The Knicks lost to the Warriors last night, but you should’ve seen that coming. If you didn’t, step into Prof. Miranda’s classroom for a lesson. Here’s the syllabus.

GSW114/NYK106

Losing 114-106 to the Warriors

Classroom: 4 Mecca Hall

Professor: Matthew Miranda

Email: matthew.miranda@strickland.edu

Semester: Spring 2021

COURSE DESCRIPTION

In this class you’ll learn how to fall 114-106 to the Golden State Warriors. The first half of the class concludes with a four-point lead and the gnawing realization that Steph Curry has yet to get going. The second half concludes with an eight-point L and the eerie quiet of the land after a tornado’s done tearing through it.  

COURSE REQUIREMENTS

By the end of the semester you’ll have completed four quarters, though the third will be the decisive one, the one where Curry gets going and the Warriors score 39, coming back after trailing at the half to reclaim a lead they won’t relinquish.   

Attendance is not mandatory. You knew how this game would go even if you didn’t watch it. Knew when you woke yesterday. Knew for sure when Steph hit a sick backpedaling 3-pointer in the third to put Golden State up.

But to love is not to know, but to believe. You will believe in these Knicks because of the trust their success this year inspires, and because they will look so good in the first half. Especially the bench. 

Derrick Rose will stand out in the first half, a tour de force scoring and playmaking. He will look so good you’ll believe — because you and love go back further than you and breathing — that it can last. It can’t. Rose will continue to play hard. He’ll cool, though, and miss two shots late with a chance to pull within one or tie the game.  

COURSE SCHEDULE 

00:01-00:12 The Warriors Repeatedly Beating The Knicks Down The Floor

00:08 Nerlens Noel: snuffing and stuffing

00:19 The same Kent Bazemore who’d made more than two 3-pointers in a game just once all year drills three in the first half

00:27 Technical fouls on Randle and Tom Thibodeau lead to the free throws that cap a 10-0 Golden State run to open the second half

00:30 After giving up only 19 in the second quarter, the Knicks surrender 23 by the midpoint of the third

00:31 The Knicks have more turnovers than field goals seven minutes into the third

00:32 The Warriors commit just their ninth foul of the game. The Knicks average 6.5 per quarter

00:41-00:44 You can’t spell “fake comeback” without “comeback”

GRADES

A = 37 points, 6 rebounds, 6 assists, 7-of-14 on 3-pointers, 12-of-12 at the foul line (Steph)

A- = 7 points, 9 rebounds, 12 assists, 3 steals, 2 blocks (Draymond Green)

B+ = 16 points, 8 assists and 6-of-15 shooting after 2-of-18 the past two games (Rose)

B = 8 points, 11 rebounds and 24 minutes for the first time in two years (Taj Gibson)

B- = 14 points in 16 minutes on 6-of-9 shooting (James Wiseman)

C = Pretty active, but the shooting wasn’t great (Alec Burks)

D = 4 points, 1-of-9 shooting, 1 assist vs. 3 turnovers, twice aggrieved after a coach’s challenge (RJ Barrett)

F = Kelly Oubre. The constant falling and flopping. The parasitic dunks. The shot selection. The taunting. Where to begin? 

GROUP PROJECT

This is graded on a curve. Seeing as last year’s class was 8-24 at this point; even with this loss, 15-17 is a step in the right direction. In order to be eligible for an A, you must reach .500.

ATTENDANCE/PARTICIPATION

Randle’s mother wasn’t in attendance, but the organization surprised him during a first quarter break in the action by playing a video she recorded congratulating him on his All-Star selection. 

OFFICE HOURS

Next office hours are 7:30 p.m. Thursday when the Knicks host the Sacramento Kings. If you need to reach me before then, leave a message in the comments section.