The 2013-14 NBA season is not going according to plan for the New York Knicks, in fact the season is already an unmitigated disaster. After posting 54 wins last season, expectations were high for another successful season culminating in an Atlantic Division title.
To bring this season’s performance into clarity the Knicks dropped their 27th game of the season on Wednesday and with that loss the Knicks can only afford to lose one more game for the duration of the season to equal last season’s win total.
As optimistic as die-hard fans in New York are; no one thinks that the Knicks will run the table on the remainder of the season. Despite having an ugly 15-27 win/loss record on the season, the Knicks still hold down the 3rd seed in the division and are on the outside of the playoff picture looking in at the moment.
While the pre-season rivalry between the newly funded and formed Brooklyn Nets and the Knicks did make for some interesting smack talk, the on court product has been rather dismal.
The Knicks have lost a staggering 15 home games thus far which ties them with Milwaukee for the worst home record in the conference. They have also dropped five games in a row which gives them the worst current losing streak in the entire Association.
The Knicks failures are reaching epic proportion as they have two twenty-plus point loses this week alone to the Indiana Pacers and the crosstown rival Nets. The Knicks are three games into a five game homestand and they have lost all three. With the remaining two games in the homestand coming against Charlotte and the Los Angeles Lakers, one would hope that a win would be attainable.
The Knicks roster has been decimated by injuries, suspensions, deviant behaviour and general selfishness. Carmelo Anthony has actually been performing fairly well, he however, has had little in terms of help. J.R. Smith has been a non-factor, Raymond Felton has played in a mere 26 games this season, Andrea Bargnani is injured, Tyson Chandler has been in the lineup for a staggering 18 games, Amar'e Stoudemire is out another two weeks due to injury and Beno Udrih has demanded to be traded.
All in all the single brightest spot in this dismal season has been the play of rookie Tim Hardaway Jr. who is thriving in his inaugural season. The lone valued trade chip on the roster is Iman Shumpert and he is doing everything in his power to devalue himself on a game by game basis.
So have the Knicks hit rock bottom? Sadly no they haven’t. The bottom isn’t far off but they aren’t there yet. It is certainly attainable though and given the current level of play, dedication and effort being displayed rock bottom is only two weeks away.