One team is 8-15 and looking the most competent it has been in recent memory. One team is 6-16 and won as many games over the past few days but still looks dysfunctional. One team got a pretty dope Christmas gift: Not having to touch the court until January. They're all off to rough starts early in this basketball season. But only one can be The Worst Basketball Team in New York Today.
CANDIDATE NO. 1: THE KNICKS
The best part about the Knicks going 1-1 for the past two games is how there wasn't that much disappointment following the win. New York was supposed to win that game. It would be dead wrong if it lost against a team shooting just 33.3 percent like the Bulls were. New York experienced the same vices that's led them to its poor record in its 83-78 win against the Bulls. Rebounding was far from great, there wasn't a consistent scorer to compliment Carmelo Anthony (who put up 33 points), and J.R. Smith was struggling again (2-of-8). Why was Amar'e Stoudamire the only other person in double digits? Celtics brought the Knicks back to Earth with a 90-86.
CANDIDATE NO. 2: THE NETS
Brooklyn still has some catching up to do, but it has a shot at doing so with Deron Williams. They're 2-1 since his return with an upset win over the Clippers. Anybody had them pegged to beat Los Angeles 102-93? Well they did, and a huge factor behind the victory was how they went 28-of-30 from the stripe to the Clippers' 35-of-52. It's clear the Nets still need Brook Lopez in the lineup too. He sat out the following game with an ankle injury against the Pistons, where Brooklyn lost 103-99. So let's keep them ankles fresh, Brooklyn. And no, putting Williams on Chris Paul is not the way to do so.
CANDIDATE NO. 3: CAZENOVIA COLLEGE
Winless Division-1 teams like Marist and Cornell have been out of action and every other team in the same category that's in New York has had a better season. But there's far more struggle to be found at Division-III, where Cazenovia just can't catch a break. A 3-5 record isn't a place of no return by any means, but you'd like to think a team is able to compete on any given night regardless of the opponent. This is not Cazenovia. That's the team that got obliterated 102-54 against Lancaster Bible and 79-49 two games after by Oswego State.
THE WORST TEAM IN NEW YORK TODAY IS...
The Knicks. Cazenovia can still turn the season around, and the Nets are at least showing signs of a turnaround. It just feels like the same ole story at times for the Knicks with the same problems. It's getting a bit stale.
