Hornets 112, Knicks 105: Whoop-dee-damn-do
If a team loses a game that has no bearing on the standings, does it make a sound?
The New York Knicks lost a basketball game last night. You might have forgotten that was legal, but it is. Charlotte came into New York and left with a 112-105 comeback victory; you may have forgotten Gordon Hayward, Terry Rozier and Kelly Oubre are precisely the type of players who can beat you any given night. Not sensing a lotta hand-wringing over this particular L. Maybe it’s less “you may have forgotten” than “you may have perspective.”
Last night was the Knicks’ first bad loss since 2022. Every defeat they’ve suffered this year has come at the hands of a team currently positioned in the playoffs or the play-in, two bridges too far for a Hornets team that opened the year 2-1 before losing 10 of 11, losing Lonzo Ball at the start of the season, then losing him for good after 36 games with a fractured ankle and aiming their ship firmly at the heart of the draft lottery (the Hornets being the Hornets, of course they recently won five straight and are on a six-wins-in-nine stretch). A third Bridges is also beyond their grasp: Miles Bridges remains a restricted free agent, currently serving three years probation after pleading no contest to attacking and injuring his childrens’ mother in front of them. The NBA is still investigating the incident, with Bridges facing a likely suspension upon his return, one he hopes to make this month.
Perspective lets you see the NBA’s dirty little secret in its dollars-driven refusal to shorten the season: not every game matters. Some mean absolutely nothing. Take last night. Did losing impact the Knicks’ playoff positioning in any way? No. They’re still fifth, a game up on a Brooklyn team that’s won three straight but knows they’re a Frankenstein roster awaiting major surgery and two games behind a Cleveland team they’ve already beaten twice and have one more game against. Jalen Brunson remains out as he recovers from soreness in his left foot. If last night were a game against the Cavaliers or the Nets, Brunson probably still doesn’t play. But he probably would’ve pushed harder to, and the Knicks would have had a harder time saying no. Because those games would have mattered. Last night didn’t.
That’s a luxury available to teams that’ve won 11 of 13. Far more fun to look back at the winning streak, or look ahead to six straight games against Western teams, including a four-game trip with matchups against Sacramento, both L.A. teams and Portland. The squads from the city of angels angle for a Finals run; the Kings, ever the Knicks’ spiritual cousins, are also enjoying a renaissance led by their power forward and point guard; the Blazers offer the nightly possibility of Damian Lillard scoring 80+ points as well as our first sight of Cam Reddish playing in months.
Five paragraphs in, I’ve said very little about the Hornets or their performance in the win. That’s not an accident. “Charlotte in March” has been code for years for the NBA’s version of the dog days: the season is winding down but the playoffs aren’t here yet, and while the play-in and flattened lottery odds seem to have had the desired effect of diffusing tanking, there are still a handful of teams like the Hornets whose present day is a whole lot of meaninglessness. There was nothing special about the quality or the scale of their comeback. A forgettable team that will be disbanded as soon as possible remains representative of oblivion even after a win. Charlotte is between four and five-and-a-half games ahead of Detroit, Houston and San Antonio for the league’s best lottery odds and seven in the loss column behind Orlando for 13th in the East. Quoth Derrick Coleman: whoop dee damn do.
If there’s anything worth taking from the Hornets, it’s the reminder of how fragile the best-laid plans really are. Two years ago with 20 games left in the season, the Knicks were a sub-.500 team, two games behind the Hornets. Charlotte lost six of their last 20 and fell in the play-in tournament; the Knicks won 16 of their last 20 to capture the fourth seed. The Hornets’ best player will have missed about a third of the 236 games played since he arrived in Charlotte. The Knicks’ best has played more minutes those three years than anyone. Perspective and good health will take you far in life. May the Knicks enjoy both.
