The Knicks have repeatedly proven to us that they’ve rightfully earned the title of “worst team in the NBA”, but just because they have a roster chock-full of “talent” that’s of questionable utility to a real-life NBA team doesn’t mean they can’t win a game every once in a while. And, honestly, if I were to pick a team that I wanted the Knicks to beat, the Lakers would be second on my list. Obviously, the Celtics would be first because the tears of Bill Simmons would provide me nourishment.
Emmanuel Mudiay was a big part of the win, and not just for his clutch free-throws to put the Knicks up by one point with twenty seconds left. His jumpshot was smooth, his dishing instincts were on point, and he was just enough of a free-throw magnet to get a considerable amount of free points at the stripe without bringing to mind the James Harden comparisons. This was a guy who I thought could very well be out of the league once the sheen wore off and his rookie contract came due, but I have to give him credit, he looks like a legit NBA player at least some of the time.
That said, I’m thinking that, with a few years of NBA experience under his belt, he could average fifty points per game and fifteen assists per game in China if he ever decided to go back. And let’s not even get started with the Philippines. Let’s just say that Wilt’s record would be in danger, and it wouldn’t be the one regarding his prolific…ahem…with the ladies.