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Daily NBA Fix: The New York Knicks Are No Longer A Punchline

By Ben Gibson

Nov 20, 2015; Oklahoma City, OK, USA; New York Knicks forward Carmelo Anthony (7) drives to the basket against Oklahoma City Thunder guard Andre Roberson (21) during the fourth quarter at Chesapeake Energy Arena. Mandatory Credit: Mark D. Smith-USA TODAY Sports
Nov 20, 2015; Oklahoma City, OK, USA; New York Knicks forward Carmelo Anthony (7) drives to the basket against Oklahoma City Thunder guard Andre Roberson (21) during the fourth quarter at Chesapeake Energy Arena. Mandatory Credit: Mark D. Smith-USA TODAY Sports /
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On today’s Daily NBA Fix, the New York Knicks are playing above .500 basketball and are no longer the NBA’s biggest joke.

Daily NBA Fix
Daily NBA Fix /

From the moment Carmelo Anthony was blocked by the then Indiana Pacers center Roy Hibbert in the 2013 NBA Playoffs, it seemed like nothing went right for the New York Knicks.

They were ahead in that Game 6 with about five minutes left but they were soon eliminated from the playoffs. Hope abounded going into the 2013-14 season but they finished just one game outside of the playoffs. In the 2014-15 season, however, the bottom dropped out entirely. Things were already looking bad in December, but by New Year’s Eve they were 5-29 and effectively out of the playoff hunt.

Much of it was understandable as a injured Melo only played 40 games, but with the team imploding they shipped off perennial headache J.R. Smith along with Iman Shumpert off and started looking for answers.

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They hoped that maybe coach Derek Fisher and president Phil Jackson could get the triangle to work in New York. At that point though it seemed like Jackson’s ideas were showing their age and Fisher wasn’t ready to be a head coach yet. It wasn’t ‘goink’ing very well. It couldn’t have been goink’d much worse, as New York’s offensive rating (99.9) was 29th in the league and their defensive rating (110.0) stood at 28th.

And it didn’t help James Dolan owned the team. It never does.

But right now there is something different, something strange to see in Madison Square Garden.

Watchable, entertaining basketball.

It certainly helps that Carmelo Anthony is healthy again after shutting things down after the All-Star Game in February, but the fact that Kristaps Porzingis is becoming a star right in front of us already is pushing things forward as well.

They’re hovering around league average in both offensive and defensive rating now, but that’s vastly improved from a season ago. The defense has picked up its intensity after a slow start and they have a 7-6 record after knocking off the Oklahoma City Thunder 96-93 last night.

There is still plenty to work on in New York, but now the Knicks are no longer the punchline to a joke.

Gasol Gets A Triple-Double

Memphis Grizzlies center Marc Gasol got his first career triple-double with 16 points, 11 rebounds and 11 assists in a 96-84 win over the Houston Rockets. That’s the 11th triple-double we’ve seen in the NBA this season with Rajon Rondo leading the way with four.

Warriors Still Perfect

There isn’t much else to say about this team right now. Even when things go wrong, the Golden State Warriors still come out on top.

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I thought they might be due last night after a tough game against the Los Angeles Clippers, but the back-to-back wasn’t enough to slow them from picking up their 14th win of the season, this time against the Chicago Bulls 106-94.