New York Knicks at Philadelphia 76ers
Game 39: January 11th , 2017
76ers 98, Knicks 97
Written by Eric Weinstein – @ericcweinsteinn
flagrant2blog.blogspot.com
Karma, you know what they say about it.
The Knicks, losers in 8 of their last 9 games, took a ride down to the city of brotherly love and took on the 76ers. Led by, “The Process” Joel Embiid, the Knicks lost another heartbreaker 98-97 on a turn-around jumper by TJ McConnell (who?) at the buzzer. This team has officially hit rock bottom, everybody. Derrick Rose returned to the starting lineup (more on that later) and had a strong game with 25 points. Carmelo Anthony scored 28, and Kyle O’Quinn was a monster on the glass with 15 rebounds to go along with his 10 points. Embiid led the sixers with 21 points.
Takeaways from this game
Karma:
There is no reason Derrick Rose should have played in this game, and it doesn’t matter how well he played. I read an article from the Daily News, and Frank Isola called the Knicks handling of Rose, “bad karma.”; Derrick Rose bailed on his team, and was fined. That’s all. That is absolutely ridiculous. Rose deserved to be suspended at the very least, one game. Problem is, the Knicks had to have this one, so Jeff Hornacek had no choice but to put Rose back in the starting lineup.
You know what they say about karma, and it bit the Knicks bad tonight. That’s not why the Knicks lost, obviously, but it’s a place for me to put the blame, so I’m going to do it.
It’s all over but the crying:
This season? It’s over, Johnny. The Knicks are now 1-9 since Christmas. Let that sink in. 1 and freaking 9. Remember what happened last season when the Knicks had a stretch like this? The coach got fired, to refresh your memories. Now, I don’t think the same thing will happen, and I really like Hornacek as the coach, but for the love of Bernard King, something has to change.
This team as presently constructed, has no chance to compete in the playoffs, even if they get there. What’s the sense in getting swept by Cleveland or Toronto, when you can get a better chance of a high draft pick in the lottery? Losing sucks, especially since New York was tied for the 3 seed not too long ago, but this team has to be realistic and see what they can get for guys like Derrick Rose and Kyle O’Quinn. It hurts to say this, but the Knicks are done after a loss like last night. Never would’ve thought that TJ McConnell would be the one to stick the dagger in the heart of the Knicks.
The suck fest will continue Thursday night at MSG against the equally disappointing Chicago Bulls, led by Dwyane Wade and Jimmy Butler. I guess I’ll watch it, because I guess I enjoy watching my favorite team disappoint night after night. Hopefully, Kristaps Porzingis can bounce back from a tough night and lead New York to a home victory. It’s been a while since we’ve seen one. Hang in there everyone, we’ve gotten through worse. 17-22.
The New York Knicks Podcast 
Mark, Jay,
WHat the fuck man…I dont claim to be an expert, but I am pretentiously confidant in my knicks analysis. Ive cut this team down to 3 reasons we are failing. it could be 1 of these, it could be all, or it certainly could be none. Do you support any of these theories for why the knicks are a dumpster fire and how addressing that could very well be a miracle pill?
1: Melo’s inability to play defense and that hes clearly old to the point where he has to selectively decide when to use his energy. he might literally be the 1 puzzle piece that if we can move, the team will look and play completely different. I might do an even swap with him for Wilson Chandler: No confusion about whos the team and a 3-4 guard who can give you 15 a night. oh yeah, and a fast break will exist again.
2. Derrick Rose isnt the right point guard for us. Even though he can unarguably score some baskets, he is really a lower echelon ball distributor, which is sooooo what the team needs to be effective, and if we are stuck with melo, that even furthers the argument of needing a true floor general to make him more effective as he continues to get less agile with age. I would take 14-16ppg and 6 assists over more points and fewer playmaking.
3. Both of these guys arent compatible with one another and its hurting Porzingis MOST OF ALL. Derrick Rose and KP dont seem to have developed ANY chemistry at all which is really saddening. ANY ANY ANY ANY! KP with a real stud PG to play off is in my opinion the most vital element for the future, hate to say it, but just remember back to the first year with Amare and Raymond felton. Those 2 gelled and it showed significantly in their Win column (while keeping in mind those 2 were not even overly memorable. They worked great together and had more success than they shoulld have had as a result.
Do you guys agree with any of these points as they stand alone without trying to factor in who and how we can fix it through trade?
Stefan
Sugar Loaf Legend
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