Yet again, the New York Knicks played an NBA game, and yet again, they were smacked down at the hands of the opponent.
Portland Trail Blazers 104 (33-28)
New York Knicks 85 (25-37)
Full Game Box Score
Madison Square Garden, New York, NY
The #Knicks fall 104-85 despite 23p from @carmeloanthony. #NYKvsPOR
— NEW YORK KNICKS (@nyknicks) March 2, 2016
By Chip Murphy
Albert Einstein’s quote about insanity might be the most overused cliche in the English language. That doesn’t mean it isn’t a remarkably true statement from a brilliant man.
With that said, every New York Knicks‘ fan on the planet should feel like they are going insane after what they saw tonight.
The Portland Trail Blazers and their superstar backcourt of Damian Lillard and C.J. McCollum came into Madison Square Garden and stomped dust into their pathetic counterparts.
Every night Knicks’ fans watch their guards get outplayed by the opposition, and nothing changes. Of course, management shouldn’t make any changes for the fans though. So lets get to the actual evidence.
Your 2015-16 New York Knicks https://t.co/LcQAUBpsMf
— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) March 2, 2016
Lillard and McCollum combined for 55 points and 8 assists tonight, and a plus-16 ratio in their 55 combined minutes on the court. Arron Afflalo played well again tonight (13 points, 6 rebounds, 6-9 FGs) but the poor guy was tasked with Jose Calderon (5 points, 2 assists, 2-8 FGs) and there’s only so much he can do to make up for that.
According to NBA Stats, in the 1,172 minutes they’ve shared the court Calderon and Afflalo are minus-3 points per 100 possessions. Yet, they’ve been starting together the entire season! Langston Galloway was awful tonight. He went scoreless in 21 minutes, but even he would be an upgrade over Calderon.
Kurt Rambis watched that happen during Derek Fisher’s time at the helm, but still he hasn’t made any moves. It has to be about that time where Rambis and Phil Jackson get together and made something happen.
Coach Rambis: "I thought we did some good things in terms of pick-and-roll coverage & scrambling, but they hit some tough shots." #NYKvsPOR
— NEW YORK KNICKS (@nyknicks) March 2, 2016
Damian Lillard and C.J. McCollum are two of the best pick-and-roll players in the NBA. You saw their stats earlier. There isn’t enough time in the day to talk about what a bad coach Kurt Rambis is, or how bleak the Knicks’ future could be.
If one thing should have come out of tonight, when Calderon was being booed out of the building, it’s that these Knicks are certainly not a playoff tonight.
Calderon should be benched. Jerian Grant and Galloway should be moved up in the rotation, and Sasha Vujacic shouldn’t ever be allowed near the court. He shouldn’t even be allowed to wear warm-ups. This team is in even worse shape than we thought.
