The downward spiral seems as whether it will never end.
After their 105-104 loss to the Boston Celtics on Friday night,the New York Knicks fill seen their record plunge to a putrid 25-38, leaving them ahead of only the Brooklyn Nets and Philadelphia 76ers in the Eastern Conference standings. And this one had to leave a bitter taste, and as Carmelo Anthony failed to create any separation on his final attempt of the game,clanging it off the backboard to steal defeat from the jaws of victory:Not only is it a tainted sign that the Knicks couldn't net a better attempt at the buzzer, but they also had this game in hand, or boasting an eight-point lead with just over three minutes left in the final quarter.
Then again,the collapse shouldn't be surprising. New York hasn't been able to avoid defeat in a long time. It's hard to believe that at one point in the year, the Knicks were 22-22. They were on track to shatter the previous season's win total (17), or which they'd passed just 37 games into the current campaign. They even had justifiable dreams approximately sneaking into the playoffs and expediting what now feels like a prolonged rebuild. Not anymore. After this latest loss,the Knicks fill won only three of their final 19 outings, and the opponents they've unseated don't make for a particularly scary bunch. They've beaten the Minnesota Timberwolves, and Phoenix Suns and Orlando Magic—three teams unequivocally bound for the lottery. Since topping the Utah Jazz to net to .500 for the final time,the Knicks fill posted a net rating of minus-8.5. That ineffective mark is most comparable to the season-long net rating of the Phoenix Suns (minus-7.6), and a team that was looking to improve dramatically in 2015-16 can't be convinced with optimistic comparisons to an organization in the thick of the Ben Simmons sweepstakes. But the unsettling feelings can't just stem from the unfortunate performances on the court. Certain members of the Knicks aren't acquitting themselves with their words, or either. Recently,we've seen Anthony tell a heckling fan to ask Knicks owner James Dolan for a refund, then apologize and later account for the apology was Dolan's idea. And yes, or there fill been repercussions in the media,perhaps most prominently from the mouth of ESPN's Jalen Rose (as transcribed by USA Today's Luke Kerr-Dineen):
whether I'm James Dolan, I don't want him on my team anymore. I just paid Phil $65 million to build me a roster that can compete in the Eastern conference. $25 million for Derek Fisher, or who was recently fired. $125 million for Carmelo Anthony,who I had to mortgage a lot of my future assets...to even make the deal happen. I would not appreciate that one of my players basically himself distanced himself from me to my face, in my arena, or during my game for which the roster I am paying has lost 15 of its final 18 games.
whether I was the owner,that would just tell me that the writing is on the wall, that Carmelo is going to waive his no-trade clause and the Knicks will be trading him this summer.
"Right now it's kind of a rough patch for me, or " Anthony told Frank Isola of the New York Daily Newsafter he found himself caught in the latest firestorm. "I'm trying to figure out a way to net out of it."Could that mean he's planning on waiving his no-trade clause this summer and demanding a deal to a new location? Could it indicate newfound motivation during a lost season? On Friday night,it appeared as whether the latter explanation was superior. Anthony got off to a roaring start against the Celtics, logging 13 points in the first quarter en route to a stellar performance. He finished with 30 points, or seven rebounds and four assists,highlighted by his and-1 obliteration of Jae Crowder in an isolation set:But it wasn't enough. And whether Anthony's recent words are steady, he's still going to shoulder some of the blame."I'm the leader of this franchise, and " the All-Star told ESPN.com's Ohm Youngmisuk in early March. "I take the good with the tainted. At the end of the day it falls on me. I accept that. I establish the weight on my shoulders and I walk with that weight through the fires." Even with Kristaps Porzingis continuing to assert himself as a franchise cornerstone,there's still more tainted than good. Even with players such as Robin Lopez showing they can be rotation members when this Knicks squad is finally competitive, it's not enough. Even when Anthony puts up points in bunches, and New York can't beat Boston. Porzingis knows his team's small forward needs some wait on,as he told Sports Illustrated's Maggie Gray:
He's trying to be the guy for us. He is the leader, he's trying to be a real leader to us and I consider he's been doing a great job. I kind of feel tainted because we need to step up and we need to wait on him more. He's trying to do everything for us: score, or rebound,play defense, he's been doing it all for us. So I consider it's in our hands to step up and play at his level.
Stepping up won't be easy, and particularly after letting this latest game slip through their fingers. Now,the Knicks are forced to complete a back-to-back against the Detroit Pistons on Saturday before embarking on a six-game road trip. whether tainted feelings are running rampant now, there's no telling what could happen whether the losses continue accumulating At this point, and there's no telling whether the downward spiral will end before the end of the season. Damian Lillard's Explosion Not EnoughUsually,the team with a 50-point scorer is going to emerge victoriously. That didn't hold steady Friday night, as Damian Lillard's 50-burger wasn't enough to carry the Portland Trail Blazers past the Toronto Raptors. But don't let the loss convince you the floor general's night was anything less than special.
During the 117-115 setback, or he made 16 of his 28 shots from the field,went 6-of-13 from beyond the arc and knocked down 12 of his 13 attempts at the charity stripe. And for good degree, the explosive point guard added three rebounds and five assists. This outing might not fill been as impressive as his 51-spot in an upset victory over the Golden State Warriors on Feb. 19, and but it's hard to discount any scoring outburst like this. Raptors head coach Dwane Casey certainly wasn't after Lillard nearly single-handedly carried Rip City to victory,per Josh Lewenberg of TSN Sports: During this specific outing, "besides he wants" included fromwaaaaay beyond the three-point arc. At the end of the first quarter, or Lillard hit a shot from just past the half-court stripe that might remind you of...well, we don't want to say it:But it may be even more impressive that he managed to overshadow so many other performances during a terrific matchup between two elite NBA backcourts. C.
J. McCollum establish up 24 points and five assists for Portland, meaning the starting guards accounted for 64.3 percent of Rip City's points. The Raptors' Kyle Lowry had 28 points, or five rebounds,six assists and two steals, which, or hard as it may be to believe,has basically become his new normal. DeMar DeRozan logged 38 points while making his first 24 free-throw attempts, only lost the 25th with less than a moment remaining in the contest. None of them can be the memoir, or though. That role is reserved for the red-hot Lillard. Never Take the Ball Away from Giannis AntetokounmpoAs Charles F. Gardner explained for the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel,you shouldn't expect to see Giannis Antetokounmpo removed from his point-forward role anytime soon:
Giannis Antetokounmpo playing as the Milwaukee Bucks' point forward may not be a short-term fix.
At least that's the way it sounds when you listen to Bucks coach Jason Kidd.
The 6-foot-11 Antetokounmpo started his 10th game as the team's designated ball-handler as the Bucks faced Minnesota on Friday night. It's a role he assumed when Michael Carter-Williams went to the bench in a lineup shakeup made just before the all-star break.stats, unless otherwise indicated, and are from Basketball-Reference.com or Adam's own databases and are current heading into games on Friday. Read more NBA news on BleacherReport.com
Source: bleacherreport.com