Knicks are 26th in points per game, only scoring 93.5 points per game and 21^st in offensive rating, scoring only 104.2 points per 100 possessions.  They are last in free throw makes (13.6 a game) and free throw attempts (17.5).  Obviously, the offense doesn’t look as magnificent without players such as Jordan, Pippen, Kobe, and Shaq, but how can a team with one of the greatest scorers in NBA history, be so atrocious on offense?

            The defense has been proportionately as putrid as the offense.  Their pick n’ roll defense is still abysmal, and they tend to foul way too often; opponents are attempting 26.5 free throws a game, which is 25^th in the league.  As a result, they are 12th in opponent’s points per game (99.0). That’s more indicative of the Knicks slow pace; consequently, they are 27th in defensive rating (110.1 points per 100 possessions). The Knicks were never expected to be the ’94 Knicks (the greatest defensive team of all time in my opinion), especially with the lack of defenders on the team, but watching the Knicks struggle to play defense every night has been exasperating to watch.

            First time Head Coach Derek Fisher has been abysmal so far. Fisher seems way over his head as a coach, which is understandable since he did not have any prior coaching experience.   To his credit, the Knicks do seem to be playing harder than they did last season.

He’s enforced a bizarre defensive strategy, which prioritizes the Knicks to protect the rim at all costs, even if it means giving up wide open three point shots. Consequently, the Knicks are 25^th in three-point shooting percentage defense and they give up the third most threes in the league. His rotations are a mess; the Knicks have had 11 different starting lineups, part of that is due to Jose Calderon’s injury, which is the most in the league.   His crunch time adjustments are nonexistent; in seven of the Knicks eight straight losses, the Knicks were down only one possession in the 4^th quarter.  In every one of those games, the Knicks execution was abysmal to say the least. How many times are the Knicks going to refer to Melo isolation ball late in the fourth quarter?  For goodness sake, Fisher can’t even get a timeout called correctly!

He’s been cautiously optimistic throughout this season. After a buzzing beating loss to the Jazz, a reporter asked him, “ How do you feel after a loss like that?”  Fisher responded,  “Excitement, belief. That’s what Knicks fans want to see.”  Yes Coach Fisher, I’m sure that is what the fans, who constantly spend their dollars on overpriced season tickets, want to see.   By the way, Steve Kerr, Phil Jackson’s first choice, has Golden State off to their best start in franchise history (17-2).

After the Knicks lost to the Nets, I pondered whether this potentially could be the worst Knick team of all time. I received some interesting feedback from Knicks fans:

“ You don’t have any idea what you’re talking about, the Knicks just need time to gel.”

“Any team with Carmelo on it can’t be the worst team of all time. Just keep trusting Phil Jackson.”

“Once the Knicks master the Triangle offense, they will be unstoppable, keep doubting them if you want to.”

            Currently, the Knicks are projected to lose 61 games, which would be most in franchise history.  But does that mean they are the most dreadful team of all time? According to Basketball Reference’s Simple Rating System (SRS), which takes into account average point differential and strength of schedule, this current Knick team is worst of all time, with an SRS rating of -6.62.

 Lets compare this Knick team to the other four Knick teams with the lowest SRS rating.  Brace yourself for this, Knick fans!

            The 2007-2008 (SRS rating -6.54) Knick team started out with some pretty lofty expectations.  After trading Channing Frye and Steve Francis for Zach Randolph, fans were genuinely excited about Knicks and pairing Randolph with Eddy Curry. The Knicks were hoping for the revival of the Twin Towers.

Remember this?

But as usual in the James Dolan era, the Knicks season, turned out to be a catastrophe. Curry and Randolph proved to be ineffective together when on the court.  The Knicks attempted and failed to trade Randolph and Curry before the trade deadline. Curry’s season ultimately ended in March with a torn meniscus in his right knee.   There was a public feud between Stephon Marbury and Isiah Thomas. Marbury even threatened to “dish info” on Thomas after finding out he wouldn’t be starting a game against the Phoenix Suns and then eventually went AWOL.  Marbury only played 24 games (the Knicks were 6-18 in those games) before having season ending ankle surgery in February. Then there was this in November:

The Knicks were 21^st in points per game (96.9) and 22nd in opponent’s points per game (103.5). They were 23^rd in offensive rating (104.7) and 29^th in defensive rating (111.9), which was the worst in franchise history. They ended the season at 23-59, which is tied for the most losses in NBA history.  At least Thomas eventually was fired at the end of the season right?

            After failing to qualify for the playoffs in 2005, 2005-2006 Knicks (SRS rating -6.30) were hoping to redeem themselves. The Knicks seemed to have upgraded their coach, when they hired Larry Brown, who replaced Herb Williams, who was the interim Head Coach after Lenny Wilkens was fired resigned.  Ironically, the Knicks had one of the worst seasons in franchise history and Larry Brown turned out to be one of the worst coaches in Knick history.  Brown used more than 42 different lineups, which is the most in NBA history. He routinely feuded with Marbury, even once saying, “So, you're the best guard in the league and the team is 17-45, yeah, it's the coach's fault.   I’ve never left a team in worse shape than I got it. Not once. Now think about that. Think about me and think about the guy who's talking. All right? I've never asked anything of my players any different than I'm doing right now. Think about that.”  The Knicks were a circus show on a nightly basis, finishing 23-59, which was the second worst in the NBA only to the Portland TrailBlazers, after finishing a pedestrian 33-49 the previous season.  The Knicks finished the season 20^th in points per game (95.6), 27th in opponent’s points per game (102.0), 24th in offensive rating (104.0) and 26th in defensive rating (111), which is fourth worst in franchise history.  Here are some reminders of how dreadful that team was:

And this:

The 1962-1963 Knicks (SRS rating -6.20), coached by Eddie Donovan, the dreadful coach in Knick history, were an NBA laughingstock. They had the lowest winning percentage (.263) in franchise history, finishing with a record of 21-59, which was the worst in the league. They finished 37 games out of first place! The Knicks were 7^th in points per game (110.5), 6th in opponent’s points per game (117.7), 8th in offensive rating (93.5) and 8^th in defensive rating (99.7).  Sounds impressive right? Unfortunately there were only nine teams in the league at the time.  The Knicks had Richie Guerin, who was the most underrated player in Knick history, but also had a cast-off of below average players surrounding him.  Somehow, the Knicks suffered losing streaks of ten, eight, seven, and six games.

            The 1963-1964 Knicks (SRS rating -5.91) were just as dreadful as the previous year’s version.  For the second year in a row, the Knicks finished with the worst record in the league (21-58).  The Knicks didn’t have a problem scoring, finishing 3^rd in points per game (112.2) and third in offensive rating (95.4), but were atrocious on the defensive end finishing last in opponent’s points per game (119.0) and last in defensive rating (101.2). After two games, Guerin, who was ready to quit after enduring one losing season after another, was traded to the St. Louis Hawks. “I still enjoyed playing basketball with the Knicks, but losing takes a lot out of you” Guerin said after being traded. The Knicks experienced two losing streaks of nine games, and one seven game losing streak.

            This current Knick team has a long way to go to become the worst Knick team of all time, but don’t count them out!  Even though Coach Fisher predicted the Knicks would make the playoffs, they might be accidently tanking to secure a high draft pick. There have been various reports that the Knicks believe that they will strikeout with Marc Gasol this summer, so they may try to target a blue chipper such as Jahlil Oakfor or Karl-Anthony Towns. The draft is only 198 days away. All of you Knick fans, who recite “In Phil We Trust” after every loss and believe the Knicks will turn this around as the season progresses, don’t count on it.

It won't hurt as much, I promise!