Report: The Knicks All Hate Each Other

Stop me if you've heard this before, but the Knicks are a mess.

What is the only thing sadder than the Sixers, fielding a bunch of guys pulled off the street, going 2-18 in an attempt to tank its way into a top draft pick? The Knicks, actually trying to win, being just a half-game up on Philly.

Nobody in the NBA has more losses than the Knicks, who after last night's fartbomb in New Orleans appear to be coming apart at the seams. Nine straight losses, Carmelo Anthony is considering sitting out for a while with a sore knee, Phil Jackson says the team has a "loser's mentality," and, oh yeah, players are pausing in the middle of games to schedule fistfights.

The New York Knicks were en route to their fifth straight loss last week against Brooklyn when a frustrated Tim Hardaway Jr. screamed angrily, "Get the rebound!''

Certain his second-year teammate was speaking to him, Carmelo Anthony approached Hardaway on the way down the court and used an expletive to ask Hardaway who in the world he thought he was talking to.

Anthony, according to sources, then used another expletive in telling Hardaway he was going to beat him up when they got into the locker room after the game.

That's from this ESPN.com story, which claims that the hilariously bad Knicks are just as hilariously dysfunctional. Tell me you've seen a funnier NBA-related sentence this year:

Sources said the most tension exists between Anthony and Hardaway as they haven't cared for one another almost since Hardaway joined the team last season, with each player believing the other shoots too much and doesn't care about defense.

If you believe the ESPN report, everyone hates Carmelo because he's a selfish player who doesn't play "team basketball." But then, that "team basketball" also sucks because no one understands how to run the triangle offense, so they all resent Derek Fisher for installing it. But then, they're not going to get better at running it because they're also mad that Fisher is running full practices the days after losses. But then! They're also mad that Fisher doesn't appear to care enough to show enough emotion or frustration during games.

Look, it's not a total disaster. No one has physically fought yet.

"Nobody's taken a swing at anybody, but there's a lot of arguing and cursing each other out after games,'' one source said.

But it's early! Early enough for the Knicks to go on one of those late-winter runs where they reel off enough wins to move themselves out of prime drafting position. Because there's nothing, not even losing, that this team can't fuck up.

Sources: Discord building among Knicks [ESPN]