Hopeless NY Knicks ads make us glad to be Celts fans


Are the New York Knicks hopeless? Well, they have been for at least the past 17 years, and the trend continues. Fox Sports 1 decided to do an absolutely insane ad campaign on the New York subway system, and here is NY Daily News' Brett Bodner and Jake Becker on the matter:

A Fox Sports 1 ad campaign asked riders on Tuesday to “pick a side” on the Times Square to Grand Central shuttle: Are the Knicks hopeful or hopeless?

Half of the train was a negative ad on the outside, referring to the franchise as “hopeless” alongside photos of Joakim Noah and Tim Hardaway Jr.

Side by side were seats with “Sit here if you blame Phil,” “Sit here if you blame Melo,” and “Sit here if you blame Dolan.”

But the ads, which were installed on Monday, weren’t all negative — the other side of the car featured “hopeful” along with a picture of star Kristaps Porzingis.

In a great city and market, the Knicks have done absolutely nothing of note in the past 17 years. Who is to blame? My readers know I would be glad to blame Phil Jackson, and I do, but only in part. He was only there for 3 years. But the team record during his reign as Knicks President was 80-166. Not the type of record we expect from the Zen Master. How about Joakim Noah? I don't blame him, but I do blame the large contract. Noah always gave his all, but he just doesn't have it anymore. Carmelo Anthony? No, he never had a chance there. How about owner, James Dolan? This take is from Wikipedia:
Numerous media and informal fan polls, including a recent Sports Illustrated poll, have ranked Dolan the worst owner in the NBA. In 2007, NBA Commissioner David Stern criticized Dolan's management of the Knicks, saying "they're not a model of intelligent management."


The plot of the movie Eddie (see above tweet) is as insane as the ads. Whoopie Goldberg plays a woman who takes over as coach of the Knicks. But she has also played a medium who talks to ghosts. Frank Langella plays the owner of the Knicks, but he has also played Dracula. Donald trump plays himself, as always. A ghost-talker Knicks coach, A blood-sucking team owner and a Trump cameo. Definitely a Knicks movie. It didn't do well at the box office. Kind of like the team. Okay, here is the other side of the subway car. The take from this is that Tim Hardaway, Jr. seems to be both a part of the hope and part of the hopelessness. I think the contract is is the problem, not Tim.



So as far as blame for the Knicks sad state, Dolan gets a lot of it, Phil gets some and Melo gets none. Kristaps Porzingis is their ace in the hole, but if things keep going south he may get more and more discouraged. He is their hope, if there is any at all. The Knicks signing Tim Hardaway, Jr. to a 71-million/four-year contract in the off-season didn't endear them to the team's fans. It is viewed as another bad move.

So, as former Commissioner David Stern said, the Knicks are "...not a model of intelligent management." Sounds like an understatement. Thank heaven Dolan is not our team owner and that Phil Jackson is not a Celtics executive. You can hop on the Green Line enroute to TD Garden and not have to choose your seat based on your views of hope or hopelessness in your team. All the seats are hopeful. We should be glad to be Celtics fans. .

Photo via Jake Becker/New York Daily News