NEW YORK _ The mood was restless at Madison Square Garden on Wednesday night, the Knicks down by 16 points and fading in the third quarter when the chants grew loud, a chorus of, "We want Kanter," breaking out from all over the stands.
And just a couple of hours after he said he would not be swayed by the voices in the crowd, Knicks coach David Fizdale signaled to the end of the bench and called for Enes Kanter, who had been chatting with Garden chairman James Dolan as the chants echoed through the arena. The cheers grew louder and when a break in the action allowed him to enter, Kanter, who had not played in the last four games, stepped to center court, slid down to the floor and kissed the Knicks logo.
Maybe in another season it would have inspired a comeback victory for the Knicks. But in this season Kanter immediately fired up an air ball and the deficit steadily grew until the Knicks fell to the Dallas Mavericks, 114-90. The only cheers left came when Dirk Nowitzki entered the game late in the fourth quarter and drained a three-point field goal, a going away present for the NBA legend.
For the Knicks though, it was just one more loss in a long season. The Knicks had a night off Tuesday, a chance to relax after 10 consecutive defeats. And even on a night off they found themselves absorbing more losses.
First, the focus on player development took a hit as none of the five rookies or sophomore on the roster were selected to participate in the Rising Stars Challenge on All-All-Star Weekend. And then when the Cleveland Cavaliers beat the Washington Wizards on Tuesday it allowed the Knicks to slip into the basement, holding the worst winning percentage in the NBA.
It's not exactly the advertisement the Knicks want to flash across the league as they hope for players like Anthony Davis to want to join on for their rebuilding project.
"Yeah you never want to be there," Knicks coach David Fizdale said. "But I'm also a realist when it comes to where we are and what we've had to go through as a team. This is just the beginning for us. This is not something that's going to define us as a group. The character of this group is a winning character and I see great things coming for them. I see them getting better at a lot of stuff right now, especially defensively.
"So they're taking their lumps. And that's fine. Somebody has to be in that spot right now and that's us. But we've got a lot of time to play and I expect us to continue to get better."
It would be hard to be worse. The Knicks are now 10-40 with 11 straight losses, 19 in their last 20 games and 24 in the last 26. They haven't won at home since Dec. 1. While a team like the Mavs arrived below .500 at least they could point to their star rookie, Luka Doncic, and even enjoy the last go-round for Nowitzki.
The Knicks are left to find bright spots in a season bereft of much to cheer about. The chants at home have been mostly for Zion Williamson, regarded as the prize of the upcoming NBA draft _ although the Knicks drop to the bottom comes in a season when the league, in an effort to deter teams from tanking, provided the bottom three teams all with the same 14 percent chance to win the lottery. For the get-rich quick crowd, that means an 86 percent chance the Knicks are watching someone else selling Zion jerseys.
"Obviously you always want to win," Fizdale said. "Every game we play we're trying to win, but to see who can ultimately fill in the gaps for a winning team as we go into free agency and things like that, next year's draft. What guys can really fill in winning roles once we get to August of next year? These guys, like I said, they have a real workman-like attitude, they don't get beatdown. They keep coming back."
Not all of them. Kanter, who has also drawn chants from the crowd as he has gone from a double-double contributor to a benchwarmer, is likely to be gone soon _ whether in a trade by the February 7 deadline or to a buyout. Fizdale insisted before the game he would not be moved by the chants.
"No, because it's not like I'm just making a decision about him, oh I'm just not playing Enes," Fizdale said. "This is how we're moving forward. This is a philosophy. That's the toughest part of this business to have to decide those things on a player when you never want to do that. But at the end of the day, the thing I've been happy with is how he's been responding with his work and how he's been cheering on his teammates. I don't get too caught up in all the chants and that stuff, I've got a job to do."
