The New York Knicks Got Dunked On Literally And Figuratively
The New York Knicks lost their fourth consecutive game last night, this time falling to DeMarcus Cousins and the Sacramento Kings. Not only did New York lose, they were borderline embarrassed in a variety of ways.
Man, the New York Knicks are frustrating.
With so much excitement around the team after their solid start to the season and Kristaps Porzingis‘ magnificent rookie campaign, it’s easy to forget that the Knicks are still only a year removed from winning only 17 games. While they may have some nice pieces in place for the future in Kristaps, Jerian Grant, Langston Galloway, Robin Lopez, and of course Carmelo Anthony, this is still very much a team in rebuilding mode.
That’s why I’m trying to not get too upset when the Knicks drop four straight, even if three of those four losses came against the Utah Jazz, Milwaukee Bucks, and most recently the Sacramento Kings, all of which are very winnable.
With that being said, oh my God the Kings just eviscerated New York last night.
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The scoreboard may not say that though, with the Knicks losing just 99-97. Heck, Carmelo Anthony even got a potentially game-winning three-point shot up at the buzzer! What a contest! Knicks keeping it tight until the end!
While even that may not be true — the Knicks were down by as much as 19 in the fourth — New York lost this game via dunk.
And that really hurts.
Being dunked on is the absolute most emasculating experience a professional basketball player can experience. Last night, the Knicks got the pleasure of experiencing that feeling not once, not twice, but three times. Heck, there were two other times where the guy didn’t even dunk, but it pretty much felt like it.
Now, let’s relive last night’s horrifyingly soft interior defense dunk by dunk!
The Dunks That Weren’t Dunks, But May As Well Have Been
Again, these aren’t actually dunks, but with how futile the Knicks defense looks, they might as well feel like it.
I enjoyed the first drive by Rajon Rondo in particular. Jose Calderon just casually has his ankles snapped in half, but still manages to recover in time to flail his arms around as Rondo takes it to the rim. Also, excellent defense by Arron Afflalo as he watched Rondo lay it in two feet away from him, but fails to do literally anything other than stand there.
The Knicks love to switch on pick and rolls and the second drive may be why.
Calderon runs into the brick wall of humanity known as DeMarcus Cousins and takes roughly 30 minutes to fight through his screen, allowing for Rondo to get himself to the rim once again.
Now I know you could arguably blame Kristaps here for not being better at defending against Rondo once he gets to the rim, but I’m a firm believer that nothing is Kristaps Porzingis’ fault because he is most likely going to be the best part of my life for the next decade.
That policy makes this next dunk difficult for me…
DeMarcus Cousins Eats Kristaps Porzingis
Nooooooooooooooooooooooooo. Not Kristaps! Anyone but Kristaps!
I like DeMarcus Cousins a lot and think he’s probably the best big man in the league, but why does he have to do this to our hero? This is just a psychical assault on poor Porzingis.
For one, he could have backed Kristaps down relatively easily. I mean, just look at these two. KP looks like a piece of uncooked spaghetti compared to the the human-steak Cousins. Why not just slowly back him down, then put up a nice and easy hook and call it a day? No need to embarrass the poor fella!
Then of course, is the elbow to the head. That was almost definitely unintentional and probably just an accident, but I’m fully willing to call for a two-game suspension on Boogie Cousins. Makes me sick. Basketball is a game 0f love.
Luckily, this dunk doesn’t completely fall on Kristaps’ shoulders. You may notice that after Cousins’ assault of Porzingis is done, Sasha Vujacic appears to have an easy opportunity to block Boogie at the rim! Sure, the two might have four inches of height difference and Sasha got there pretty late, but that’s no excuse to not pick up your teammate!
Phew, so I don’t have to blame Kristaps. Dodged that bullet.
R.I.P Robin Lopez
Oh my.
That’s not good at all.
You have to wonder if RoLo’s brother, Brook Lopez, could feel this dunk even if he wasn’t watching the game. Was he just sitting there in the Brooklyn Nets locker room hanging out when he suddenly was overcome with emotion for a reason unknown to him at the time?
Regardless, this is just a tough break for Lopez. He played the ball well and shifted over to at least get in front of DeMarcus…but there ain’t no stopping a man named Boogie when he gets a head of steam.
Rest In Power, Robin. You will always be remembered as the only man to go 247-0 in mascot fights.
Rajon Rondo Can Still Dunk!
Just magnificent defense here from the Knicks.
Jose Calderon runs into Porzingis, who is tied up with Boogie Cousins, which allows Rondo to get all the way to the rim where he meets Carmelo Anthony, who puts up the weakest block attempt ever seen. Good stuff.
Next: NBA Power Rankings: Week 7
There’s a lot I could say about this, but I think the Kings bench reaction sums it all up:
Yup.