Luckily, for tanking purposes, the New York Knicks played the number one team in the eastern conference. They, of course, lost.
- New York Knicks 94 (29-49)
- Boston Celtics 110 (51-27)
- NBA, Final, Box Score
- Madison Square Garden, Manhattan, New York City
Luckily, the New York Knicks played the number one team in the eastern conference and after the predictable loss to the Boston Celtics, now hold the sixth worse record in the NBA.
New York was without Carmelo Anthony (sore thigh) and Derrick Rose (torn meniscus) once again and the Celtics took full advantage, further helping the tank cause.
Six Celtics scored in double-digits.
The problem wasn’t Isaiah Thomas. The entire Boston Celtics team was scoring all over the Knicks defense. Boston was shooting 58 percent heading into the fourth quarter. Thomas led the Celtics with 19 points as New York couldn’t get anything going against Boston. Knicks got outplayed in every aspect of the game.
Courtney Lee was the Knicks high scorer today for the Knicks. He dropped 16 points and five assists.
Knick of the Night: Courtney Lee
Without Melo and Rose for the past three games, Lee has been the one to take on the scoring load. On Friday, he scored 20 points against Miami. He dropped 16 points (led the team) against Boston.
Stat of the night: Boston Field Goal Percentage
Boston shot 58 percent heading into the fourth quarter and ended the game shooting 56 percent.
Other Than the court, According to Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo Sports, Derrick Rose torn his meniscus and will most the rest of the season. Ian Begley of ESPN also reported Rose would require having an arthroscopy. Rose is scheduled to miss six to eight weeks.
First Joakim Noah, now Rose. The Phil Jackson 2016 offseason didn’t go as planned. Noah is on suspension for using anti-drug supplements. Rose went AWOL and now suffered a torn meniscus.
According to Stefan Bondy of New York Daily News, Derrick Rose goes through 12 steps before every game to prepare his fragile body.
Players also told Stefan it’s hard to see their teammate go through this sad moment.
“I feel sorry for him,” Kristaps Porzingis said. “I know how hard he worked throughout the season to maintain the shape that he has and make sure he avoids all those injuries as much as he can. And to see that happen to him right now at the end of the season, it’s tough.”
“Oh, man I feel for him a lot. Just knowing the situation that I think it was the game after that, he got hurt that we (were mathematically eliminated from the playoffs),” Courtney Lee said. “And getting that news that we weren’t gonna make the playoffs also. So that’s tough, man, that we didn’t complete a goal that we set out to do, and then in doing so he gets hurt in that game. So definitely feel for him.”
Jeff Hornacek told Bondy that Rose was close to becoming his old self.
[graphiq id=”hWgzJkSsFYV” title=”Derrick Rose Career Points, Rebounds and Assists Per Game” width=”600″ height=”631″ url=”https://w.graphiq.com/w/hWgzJkSsFYV” ]“The explosiveness that we saw years ago, you saw quite a bit this year,” Hornacek said. “So again, the way the season has gone, to have something happen towards the end, it’s a tough break for him.”
Ron Baker has coach Jeff Hornacek on his side. Marc Berman of New York Post reported Baker has the head coach in his corner, as he reminds the former Jazz guard of his former self.
“Burgundy’’ already has won over coach Jeff Hornacek and has, according to a source, gotten Phil Jackson on board as well.
ESNY’s Charlie Hart wrote up a report on the Derrick Rose injury.
ESNY’s Robbie Stratakos went in depth of Joakim Noah Contract. He explained who the Knicks could have received other than Noah.
Up Next: The New York Knicks continue their home stand as they face the Chicago Bulls (37–39) on Tuesday, Apr. 4, at 8:00 p.m. ET.
