The Knicks’ Roadmap to a Record-Breaking Losing Streak
At 17 consecutive losses, it can’t be officially stamped as the worst losing-streak ever, but the New York Knicks have a legitimate shot at breaking the remarkably futile NBA record. Here’s a quick peek into their next 12 games to see if history can inevitably be “made.”
Being a member of a losing team is never enjoyable. And not to relish in anyone’s misery, but following a team’s grand ineptitude from afar can be stimulating and when history is at stake, quite entertaining. When it comes to the 2019 version of the New York Knickerbockers, one of the Association’s storied organizations, here is an assortment of undeniable facts that you as a basketball fan should be familiar with:
- The Knicks have the worst record in the NBA (10–46).
- As of February 12th, 2019, the Knicks have lost 17 consecutive games.
- The longest cumulative losing streak in NBA history is 28 straight games by the 2014–15 and 2015–16 Philadelphia 76ers (the streak transitioned from one season into the next), therein igniting what is now famously referred to as “Trust the Process” movement.
- Basic math tells us that these Knicks need only 12 more consecutive losses to “break” all-time record (17 + 12 = 29).
- The Knicks are horrible and this situation is embarrassingly remarkable.
In some basketball circles, the despicable act of dropping a 3-point game to an 11–45 team, in which your team shot the ball more efficiently (46% to 40%), dished out more assists (21 to 20), stole and blocked the ball more frequently (8 and 9 to 6 and 2 respectively), turned the ball over far fewer times (10 to 18), but never actually led at a single point in the game… would appear to be rock bottom.
But the 2019 New York Knicks are dying to show the basketball universe what true rock bottom looks like. And they’re inching closer on a nightly basis.
Last week’s trade deadline saw the clearing of a forest, almost literally. After shipping Kristaps Porzingis and Tim Hardaway Jr. to Dallas and releasing Enes Kanter into purgatory in exchange for expiring contracts, draft picks and major cap relief, the Knicks roster now looks like that of a rather competitive G-League team.
With historic lows in the not-so-immediate distance, let’s take a look at the Knicks’ next 12 games, to see if a futility record might actually transpire. On top of that, let’s implement an imaginary Winability Scale (with 10 being the most likely that they will win a particular game, while 0 representing a game they have absolutely, well, zero chance of winning).
Game #1: Philadelphia 76ers (36–20), February 13
With Jimmy Butler seemingly on his best behavior and Tobias Harris now in place, the Sixers starting lineup sports 3.5 All-Stars and is of juggernaut proportions. They should also be plenty motivated to remain in the Eastern Conference’s Top 4, to secure home court for at least the first round of the playoffs. Each win helps them rise higher. They could also be motivated by the materialistic side of things and playing a game in front of the New York City faithful at The Garden. The Knicks have zero chance to win this game, so much so that I’m already breaking the scaling rules. Winability Factor: -2/10
Game #2: at Atlanta Hawks (18–38), February 14
The Hawks, almost stunningly, are NOT the worst team in the Eastern Conference. Actually, they aren’t even among the bottom three teams (the Bulls, Cavs and beloved Knicks are all multiple games worse). Though they’ve currently lost three in a row, they’ve actually gotten healthier and have been playing better of late. The Knicks will play a game tomorrow, then travel to Atlanta to play the Hawks on a back-to-back. That spells trouble to me. Winability Factor: 4/10
Game #3: Minnesota Timberwolves (26–30), February 22
This is the first game back after the All-Star break and also kicks off a four-game homestand for the Knicks. If they’re ever going to win another game this season, it might have to fall within this stretch of games. And while the Timberwolves aren’t fantastic, they are still alive for the 8th seed in the Western Conference, among a gamut of other teams. The Wolves will be motivated and have far more talent on the roster. Winability Factor: 3/10
Game #4: San Antonio Spurs (32–26), February 24
C’mon. Coach Pop isn’t going to let his Spurs team, who are trying to remain in the playoff race, lose this kind of game. No way. Winability Factor: 2/10
Game #5: Orlando Magic (25–32), February 26
The Magic are another team flirting heavily with the playoff picture (as of February 12, they’re only two games out of the East’s 8th spot). They also have some very impressive wins in the past few weeks over the Raptors, Celtics, Rockets, Pacers and Bucks. They can compete. While history hasn’t been very kind to the Orlando Magic organization, they can sometimes show up to ball. I bet that this will be one of those times. Winability Factor: 4/10
Game #6: Cleveland Cavaliers (12–45), February 28
This is THE game. The one they must absolutely have to ultimately prevent the streak from happening. The Cavs, with a talentless roster and engagement in “tank mode” that rivals the Knicks, are coming to MSG. Perhaps sheer desperation with a side of revenge can will the Knicks to a victory here, but if they drop this extremely winnable game, it’s not so much longer “if” the streak happens, but “when.” Winability Factor: 8/10
Game #7: at Los Angeles Clippers (31–27), March 3
This game Staples Center signals the beginning of a 6 out of 7 games run on the road, including three in the Pacific time zone. The Knicks don’t do anything well, so why have the belief that they’ll travel well? They won’t, and they’ll end up losing all three of those games. Winability Factor: 1/10
Game #8: at Sacramento Kings (30–26), March 4
After getting handled by the Clippers, the Knicks head to Sacramento to play the second night of a back-to-back against a young, hungry, overachieving and wildly entertaining Sacramento Kings team that’s desperately trying to sneak into the playoffs. Normally, Sacramento is a bright spot on any NBA team’s calendar, but not anymore. The Kings are tough now. Much tougher than the Knicks. Winability Factor: 1/10
Game #9: at Phoenix Suns (11–47), March 6
This is the other game where the Knicks have at least some potential to eek out a win, with the Suns being the next worst team in the entire league (currently at 11–47 and “riding” their own 14-game losing streak). Though, if I were wagering on this game (which is a possibility), I’d probably stick with the home team by a small margin. Winability Factor: 6/10
Game #10: Sacramento Kings (30–26), March 9
In less than a week, they’ll play that same energetic Kings team, this time at The Garden. They’ll have a slightly better chance to win this game in front of their home crowd, but the Kings might be wary that they could help contribute to some historic futility, by giving the Knicks not one, but two losses during their “streak.” Winability Factor: 6/10
Game #11: at Minnesota Timberwolves (26–30), March 10
Yet another road game on the second night of a back-to-back, where they’ll play at home, then fly to Minnesota. It’s also another game against the Timberwolves in less than three weeks. I actually think the Wolves are one of those teams that are slightly better than their record indicates. But let’s not even play around, they don’t stand a fair chance at winning this game. Winability Factor: 1/10
Game #12: at Indiana Pacers (38–19), March 12
Even without Victor Oladipo, the Indiana Pacers are deep, and damn good. They certainly don’t have time to be losing a game to this amateur team at home while they’re chasing home court advantage in the first round of the playoffs. Not happening. Expect a blowout to clinch the record. I wonder if they’ll have champagne on hand? Winability Factor: 0/10
There it is. The unofficial roadmap to the Knicks “achieving” history and losing 29 straight professional basketball games. The process isn’t exactly scientific, but simple logic and common basketball awareness tells us that the Knicks have a favorable chance to lose most or all of these upcoming games.
It also tells us that they should have little interest in actually winning these games, since they want to remain very much in the Zion Williamson sweepstakes, come June’s draft (the teams with the worst three records in the league will have equal opportunity to earn the rights to the #1 overall pick). For the record, Zion’s Duke teammate R.J. Barrett is also ridiculously talented and worth tanking for. I guess that’s one of the rare silver linings in having such a surplus of losing… a high, potentially franchise-altering draft pick.
While the “cap space” narrative is not directly connected to chronic losing, the New York Knicks will have an absolutely insane amount (approximately $76 million) of money to spend in the offseason. Enough to easily put together two max free agents spots, and then some.
Ordinarily, a prospective free agent wouldn’t exactly be salivating at the chance to join potentially the worst team in the league, but this is New York City. The Big Apple. The Garden. An Empire State of Mind.
“This undying allure and mystique of creating a fresh (heroic) start with a potential tag team partner and “saving” the New York Knicks is something of mythical proportions, apparently.”
These potential free agent arrival(s) could ultimately depend on those personality types that are magnetized to a certain flare for the dramatic. Though it might just be as simple as playing in a huge market full of outside business opportunities and making a shit load of cash in the meantime, while being revered wearing the blue and the orange.
To make the best out of a bad situation (trust me, it’s a challenge), at the very least, these New York Knicks of 2019 can take some solace over one factual piece of information: With their 10 wins already in the bank, they can’t possibly end up with the worst 82-game single-season record in NBA history. A bullet dodged? That illustrious “honor” belongs to the 1972–73 Philadelphia 76ers, who finished a pathetic 9–73 for the season. In a strange twist of irony, this is the same Philadelphia franchise whose 28-game losing streak stands to be broken.
See, losing can be fun.
