For the first few months of the season, the New York Knicks pulled off a convincing imitation of a functional NBA franchise. Not only did they have a winning record, the Knicks looked like they could be in position to make a playoff run. That would have been a remarkable turnaround for a team that won all of 17 games last time around.
Then the Knicks remembered that they were the Knicks. After a promising start to the season, highlighted by the ascent of rookie Kristaps Porzingis, their record was just 23-31, “good” for fourth-worst in the Eastern Conference. On Monday, after a stretch where they had lost nine of their last 10 games, they fired head coach Derek Fisher in the middle of year two of a five-year contract.
Despite the team’s struggles, it was still surprising that the Knicks made such a drastic move. So, Fisher is gone despite the fact that his team had already won more games than they did all last season. In his place, at least on an interim basis, is Kurt Rambis and his 32-132 record as head coach of the Minnesota Timberwolves.
Fisher’s surprise dismissal has led to speculation about what happened behind the scenes. Certainly his well-publicized altercation with Matt Barnes couldn’t have helped his standing, and there were reports that he lost the locker room. It could just be something as simple as not seeing eye-to-eye with team president Phil Jackson. Speaking about the decision on Monday, Jackson came closet to offering an explanation when he admitted that “there wasn’t a consensus in our staff.”
It’s tempting to discuss Fisher’s firing in the context of the Knicks being a singularly dysfunctional franchise, one with a long history of making questionable decisions. When the news sprang from nowhere, on the day after the Super Bowl, the initial reactions could be summed up as “that’s the Knicks being the Knicks”. The truth is, however, that the Knicks weren’t acting any different than other teams in the league that are increasingly treating head coaches as entirely disposable entities.
Fisher wasn’t the first, or even second, head coach to lose his job in 2016. The Cleveland Cavaliers replaced David Blatt with Tyronn Lue, despite the fact that the team occupied the top spot in the Eastern Conference. Shortly afterwards, the hopeless Phoenix Suns relieved Jeff Hornacek of his duties, which might have been an act of mercy considering where they are in the standings.
Fisher almost certainly won’t be the last coach fired this year either. The Sacramento Kings, an organization so dysfunctional that they make the Knicks look like the San Antonio Spurs, have been on the verge of cutting ties with George Karl for the last week. The Kings, of course, hired Karl after letting Mike Malone go in what might be the most random and inexplicable coach firings in recent memory.
If there’s any lesson to take from this it’s that if you’re a head coach in the NBA not named Gregg Popovich, you have to accept the fact that those years listed on your contract are basically guesstimates.
Video of the week
During Friday’s game against the Cleveland Cavaliers, the Boston Celtics’ Avery Bradley hit the biggest shot of his career, a game-winning, buzzer-beating three pointer. It was a dramatic moment, sealing the biggest Boston win of the year, but one partially spoiled by the inconvenient fact that it only happened because the officials called a phantom foul on JR Smith. I’m sure that makes the Cavaliers feel better that they admitted their mistake.
How did LeBron carry the Cavaliers this week?
In the Cavaliers’ 120-100 win over the Sacramento Kings on Monday, LeBron picked up his 40th career triple double. Why is that news? Well, first of all, it’s because it was somehow his first triple double of the season. Second of all, James did it despite the fact that he sat for the entire fourth quarter. (This is also known as a Steph-ian Triple Double.)
Quote of the week
“I’m increasingly of the view that we will be looking to make some sort of change in that rule this summer.”
- NBA Commissioner Adam Silver to USA Today on the “Hack-A-Player” strategy
It’s about time. The Hack-a-Player strategy, where teams deliberately foul poor free throw shooters late in games, needs to go away. There’s nothing worse than the last two minutes of exciting, close games ballooning into 15-20 minutes of whistle blowing, rim clanging and listless loitering. When not even the coaches who employ it like it as a strategy, it’s time for a change.
Power rankings
1. Golden State Warriors (last week: 1)
The Warriors will have to go without one of their players for an extended period of time. OK, it’s Festus Ezeli, who will be out at least six weeks after knee surgery, in this case rather than Steph Curry or Klay Thompson. Still, we now have proof that something bad can happen to the Warriors.
2. San Antonio Spurs (2)
Most upsetting injury news of the NBA season? Manu Ginobili will be out for at least a month following testicular surgery after getting kneed by the New Orleans Pelicans’ Ryan Anderson last Wednesday. There’s no word on the exact nature of the injury, which is probably for the best.
3. Oklahoma City Thunder (4)
The quest for a team that could possibly force the Warriors into a six or seven game series before inevitably losing continues. On Saturday night, the Oklahoma City Thunder scratched back from a 20 point deficit to tie Golden State late. The Thunder eventually lost by eight points.
4. Cleveland Cavaliers (3)
It hasn’t been the happiest time to be Timofey Mozgov. This is like a metaphor for the feeling of rejection one must feel when you’re in trade deadline discussions every year.
Poor Mozgov :( https://t.co/6epkfKr6Fl https://t.co/Ccn7oeds7N
— SB Nation NBA (@SBNationNBA) February 9, 2016
5. Toronto Raptors (6)
You were right and I was wrong. Last time around I stated that no way would the Raptors remain the second best team in the Eastern Conference. In my defense, that was more because of how much a revolving door there’s been for that No2 slot than a shot at the Raptors.
6. Los Angeles Clippers (5)
First Blake Griffin and now Austin Rivers. Okay, from here on out, all Clippers players must wear bubble wrap on their hands whenever they are not on the court.
7. Boston Celtics (12)
Are the Celtics a legitimately contenders or just an overachieving 7th or 8th seed with a knack for pulling off a memorable victory now and then? Danny Ainge might have to figure that out before the trade deadline window closes.
8. Memphis Grizzlies (7)
On Monday night, the Grizzlies lost to the Portland Trail Blazers in overtime. That’s bad. What’s worse, the game only went to overtime because Memphis’s Jeff Green was the one who accidentally tipped in Portland’s game-tying basket. Believe it or not, things in Memphis only got worse as the team announced that Marc Gasol would be out indefinitely with a broken right foot.
9. Atlanta Hawks (9)
The Hawks were one of the best teams in basketball last season, sending practically the entire starting rotation to the All-Star Game. Now? Now they could potentially be sellers at the trade deadline.
10. Miami Heat (11)
Kudos to the Miami Heat for their plans to retire Shaquille O’Neal’s number. It seems strange that his tenure in Miami, which included the team’s first championship, has been entirely overshadowed by the Decision and everything that came afterwards.
11. Dallas Mavericks (10)
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar called the Mavericks’ Dirk Nowitzki a “one trick pony,” which is true in that “being really good at basketball” technically could count as a single trick.
12. Indiana Pacers (14)
Meanwhile, Paul George calling Kobe Bryant “old” is a somewhat more accurate player assessment.
13. Chicago Bulls (8)
The Bulls are 5-12 in their last 17 games and that record actually doesn’t quite do justice to how depressing they were to watch. It doesn’t look like things in Chicago will be improving any time soon with the news that Jimmy Butler will be sidelined with a knee injury for 3-4 weeks.
14. Detroit Pistons (13)
If Adam Silver does add language into the rule book that minimizes the hacking phenomenon, they should call it the Andre Drummond Rule.
15. Utah Jazz (20)
Thanks to a seven game win streak, the Jazz have officially entered the Western Conference playoff picture.
16. Houston Rockets (15)
Rockets games are as the GOP undercard debates of the 2015-16 NBA season, mostly inconsequential affairs populated with underachievers. The biggest difference between the two is that Republicans try to appear strong on defense.
17. Charlotte Hornets (17)
They had the second best record in the Eastern Conference at one point, I swear.
18. Portland Trail Blazers (16)
Damian Lillard not making the All-Star Team should be an ongoing prank, like how the Academy Awards will never give Leo an Oscar.
19. Washington Wizards (21)
Not only has it been a disappointing season for Washington area basketball, they also now have to hear the “Kevin Durant could sign with the Warriors” talk.
20. Orlando Magic (22)
They could be a playoff team if they only face the Hawks from here on out.
21. Sacramento Kings (18)
22. New York Knicks (19)
23. Denver Nuggets (25)
24. Milwaukee Bucks (23)
25. New Orleans Pelicans (23)
26. Minnesota Timberwolves (26)
27. Brooklyn Nets (28)
28. Phoenix Suns (27)
29. Los Angeles Lakers (30)
30. Philadelphia 76ers (29)
