One team is 3-13 and shitting the bed like it's '06 and Stephon Marbury is still in uniform. One team is 5-12 two games and $50,000 later without a single spilled drink. One team started December with an unBEARable performance (because its team name is the Bearcats, you see). 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
You had a sense this Knicks squad could potentially be a flaky bunch judging from how inconsistent they were during stretches of last season. New York has spent this season flaking, failing, disappointing, and most importantly, not winning. The average Pelicans were able to beat the Knicks 103-99 without Anthony Davis, thanks to a broken hand he suffered in the first half. So that makes nine straight losses for the Knicks, which is just one game away from tying their low during the Larry Brown-led 2005-06 season when they finished 23-59, their worst of the decade. The one positive point a fan can take from the loss was how Tim Hardaway Jr. went 6-for-10 with 21 points. It's a shame the performance isn't going to save some jobs if this season continues like this.
CANDIDATE NO. 2: THE NETS
Nobody knows exactly what happed between the Lakers and Rockets games and Saturday's against the Grizzlies except the Nets themselves. Somewhere along the line, Brooklyn had an epiphany: Maybe playing comeback isn't all it's cracked up to be. Good for the Nets for realizing that. After being down by 20 in consecutive games by halftime, they led the Grizzlies by double digits before the third quarter and ended up winning, 97-88. Brooklyn still has a lot of work to do to be over .500, but for now they can take respite in knowing it's not the worst team in New York.
CANDIDATE NO. 3: BINGHAMTON
There's nothing like an ass-kicking to bring those New Year's Resolutions into perspective. Maybe it's the holiday spirit enveloping Colgate's shooting touch or just poor defense on Binghamton's part, but fellow New York school Colgate decided to go off and shoot 67 percent to destroy the Bearcats, 93-64. Perhaps a bit of luck was on Colgate's side, but you can't look at Binghamton's 1-6 record with that ongoing four-game losing streak and not think it brings some of its eviscerations on itself.
THE WORST TEAM IN NEW YORK TODAY IS...
The Knicks. Their past two losses were by less than five points and another five were by 10 points or less during the losing streak. But you don't get paid to get moral victories. A nine-game losing streak is a nine-game losing streak no matter how you spin it.
