It isn’t a well-kept secret that the New York Knicks are struggling this season. David Fizdale’s team is firmly entrenched in the NBA’s bottom tier — alongside the Cleveland Cavaliers, Phoenix Suns and Chicago Bulls — and that was the case before the Knicks tipped off against Cleveland on Monday evening.
The end result was yet another loss (by a 107-104 margin) for New York and this particular defeat set a new benchmark for futility for the organization in that it represented a 17th consecutive defeat, and they did so in style (?) against a fellow miserable basketball club.
New York fought valiantly in the fourth quarter to pull within one after trailing all game and often by double-digits, but a pair of three-point efforts to tie from John Jenkins and Dennis Smith Jr. on the final possession drew iron and kept the losing streak alive.
Knicks lost in Cleveland and, in the process, broke the franchise record with their 17th straight defeat.
— Stefan Bondy (@SbondyNBA) February 12, 2019
That’s 17 straight defeats for the #Knicks – a new franchise record! Even when they try to win – they lose!
— Bruce Beck (@BruceBeck4NY) February 12, 2019
New York losing something of a “tankapalooza” against Cleveland wasn’t exactly jarring but, in short, the manner in which the Knicks have lost these 17 games is staggering. The team’s last victory came on Jan. 4 against the Los Angeles Lakers and, in that game, their opponent was playing without both LeBron James and Kyle Kuzma. While the Knicks deserve credit for winning that particular contest, this could easily be a 26-games losing streak, as New York’s previous victory arrived (in overtime) against the Hornets on Dec. 14.
Somehow, the Knicks are within striking distance of avoiding the NBA’s basement in the standings but that says more about their competition than anything else. There might be some optimism in the future given the team’s flexibility and the potential for free agent splashes but, until at least the NBA Draft Lottery in May, there won’t be much to write home about for the franchise.
