Monday night in New Orleans, an innocent little boy proved that widespread adoration for the struggling Knicks—or at least Carmelo Anthony—is alive and well when he ran onto the court in the game’s final minute and hugged the Knicks’ lone star before scurrying back into the stands.
The Knicks needed the show of affection, given the disheartening state of their season. Despite facing a Pelicans team that was without four of its top five scorers because of injuries, including forward Anthony Davis, one of the NBA’s elite players, the Knicks dropped their 45th game, losing 99-91.
They were in Dallas last night (Wednesday) to play the Mavericks, holding onto 30 wins with only six more games remaining, including a meeting with the Brooklyn Nets tomorrow at Madison Square Garden. The loss to the Pelicans was a microcosm of the Knicks’ months-long tailspin. A lack of offensive production has been the crux of their struggles, chiefly the backcourt, which must be the focus of Knicks president Phil Jackson this summer.
Overall, they were 26th in the league in scoring (tied with the Nets) out of 30 teams as of Tuesday, averaging 98.7 points per game. Starting guards Arron Afflalo (13.3) and Jose Calderon (7.6) were merely averaging a combined 10.5 points per game. Throw in Langston Galloway (7.6), who receives the third most minutes in the backcourt behind Afflalo and Calderon, and the average decreases to 9.5.
One does not have to be an expert in analytics to ascertain why victories have been few and far between for the Knicks, considering those statistics. Rookie guard Jerian Grant has not yet proved to be a viable alternative. Consequently, his playing time has been sporadic.
After registering only 10 minutes Monday night, Knicks coach Kurt Rambis said, in explaining his decision to limit Grant’s opportunities, “He’s still in a learning phase.”
