The New York Knicks got trounced by the Los Angeles Clippers on Friday night and Joakim Noah will finish the remainder of the season on the roster.
Hornacek: "It was a terrible defensive effort."
— Chris Iseman (@ChrisIseman) March 3, 2018
That’s about all there is to say. This postgame quote from Jeff Hornacek, via The Record’s, Chris Iseman. The New York Knicks let the Clippers do whatever they wanted, whenever they wanted on offense.
File this one under growing pains as the Knicks collapsed in the second half for the second time in as many games. After taking a 60-57 lead into halftime, the Knicks were outscored by 26 points in the third and fourth quarters.
The trio of point guards have shown promise of late, but tonight was a night to forget. Emmanuel Mudiay, Frank Ntilikina and Trey Burke combined to shoot a paltry 9-for-28 from the field.
One of the lone bright spots of the night was the play of Troy Williams. On the last night of his 10-day contract, the athletic wing put up 11 points in 16 minutes of play. He was 4-for-5 from the field and 3-for-3 from deep. It would be downright shocking if the Knicks didn’t sign him to another and final 10-day contract.
In other news, the Knicks “gained” a game on the Chicago Bulls in lottery positioning. Despite their best efforts, the Bulls beat the also tanking Dallas Mavericks. It still doesn’t look likely that the Knicks will jump another team in lottery positioning, but it’s not over yet.
Joakim Noah Isn’t Going Anywhere
The March 1st deadline to be playoff eligible for waived players came and went without any change in the Joakim Noah saga. Much like the trade deadline, the front office felt it would be wiser to leave this situation as is, and put it on the back burner.
It’s clear that he will be on the Knicks roster at least through the season. Whether or not he wants to come back and play is a different story. The organization technically can’t stop him if he wants to return to the team, but there are strong indications that he will continue his exile and both sides will reassess their options in the offseason.
