NBA Power Rankings: Reaction To New York Knicks Week 15 ESPN Ranking

NBA Power Rankings: The New York Knicks had a rough week from February 1st-6th, losing all of their games; did they drop in the rankings as a result?

Each week over at ESPN, they release their NBA Power Rankings that are written by Marc Stein. Here at Empire Writes Back, we will have our weekly reaction to where the New York Knicks are ranked by Stein and a little feedback on the rankings as a whole.

For the Knicks this past week, things could not have gone much worse, as they went 0-4. That resulted in them dropping two more spots in the ESPN Power Rankings, as they now reside in the 23rd slot.

They lost to the Boston Celtics, Memphis Grizzlies and Denver Nuggets at Madison Square Garden, while also dropping a game on the road against the Detroit Pistons. All of the games were extremely similar, as the Knicks built themselves a huge hole to climb out of in the first half, made a game out of it in the fourth quarter but came up short in the end.

Slow starts and poor offensive execution have been problems for the Knicks throughout the season, but in the last two-three weeks it has really become a problem. In every game except the one against the Celtics, which the Knicks were actually leading at halftime and waited until the second half to implode, they were down by double-digits before the first quarter was over.

That is not a good formula for winning basketball games, as the Knicks are now riding a five-game losing streak and have lost nine of their last 10 games. This comes on the heels of the team reaching the .500 mark after Carmelo Anthony sprained his ankle on a referee against the Celtics back on January 12th.

But, with Anthony now dealing with soreness in his surgically repaired left knee seemingly on a daily basis, and sitting out three of the last eight games, the Knicks have seen their record begin to take a nosedive. To try and put an end to the losing and get the team back on track, they fired head coach Derek Fisher on Monday, naming Kurt Rambis as the head coach on an interim basis.

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Phil Jackson was very blunt when discussing the decision to relieve Fisher of his duties, saying, via Ohm Youngmisuk, “I think it’s nine losses out of the last 10 games. I think it’s the business of winning. Obviously there are games in which we didn’t get off to very good starts recently. But I think Derek was prepared. I think he took this business seriously. I think he was a dedicated worker. Some of that onus is on the players and I let them know that today.”

Jackson also mentioned, via Youngmisuk, that he thought Fisher could have used the resources around him better, saying, “That I was able to surround him with very experienced coaches… was really important too,” Jackson said when asked about Fisher’s lack of experience. “If he didn’t take advantage of that, maybe that’s part of that. Kurt (Rambis), Jim Cleamons, some of the guys that have had detailed experience& There really wasn’t consensus in our staff. We decided to have a real good consensus in a working staff and the changing of ideas and communication.”

It will now be up to Ramis to try and turn the Knicks around and get them back on track. They are only 4.5 games out of a playoff spot in the Eastern Conference, and were looking good for one just two weeks ago before this stretch began. Winning tonight against the Washington Wizards would be a good step in the right direction, as it is the final game for the Knicks before the All-Star festivities begin later this week.

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It would be a good momentum builder, as the Knicks have two winnable games out of the All-Stark break, as they will pay a visit to the Brooklyn Nets and Minnesota Timberwolves.