Briefing: April 5
Knicks in Houston, Ghost stories, Letter to season ticket holders, and more!
Good Morning,
Note: The Knicks Briefing publishes Monday - Friday, with a round-up of weekend news on Monday. Enjoy the weekend!
Knicks are in Houston to face the Rockets at 8:00 PM on MSG Networks. Rockets have won 4 straight and currently sit third in the Western Conference. With it looking like Golden State will lock up the 1 seed, the Rockets have incentive to stay away from the 4 seed (and a potential second round match-up with the Warriors). Houston has a 0.5 game lead over Portland who sits fourth.
Lottery ramifications: with a loss tonight, the Knicks ensure themselves a top 2 pre-lottery position. At that point, Cleveland would be unable to catch the Knicks, and Phoenix could at best tie the Knicks for the worst record. If New York and Phoenix are tied for the worst record, a random drawing decides who gets the top pre-lottery slot. Two more losses by the Knicks clinches the worst record, regardless of what the Suns do.
DeAndre Jordan spoke to reporters about accepting his mentoring role. “There was definitely some back and forth. [Fiz] knows how much I love to play and how much I want to compete. We came to the decision together, everybody thought it was best for the young guys.” [Marc Berman]
Mitchell Robinson, Kevin Knox, Allonzo Trier at Summer League? Marc Berman thinks all three will see time in Vegas in July. Of course, Trier has a club option with a decision required by June 20. The Knicks could decline the option and still bring him back as a restricted (or even unrestricted) free agent.
Dennis Smith Jr. hopeful to return, but could miss rest of season. Smith re-injured his back in Saturday’s game against Miami. "If I’m able to play at any time, I’m going to play — even if it’s the last game.” [Marc Berman]
What to read
DO YOU BELIEVE IN GHOSTS: I’m Not 100% Sure Ghosts Aren’t Real by Tim Hardway Jr.
At the Skirvin Hotel in Oklahoma City: “Like, I’m not making this up. I have no reason to. I experienced something that night and to this day I have no idea what happened.”
KNICKS NATION GERMANY: Germany's Small But Devoted Group Of Knicks Fans Has Plenty Of Takes And Hates James Dolan by Steven Perlberg
Learn about Knicks Film School affiliates Knicks Knicks Nation Germany/Austria
NBA STYLE: NBA Style Has Literally Become the Wild West by Megan Gustashaw
You don't need to go 𝒇𝒖𝒍𝒍 fashion cowboy to achieve DeAndre Jordan’s look.
Email to season ticket holders
In email to season ticket holders, Steve Mills and Scott Perry reiterate their commitment to the fans to “not skip a single step.”
Development: “We will continue to focus on the draft in an attempt to replicate the type of players we added last summer.”
Free Agency: “Most importantly, we will use our cap space diligently and only on players who believe in our plan and are committed to building the New York Knicks into the championship team that you deserve.”
Of course, the note “players who believe in our plan” appears to be a wink to Kristaps Porzingis, who reportedly told the team he didn’t want to be in New York and wouldn’t re-sign as a free agent.
Continuing with his end of season recaps, Jonathan Macri tries to take an objective look at someone he’s supported all year: Head Coach David Fizdale.
In case you missed Part I: The Players, find it here.
When I was in 8th grade, my best friend asked me for a favor.
There was this girl he liked, and she agreed to go on a date with him, but her parents couldn’t know about it so she had to go out with a friend. The girl’s friend didn’t want to feel like a third wheel, so my friend needed me to ride shotgun.
Being 12 years old with a bowl cut, I would have gone on a date with an English Mastiff, and didn’t put up much of a fight. I was curious, though, about what I was getting myself into.
“All I know is that she’s really nice.”
Even as a pre-teen, I knew what this was code for, so I mentally prepared myself as best I could.
I did not do a good enough job.
We live in an increasingly PC world, so rather than give an explicit description of my companion for the evening, I’ll just say she was soup that ate like a meal and we’ll leave it at that. I did, however, learn a valuable life lesson that evening: no matter how bad you think it’s going to be, it can always, always be worse.
Which brings us to this Knicks season. As I wrote last week, this year was always going to be ugly. But was it supposed to be this ugly? Um, no.
I fully believe that, internally, the Knicks thought they could have a Hawks-type campaign – one that started rough but smoothed out into a team playing .500-ish ball towards April. If that’s the case, then shouldn’t wins and losses factor into judging this season?
Let’s consider Kevin Knox as we try to answer. When the Knicks lottery pick has been off the court, New York has a negative 3.2 net rating during those 1718 minutes. That’s quite a bit better than the negative 13.1 rating in the 1998 minutes he’s played, and is smack dab in the middle of the 32-win Pelicans (-1.2) and 28-win Hawks (-5.3) in points outscored per 100 possessions.
It’s not an exact science, but here’s betting that if the Knicks had their top draft pick slumming it in the G-league, I wouldn’t have needed to expend nearly as much lipstick this season, and Wilbur would be few pounds lighter and a tad less stinky.
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Remember when…
April 5, 2013: On Legends Night at the Garden, Carmelo Anthony ties a club-record with his third straight 40-point performance, pouring in 41 points in 101-83 win over Milwaukee as winning streak reaches 11. At halftime, Knicks honor the 40th anniversary of their 1973 NBA Championship team, with each of the 11 surviving members on hand. (Read more on Legends Night by Vivek Dadhania)
April 5, 2006: Jamal Crawford’s fadeaway jumper with :06.4 left caps a 37-point night and gives the Knicks a 96-94 win over Cleveland at Madison Square Garden.
April 5, 1977: Bill Bradley and Red Holzman, both set to retire at season’s end, are honored prior to 121-113 victory over Boston at the Garden. Earl Monroe, the Knick captain, gave a short speech and then gave each a silver tray on behalf of the organization….The Garden and UA-Columbia Cablevision announce that they will distribute the full Knicks home schedule on basic cable.
April 5, 1947: Knicks win first home playoff game, defeating Cleveland Rebels 86-74 to tie best-of-three series at 1-1, on Ossie Schectman night at Madison Square Garden. Stan Stutz leads the way with 30 points. Prior to the game, Schectman, the team captain who was lost to a season-ending injury, received a combination radio phonograph and a silver plate from his teammates.
NBA Buzz
Giannis posts 45 points, 13 rebounds, 6 assists and 5 blocks in 35 minutes as Bucks clinch best record for first time since 1974. (Read more)
Anthony Davis was fined $15,000 for flipping off a fan. (Read more)
Always read Zach Lowe’s 10 Things column…
Thanks for reading, talk to you on Monday!