Why the New York Knicks Upset Me So Much

People often wonder why I complain so much about the Knicks. Honestly, I really don’t think that the public could understand what I am dealing with.

But if I were to try to explain, I would use Wednesday night’s Clippers game in my "thesis." After all, the loss made me so angry that I nearly threw myself through my television set.

Last night, New York (who is nearly mathematically eliminated from the Playoffs after apparently running out of gas in their first year in the D’Antoni system) was hosting the Los Angeles Clippers (one of the worst teams in basketball). Since the Knicks were playing a bad team, it was a given that they would play down to their competition and make it a close game.

So it didn’t come as a surprise that the Knicks clung to a one-point lead with less than a minute to play. But the next thing that happened did come as a surprise.

Al Harrington had an isolation play run for him in the post and executed a perfect-form spin move, leading to an easy slam dunk along the baseline. The Knicks were now up three, but Harrington had to let the world know what he just accomplished.

After dunking, Harrington lifted himself as though doing a chin-up on the rim and raised one of his hands to slap the backboard. In a last-second epiphany, he opted to refrain from smacking the glass in fear of drawing a technical.

Unfortunately, the referee had seen enough just with the chin-up and whistled Al for a technical foul. This, of course, meant that the Clippers would get a free throw (which they made) and the ball back (a possession with which they scored another two points).

And then, in overtime, the Knicks decided that they would forget how to play basketball. The victory went to the Clippers.

Now, if you are a fan of any basketball team, the Harrington's mishap would have really aggravated you. But maybe it would aggravate you a little bit more if you knew that he'd already done the exact same thing once this season, with the same result.

A little more than a month ago, the Knicks played the Clippers in Los Angeles, and with under a minute left, were winning by a point. Al Harrington got to the basket for a dunk and did his little act. The Clippers once again tied it up and won it in overtime.

If the Knicks won those two games, they would still have only a slight shot at the postseason, but at least it would be mildly more realistic.

But what really sealed the deal for me was Al’s postgame press conference quote. When asked about the "rim job," he said:

"Same team, same thing...It's crazy."

The way he nonchalantly brushed it off reminded me why I really do hate this team right now. This is a group brought together by two men who had little to no interest in whether or not the men they were signing had respect for the game or for themselves. Heck, even former coach Pat Riley, the emperor of scum, wouldn’t stand for this garbage.

Then again, I don’t know what more I can expect from this team. After all, it was merely three days ago when the Knicks honored every legend to ever dawn the orange and blue and not a single member of the current Knicks came out of the locker room to watch it.

On the other side of the court, Dwight Howard of the Orlando Magic stood and applauded his coach Patrick Ewing as well as countless other N.Y. legends as they were honored.

You heard me right, the only active NBA player who watched Hall of Fame members of the Knicks get recognized was a member of the opposing team.

It took me all season to say it, but now I don’t need any more proof. The Knicks just look like 12 guys who don’t care what happens as long as their paychecks are on time. They stand for everything I hate.

And their best player, Al Harrington (who D’Antoni said was a “great fit for the system,” mostly because it would have been politically incorrect to call him a "great way to save money for LeBron James"), is the ringleader of this circus.