Schmeelk: No Joke, Knicks Face January Must-Win In Milwaukee
By John Schmeelk
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The Knicks' loss to the Bucks on Wednesday night was the type of result teams experience when things are going poorly.
The Knicks have not only lost six straight games, but nine of their last 11. Some of the defeats at the beginning of that streak came with Derrick Rose injured, and the last two occurred without Kristaps Porzingis.
That's why the game on Friday night is a very important one for this team. Porzingis should be healthy, making the Knicks' roster complete (assuming Joakim Noah or Carmelo Anthony are not forced to sit out). Home-and-home sets are very difficult to sweep. Milwaukee is one of the teams New York will be fighting for one of the final playoff spots in the Eastern Conference, so a sweep could hurt the Knicks in a tiebreaker situation later on in the season.
To call a game in January a must-win is usually ridiculous, but seasons have a way of spiraling out of control for teams that do not have upper-echelon talent. Every loss now is a loss the team cannot afford later on.
Creeping Injuries
Two of the Knicks' veterans are struggling to stay healthy. Anthony has been playing through a sore knee, while Noah was feeling a lot of pain in his right shoulder after Wednesday night's loss. The good news is that Noah's surgery last season was on his left shoulder. He has played better recently, but his injury history is troubling.
Whenever two players over 30 have bumps and bruises it's fair to wonder whether or not they are going to have to start missing games. With the way the Knicks are playing right now, they cannot afford to be short-handed.
The Coach's Challenge
The players have rightfully gotten a lot of heat for their lack of dedication to defense, but pointing a finger at Jeff Hornacek is fair, too. Despite having similar personnel last season, Derek Fisher had this team playing nearly league-average defense. Hornacek has not figured out a way to push the right buttons on that side of the floor yet. No one expects this team to vault into even the top 15, but getting out of the bottom third is a reasonable goal.
MORE: Hornacek: Maybe Knicks Are 'Just Not Capable' Of Playing Defense
Now Or Never
There's usually a silver lining somewhere when a team is playing very poorly and bottoming out. Besides the draft pick (which the Knicks do have this year), it gives some clarity as to which players on the team are worth keeping and which won't be able to help in the future. It makes decisions at the trade deadline and in the offseason a little easier.
For the most part, that's not the case for the Knicks. Noah's bloated contract is an albatross few around the league will want to acquire. Rose will be a free agent after the season, and finding a team that would want a shoot-first point guard in the last year of his deal that also has a good matching salary to send back is probably impossible. Anthony has a no-trade clause. The main cogs of this team aren't going anywhere.
The Knicks might be able to make some minor moves at the bottom of their roster, but the chances of making any significant trades to acquire pieces that can grow with Porzingis are slim to none. If a bad season ultimately convinces Phil Jackson not to throw money at Rose, it would be small victory.
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