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Ugh.
Knicks fans are all too familiar with where we’re at right now in the season.
It’s war of attrition territory; the time where all the friends you’d text throughout the games have bailed after an opponent’s D-League quality bench player dunks all over Melo in the second quarter.
It’s also a time for soul-searching; why, oh, why did I become a Knicks fan? This is a Job-ian trial that the basketball gods are putting us through to test our faith in the Knicks, and will result in a 10-year run of ‘chips if we pass the test, right?
Most importantly, however, we’re still in perhaps the worst territory of all; we’re in “holy crap there are still, like, a million games to go” territory. When you have any amount of (hopefully not?) meaningless games left, and you’re as hopelessly addicted to the Knicks as we are, there may as well be a million games left because they’re all hard to watch and we'll watch every single minute of all of them.
Next on “we still have to play games,” the Knicks will host the Bulls at 8PM ET this Thursday.
After an embarrassing loss to the Philadelphia Processes, New York will face yet another beatable team. In fact, one they’ve already beaten all the way back in November. Ah, the good ole’ days.
Kristaps dropped 27, and the expatriated Derrick Rose and Joakim Noah both had redemptive returns to the city they meant so much to for so many years.
Today, the Knicks get to see the Bulls on their own home floor. They’re only, technically, theoretically, in a world of flowers and frogs living on lillypads, two games out of a playoff spot. If they want to go to there, they’ve got to start winning and start winning right now.
The good news for New York is that they won’t be seeing the Bulls at full strength. According to ESPN’s Nick Friedell, Chicago will be without their best player in Jimmy Butler, along with forward Niko Mirotic. Rajon Rondo might play, which would be delightful.
Just bumped into Niko Mirotic at the airport in D.C. He is still sick. He is flying back to Chicago and will... https://t.co/e8WOxIMxkJ
— Nick Friedell (@NickFriedell) January 11, 2017
Fred Hoiberg says Jimmy Butler is still in Chicago. He will not play vs. Knicks but he is feeling better.... https://t.co/HXDkCZPSOa
— Nick Friedell (@NickFriedell) January 12, 2017
Hoiberg says Rajon Rondo will come off the bench tonight. https://t.co/hMDRuFAOyT
— Nick Friedell (@NickFriedell) January 12, 2017
The Knicks need to take advantage of this opening and come away with a win. Locking down Dwyane Wade and Taj Gibson will be the key as the Bulls will likely run their offense through those two.
With their recent slide, any positive momentum for New York, at this point, would be very much welcomed.
If not.... Lonzo Ball!