Bulls win. Knicks lose.
Charlotte, Philly, Sacramento win, all now have 32 wins like the Knicks. Where the Knicks were once hovering around the 10th or 11th worst record, it's possible that they'll fall below those teams and maybe even Seattle or Portland (31 wins each) to get to 5th worst. The way they looked tonight, it's possible.
The Bulls completely destroyed them from the outset, holding the Knicks to a first quarter with 10 points and 10 turnovers. I'm sure there's plenty of great stats like that (Eddy Curry: 4 points), and even I quit watching halfway through the third when the Bulls stole inbounds passes on consecutive possessions and stretched the lead in the 30s.
To be fair, the Knicks weren't that bad of a team this season, but all the injuries they've suffered mean you get a lot of Mardy Collins, Nate Robinson, and Malik Rose, which isn't good for business. They can't even rally around eachother and play for the coach's job, since Isiah already got a contract extension after being in the 8th playoff spot for a day.
(I wonder if we'll be reading these types of columns again anytime soon?)
Rooting against the Knicks has been a really fun side story this season. Normally to get a lottery pick you have to get into the whole 'tanking' business, and then ethical debates over tanking and rooting for losses, and it's just awful and boring. Rooting against a different team with your team's pick is rare, and a lot more fun. I'm really going to miss it.
But it's just a feather in Pax's cap as we look to more important things, like keeping the #2 seed. Miami also lost today and seem firmly entrenched at #4, and as I've said before, the Bulls falling to #5 and facing them in the first round is a pretty shitty reward for a good season. So here's to avoiding it, and more blowouts of bad teams the rest of the way. Hell, while we're at hoping and wishing, why not pull for Jersey catching Washington for #6...