More Complaints, More Losses For The New York Knicks

As the dilemma-filled season continues to wind down, more complaints within the New York Knicks franchise and on the outside continue to make headlines.

It’s amazing to realize the New York Knicks have reached the dubious 50-loss mark for the third consecutive year under team president Phil Jackson. The latest defeat came in the team’s final regular season road game against the Memphis Grizzles, 101-88.

The final points of the game quickly made more headlines with complaints rather than the Knicks’ poor late-game execution.

Grizzles rookie point guard Wade Baldwin IV ran up the score, violating the unwritten rule at the end of games with an uncontested three-point basket as time expired. The crowd’s excitement was a reminder that the made unnecessary basket allowed free chicken sandwiches for fans in attendance if the Grizzles scored 100 or more points.

The other component for all gamblers out there was the basket allowed the Grizzles to cover the +12.5 spread.

Knicks guard Courtney Lee, who scored 16 points in defeat, did not take kindly to Baldwin’s last-second basket. The veteran shared his intense thoughts with reporters after the game, squarely calling out the rookie’s professionalism.

"“By the time I got over there to that area he was already trying to get the crowd hyped and walking through the tunnel. Like nobody is getting hyped for you, bro, You just shot the ball at the end because you wanted to score 100 points. Nobody is going to remember you or that shot. I guess he was hungry, Mike Conley, Marc (Gasol) and Vince (Carter), they told me they were going to say something to him in the locker room. So I just let them handle that. We’ll see them next year. But (Baldwin) might be in the D-League.”“You don’t do that. You saw what happened with Lance Stephenson and the Pacers, I mean, everybody has seen that and for him to do that, it’s like what are you doing it for, bro?”"

Lee was referring to the now infamous scene at the end of the Indiana Pacers–Toronto Raptors game as guard Lance Stephenson scored an unnecessary basket to seemingly show up the defeated Raptors.

The complaints and controversy were in full effect during the week as team owner James Dolan got into a shouting match with a fan. On Tuesday Dolan got into an altercation with a fan who was believed to verbally abusing the owner before the game, leading to him being banned altogether.

“I did call him an a–h— because he is an a–h—,” said the Knicks owner, according to ESPN. Madison Square Garden immediately released a statement on the altercation defending Dolan’s actions.

"“As Jim clearly stated, no one should come to an event at The Garden feeling as though it’s OK to be verbally abusive or disrespectful to anyone — including the owner of the arena — and not expect to be told that their behavior is unacceptable, This fan was completely out of line last night and does not like the fact that he was told he was out of line, and so has chosen to spend the day Tweeting away looking for his 15 minutes of fame.”"

Only two games remain in the unpredictable Knicks season as the usual stars like Kristaps Porzingis and Carmelo Anthony continue to be held out for tanking reasons. Fans should look forward to more moments like Kyle O’Quinn and Marshall Plumlee last night.

It’s almost over, Knicks fans.

Next: 2016-17 NBA Power Rankings: Week 24

Just keep that special message in mind as the draft lottery is only a month away.