Twistity Sports Exclusive: KNICKS HAVE NO KNACK

 
The new era has the feel of an old error.

Phil Jackson runs the front office, Derek Fisher coaches the team and the New York Knicks are absolutely abysmal.

OK, so nobody can fix intractable problems overnight (if at all). But the Knicks seem to get worse and worse, comforted only by the fact that their losses (and there have been many) are close.

The Knicks are 4-18, the worst start in franchise history. They’ve lost eight in a row and 12 of 13. They lost on Sunday night to the Portland Trail Blazers 103-99, and they are 2-9 in games decided by five points or fewer.

One item jumped out from the Sunday night boxscore: Carmelo Anthony’s numbers.

Who led the Knicks in scoring? Anthony, with 23 points. The co-leader with 10 rebounds? Anthony. Assist leader: Several had three, including Anthony. The Knicks got only four offensive rebounds, two by Anthony.

So Anthony is either really good (we’ll buy that) or the rest of the Knicks are nobodies (we’ll buy that). Can the Knicks find any bodies to with the one guy recognizable as an NBA star?

“Losing games as close as we are losing them, whether it’s five or six points over the past 13 games, this is new to me. This feeling is new to me,” Anthony said.

Get used to it. The Knicks are back in action on Tuesday night against the New Orleans Pelicans.
 
 
Post By: Larry Weisman, a longtime sportswriter for USA TODAY, blogs for Twistity.com. Follow him on Twitter @MrLarryWeisman .