Significant injuries to the New York Knicks led to a rare Jarrett Jack sighting in their loss to the Milwaukee Bucks on Saturday. We also got an update on their place in the draft lottery standings.
The best NBA teams struggle in back-to-backs. The bad ones, like the New York Knicks, are typically horrible. After Saturday’s loss to the Milwaukee Bucks, the Knicks slipped to 4-10 without rest. The lone bright spot was the return of veteran stalwart Jarrett Jack.
The 34-year-old led the team in scoring with 18 points and added seven assists and five rebounds in 30 minutes off the bench. Tim Hardaway Jr. sat out, and the starting backcourt of Trey Burke and Frank Ntilikina struggled; combining for just 15 points on 6-of-20 shooting.
Like any good Knicks fan, you were probably conflicted about the result. It’s always good to see your team win, but another loss improves New York’s chances in the lottery standings. According to Tankathon, the Knicks are now in 9th place; one game behind Chicago and Brooklyn.
That’s right about where they should be come NBA draft time. There’s a good chance the Knicks will lose out to end the season They finish with two games against LeBron James and the championship-contending Cleveland Cavaliers.
If the Knicks lose their final two games against Cleveland, the best they can finish is tied for seventh while the worst is tied for eighth. According to Ian Begley of ESPN, a tie would be broken by a random drawing conducted by the NBA to determine the lottery seeding.