There is only one way this can get worse for the Knicks, of course. They aren’t making the playoffs again, for the third time in three years under Phil Jackson, for the 12th time in the 16 years since Jeff Van Gundy’s last full season as coach in 2000-01. They are a chore to watch, often a bore to watch.
The good stuff has been wrapped up in one person: Kristaps Porzingis. In Porzingis, Knicks fans are allowed to dream of the future. In Porzingis, those fans are entitled to invest still more segments of their soul as they ponder what may lay ahead for this team that inspires such ferocious loyalty among its truest believers.