The New York Knicks currently sit at 23-31 and in 12th in the Eastern Conference following a five-game losing streak and losing nine of their last 10 games. Apparently, Phil Jackson has had enough as he fired head coach Derek Fisher on Monday morning. Fisher will finish his Knicks coaching career with a 40-91 record.
The Knicks entered the 2015-16 season with rather low expectations from NBA experts, as Carmelo Anthony was the lone superstar and no one knew what to expect from rookie Kristaps Porzingis. Instead, Fisher was able to keep his team in the playoff race for the first three months of the season, as Porzingis played like a superstar and the role players pitched in to keep things afloat.
Unfortunately, the success hasn’t lasted as Porzingis has admittedly hit a rookie wall and Anthony has begun to have more problems with his knee that could force him to miss more time over the coming weeks. Without a consistent third option to help carry the load, the Knicks were likely headed down a slippery slope.
The Knicks have named Kurt Rambis as the interim head coach, and his job will be to guide the team to a playoff spot which is likely near impossible at this point. Without Jackson pulling a trade for a superstar prior to the February 18 trade deadline, no coach would be able to turn things around that quickly.
It will be interesting to see how the team responds when they square off against the Washington Wizards on Tuesday night from Madison Square Garden.
