New York Knicks: So Much For Staying Positive
There was a time only a couple of weeks ago, when it seemed that team president Phil Jackson might have been holding zen-inspired, guided meditation sessions for his New York Knicks when no one else is watching.
How else could one explain how the Knicks remained as positive as they were through an early seven-game losing streak, which preceded a separate 10-game skid that left New York with its worst start (4-20) in franchise history and the most losses of any team in the NBA this year, heading into Friday night’s game in Boston?
"“The teams that [are beating us], you can’t tell me that these teams are that much better than us,” franchise star forward Anthony insisted, following the Knicks’ Dec. 2 home loss to the Brooklyn Nets, which dropped them to 4-15. “I really believe that and I’m going to keep believing that. We’re fighting, we’re just not getting the results that we want at the end of the games.”"
Moments earlier, rookie head coach Derek Fisher said:
"“We have a lot of guys that want this badly. If we were 4-15 and every time you watch us play, we couldn’t beat the other team, I’d be concerned. But we’re seeing enough to let us know that if we just control the parts we can control, we can actually win some of these games.“So am I happy about it? No. None of those players in [our] locker room are happy about it. But ‘concerned’ is a defeated word. That’s a word of not believing that you can still figure things out, and we still believe [we can] right now.”"
Speaking just after Fisher and before Anthony, guard Iman Shumpert said:
"“We’ve got the guys that we need to win the games. We’ve got the coaching staff, we’ve got the system, we’ve got to keep working and keep believing in it. If we take care of the little things, those balls will start bouncing our way, those shots will start going in at the end and we’ll get back on track.”"
On the whiteboard in the Knicks’ locker room, read a bible passage, stating: “The pain you have been feeling can’t compare to the joy that [is] coming.”
Forward Amar’e Stoudemire said that night:
"“We’re right there… the record’s the worst part about it. Obviously, you don’t want to see that, when you’re looking at the standings. There’s still a chance, so we’ve got to be optimistic and see what we can do.”"
Point guard Jose Calderon echoed Stoudemire’s sentiments, likewise saying, “We’re right there,” while agreeing with Anthony that the difference between other teams and the Knicks was slight.
"“We’ve just got to clean up some stuff,” he said hopefully (while perhaps, deluding reality). “I don’t think these teams are better than us. I think we’ve been fighting. We’re right there with them… we’ve just got to do a better job for 48 minutes.“It’s tough to lose and see 15 losses [in 19 games], but… we’re just trying to see the big picture. We’ve got to keep being positive, keep being together and keep working hard… but we’re going to keep fighting and try to turn this around. Sometimes, when you get a win, everything [can] change.”"
However, that win still hadn’t come, as New York had since doubled what was already a five-game losing streak since those comments (until the Knicks finally got their fifth win and broke an 11-game road losing streak in Boston on Friday night, while the Philadelphia 76ers, with just two wins, lost their 20th game to at least give New York some company in terms of losing the most games in the NBA this season).
Despite all of the losing, New York was seemingly staying together, even after yet another close loss (one of their 13 this season by seven points or less), to the Portland Trailblazers, dropped the Knicks to a putrid 4-18.
"Following that defeat, Anthony maintained, “We’re not far away… you look at our record and say, ‘We’re far, far away,’ But… the games that we’re losing… we’ve just got to fix a couple things.”"
Since then, the narrative had shifted somewhat for what appeared to be the most positive-thinking, four-win team in December, in NBA history (prior to the Knicks getting their fifth win in Boston over a bad, rebuilding Celtics team).
On Monday, Jackson publicly stated that New York had a “loser’s mentality,” suggesting that their roster (though severely flawed to most) was underachieving.
"“It’s not about the skill or talent level,” he said."
Apparently, that expected, quick, drastic culture change that was supposed to take hold of the Knicks during the Jackson-Fisher has gone as slowly as the ability of injured forward Andrea Bargnani — who has yet to play a game during that era — to return to the floor.
"Jackson acknowledged as much, saying, “ There’s some resistance to discipline and order and culture change and things like that. I will call it a crucible for what we’re going through here.”"
Three days later, on Thursday, Newsday’s Al Iannazzone reported that the Knicks held a players-only meeting during which they expressed frustration with Anthony being enough of a team player and with trying to learn Jackson’s patented triangle offense as taught to them by Fisher and his staff of assistants, who like Fisher, was handpicked over the summer by Jackson.
And according to ESPN’s Chris Broussard, perhaps things weren’t so amicable as far back as the loss to Brooklyn, as Anthony and second-year guard Tim Hardaway, Jr. evidently got into the type of rift which for a team which has lost as frequently as New York this season, is not only expected, but probably healthy.
Finally, there was a report (since refuted by Anthony and his agent Leon Rose) on Friday morning that Anthony, who re-upped with the Knicks over the summer for a near-max, five-year, $124 million deal, was open to waiving his no-trade clause a mere 24 games into that deal.
The likelihood of that happening is remote, not only because Anthony loves New York and wants to ultimately win there, but because Jackson might have to go from Zen Master to magician to move a contract of Anthony’s size and duration with Anthony now several months on the wrong side of his 30th birthday, while battling some knee issues this season.
Still, where there’s smoke, there’s fire on occasion. If Anthony stays healthy and highly productive, and if Jackson is unable to improve New York enough through free agency or trades down the road, trading Anthony could eventually become a possibility at some point in the not too distant future during Anthony’s current deal.
While all of that will play out over the months and even years to come, it’s clear that the reality of the team’s record, nearly one-third of the way into the season, has finally affected the mental state of the floundering Knicks, who all of a sudden, aren’t so optimistic anymore.