With only 19 games left of the worst performing season in Knicks franchise history, fans are beginning to breathe sighs of relief as the upcoming draft and free agency quickly approach. Tomorrow night, the Knicks take on a team in an almost identical position. The Los Angeles Lakers now possess the worst record in their franchise history with a .258 winning percentage. The matchup proves to be lackluster to say the very least, much like their seasons.
The Melo-less Knicks worsened to 12-51 after their fifth straight loss, which was delivered by the Utah Jazz. The lone bright spots in the 87-82 defeat were Alexey Shved, who scored 21 points to follow up a 19-point performance against the Denver Nuggets, and Andrea Bargnani. Bargnani had 20 points against the Jazz, and despite the Knicks having lost their last five games, Bargnani has averaged 21 points in the last four games. Unfortunately, the Knicks continue to be plagued with injuries (Quincy Acy and Tim Hardaway Jr.) and an ever-changing starting lineup.
The Kobe-less Lakers improved to 17-46 after a 93-85 victory over the Detroit Pistons, which ended a five-game losing streak. Jordan Hill had 16 points on 7-for-15 shooting to lead his team past Greg Monroe’s 24 points. Ex-Knick Jeremy Lin, who is averaging 10.9 points per game this season, contributed 12 points and despite sitting out today’s practice is expected to play against his former team.
The Knicks are 0-12 this season on the road against Western Conference teams. The Knicks and Lakers last meeting on February 1, where Carmelo Anthony scored 31, resulted in a 92-77 victory for the Knickerbockers. The odds of that happening again are pretty slim, giving the Lakers the edge, but with nothing on either side of the court to lose, the possibilities are, well, meaningless.