The final game of the New York Knicks 2016-17 regular season is surrounded by off the court drama from Carmelo Anthony and Joakim Noah.
- New York Knicks (30-51)
- Philadelphia 76ers (28-53)
- Wednesday, April 12, 8:00 p.m. ET
- Madison Square Garden, Manhattan, New York City
It makes sense that the potential final game of the Carmelo Anthony era with the New York Knicks is a meaningless contest against the 76ers that the fans are hoping to lose. Everything that went wrong in New York can be summed up by Anthony sitting on the bench in his final game with the team he forced a trade to six years ago.
When Phil Jackson put the team together last summer, the Knicks were supposed to be gearing up for the playoffs right now. Maybe they’d even be resting some key players because they already knew their seed.
Instead, the regular season finale against the division rival 76ers has nothing to do with what’s happening on the court. It’s about Carmelo Anthony and Joakim Noah. Two guys who won’t even be suiting up.
On Tuesday evening, Adrian Wojnarowski of The Vertical reported that Noah would need surgery to repair a torn left rotator cuff. The former Defensive Player of the Year would need 4-6 months of rehabilitation.
ESPN’s Ian Begley contradicted Woj’s report saying that Noah is yet to make a decision on whether or not he’ll have surgery.
As important as what’s going on off the court is, the actual game is pretty damn important too. Keep in mind, the Knicks need to lose on Wednesday.
Head coach Jeff Hornacek said it’s unlikely that Anthony or Kristaps Porzingis will suit against Philadelphia making it easier for New York to pick up that important loss.
