Knicks' Embarrassing Rock Bottom: Who's to Blame?

It was a collaborative effort: they all sucked. Somewhere, most likely in a film room, Tom Thibodeau must’ve been counting his $30-plus million and chuckling at the idea of getting canned because he didn’t collaborate with players and staffers. Or, more importantly, James Dolan, who apparently bailed on the second half, must’ve been second-guessing his declarations of just two weeks prior, when the owner said his Knicks, as constituted and without the need of a major trade, should advance to the NBA Finals. Dolan’s goals looked distant and impossible on MLK Day at MSG, where the Knicks, at full strength, were trampled and embarrassed by the skeleton crew Mavericks 114-97. The pitifulness of the performance is impossible to overstate. The Mavericks (18-26) are not good. Their injury report Monday was like a CVS receipt. No Kyrie Irving. No Anthony Davis. No D’Angelo Russell. No P.J. Washington or Daniel Gafford. The Knicks (25-18), meanwhile, fancy themselves title contenders and had everybody. Jalen Brunson returned. Josh Hart did, too.