“Hopefully Mark Sanchez is not watching”
You know the New York Knicks’ season has gone off the rails when the New York Jets‘ exploits are being invoked.
After last season’s resurgence, which saw them earn their best win tally and playoff appearance since 2013, the Knicks (22-24) currently sit on the outside of the NBA’s playoff picture.
They currently sit 4.5 games out of the Eastern Conference’s last playoff spot and a half-game behind the Boston Celtics for the four-team play-in tournament for the final two spots. Their latest loss became Jets-esque, as a blunder in the first quarter reminded Walt “Clyde” Frazier of one of the most infamous moments in Gang Green history.
Early in the Knicks’ 102-91 defeat at the hands of the New Orleans Pelicans on Thursday night, friendly fire wound up costing the Knicks two points. With the game knotted at four points apiece with nearly four minutes gone by in the opening frame, Evan Fournier’s drive to net was inadvertently disrupted by Julius Randle, who was trying to set a pick.
On the ensuing turnover, Herbert Jones took the ball the rest of the way to give New Orleans a 6-4 lead—one that would sustain them for the rest of the game.
They’d eventually earn a 102-91 victory, dooming the Knicks to their third consecutive defeat.
Oh, Clyde … why must you injure #Jets Twitter?
Walt Clyde Frazier compares a Julius Randle-Evan Fournier collision to the infamous Butt Fumble, starring Mark Sanchez. pic.twitter.com/y8nv1SIAkz
— Jets X-Factor (@jetsxfactor) January 21, 2022
Frazier, calling the game for MSG Network, tried to add humor to the macabre proceedings, remarked that the Fournier-Randle pratfall was “reminiscent of the old butt trick with the Jets”, referencing the infamous “Butt Fumble” lost by Mark Sanchez when he ran into the backside of blocker Brandon Moore during a one-sided, primetime loss to the New England Patriots in 2012.
Play-by-play man Kenny Albert hopes that Sanchez, now one of his NFL colleagues at Fox Sports, isn’t watching.
The Knicks and Jets have been partners in misfortune over the past decade-plus. On the hardwood, the Knicks have won only a single playoff series since 2001 while the Jets are trapped in the midst of the NFL’s longest playoff drought at 11 years.
New York continues its basketball endeavors on Sunday afternoon when it takes over what’s normally the Jets’ timeslot on Sunday afternoon (1:00 p.m. ET, MSG Networks).
Geoff Magliocchetti in on Twitter @GeoffJMags
