Battle for New York

Tonight the Brooklyn Nets will face the New York Knicks to determine who is worst in New York. Yes, I know this is a Celtics blog.  But because the Nets and the Knicks have so badly stumbled out of the gate this season, the temptation was too irresistible not to throw salt in the wounds of the Celtics' Atlantic Division rivals.  The Nets and the Knicks are battling to see who is not the worst. Certainly with respective records of 5-13 and 3-13, neither team has any right to claim who is the best!  

Perhaps it's the Sports Illustrated Curse (this would be kind).  In October, Sports Illustrated 2013-2014 NBA season preview issue featured the Brooklyn Nets starting line up and Coach Jason Kidd on the cover with the headline "Who Wants a Piece of Them?"  The answer is apparently any team that wants to improve its win-loss record.  The Nets have been making headlines this season, but, unfortunately for them, its been for spilled drinks and cheating rather than for their basketball prowess (Spillage on the Floor!).  For Celtics fans, the Nets early season woes have eliminated any sting from the trade of All Stars Paul Pierce and Kevin Garnett to the Brooklyn Nets in exchange for Chris "Mr. Ex-Kardashian" Humphries and Richard Wallace -  who do you think now got the better end of that trade?

Meanwhile, the headlines for the Nets rivals across the East River haven't been any better.  You have Carmelo calling his own team "Laughingstocks" of the NBA and sports writers speculating on the prospects of the Knicks trading Carmelo Anthony.  

In both cases, the teams abysmal performance is due to bad management.  In Brooklyn, the team has handed over running of the team to an unqualified-never-coached-before-very-recent-NBA player.  The Nets also succumbed to short-term thinking and traded for some aging talent that may be past their expiration date.  The Knicks are owned by a meddlesome owner who likes hanging around with stars more than he cares about putting together a good basketball team.  And as a result, the Knick have built the team around a selfish Superstar who doesn't leave enough oxygen in the gym for the rest of his teammates to thrive.