Could things get worse for Knicks?...Yes
Insider
Sheridan
By Chris Sheridan
ESPN Insider
NEW YORK -- Larry Brown received the loudest ovation of the night, but he had to get ejected to beat out Kobe Bryant.
New York's latest loss, a 130-97 drubbing that eclipsed the Knicks' previous worst loss this season (26 points), was appalling on so many levels, it was hard to find a fan not shaking his head while streaming toward the exits at the end of the third quarter. Bryant was serenaded with a chant of "M-V-P" by the few who stuck around until the end, almost all of them Lakers fans.
A new low for the Knicks for sure, but don't believe for a second that things can't get worse.
If the past-half decade of futility has taught anybody anything when writing about the Knicks, it's that one must be careful when declaring they've hit rock bottom. Invariably when someone says it, the ensuing events make last week or last season look rosy by comparison.
"I went shopping today, and people kept coming up to me on the street, saying, 'You're going to score 90 tonight. You're going to score 100 tonight.' You know how crazy that sounds?" Bryant said.
The Knicks' 30th loss of this lost season was so dreadful, it was pitiful. Bryant went to the free throw line 26 times, making 23, and stayed in the game past the midpoint of the meaningless fourth quarter just to be certain he made it to 40.
If the idea of opposing players shamelessly padding their stats wasn't humiliating enough for the Knicks to stomach, they can play back a tape of the first half and listen to the ovations Bryant was receiving from the Madison Square Garden crowd. And if the sound of the home crowd giving its love to an opposing player wasn't sickening enough, there's always the video of Monday night's lethargic loss to the Hawks to turn their collective stomachs inside-out.
"Their organization, it's a matter of being patient," Bryant said afterward, oozing with a false sincerity that fooled absolutely no one. "They'll get back to the top. This period they're going through now, though, it sucks."
When you've sat through the Felton Spencer/Travis Knight era, the "We Want Lampe" chants at the draft, the Don Chaney and Lenny Wilkens firings and countless mind-numbing Scott Layden press conferences, you have a whole different perspective on what sucks and what really sucks. But make no mistake, this is as sorry of an era as anything the franchise has been through lately. Possibly ever.
The degree of quit displayed by the Knicks against the Lakers was so disheartening that Brown got himself tossed by referee Steve Javie midway through the third quarter. Bryant had been parading to the free throw line all night, the discrepancy so glaring that the Knicks posted each team's attempted foul shots on the scoreboard each time one of the teams went to the line. The Lakers ended up with a 58-24 advantage from the line, meaning Kobe himself had more makes and attempts than the Knicks did as a whole.
Brown was serenaded with a chant of "Larry, Larry" as he exited through the tunnel and breezed past team president Isiah Thomas, whose days only get worse as his level of job security sinks along with his reputation. The sexual harassment allegations made against him by a former team executive kept the tabloids busy all last week, and the dirty laundry being slung by both sides resulted in a photo of Thomas' illegitimate "love child" adorning the front of the New York Post on Monday morning -- a prelude to Tuesday morning's back page screamer: "Kobe vs. Quitters."
Clearly, Thomas' second honeymoon is over, his days as Knicks president appearing numbered. Ironically, though, the sexual harassment case might have actually bought him some time. The thinking here is there's no way Cablevision owner James Dolan would sack Thomas at this point -- even using his failed basketball moves as the reasoning -- because of the effect it would have on the sexual harassment lawsuit.
But with the team barely treading water in the two-plus years since he arrived, with this year's draft pick already traded away (and next year's, too), it's not hard to foresee Thomas being shown the door the day after the regular season ends, with Dolan handing control over personnel matters to Brown. After all, Brown's the only person -- aside from Kobe, of course -- getting cheered at the Garden these days. Too bad he's having to get thrown out just to endear himself to the fans.
Maybe this really is rock bottom.
Chris Sheridan, a national NBA reporter for the past decade, covers the league for ESPN Insider. To e-mail Chris, click here.
