The rise of the Knicks and the struggle by the Bay

This should be a fun game.

There’s a mainentenance supervisor at my job from New York (Brooklyn to be exact) who moved to the Bay Area to learn coding and get some Pacific Coast sunshine. He’s a warm fellow, the kinda guy who will spot you from across the street and shout, “Ayoooo!” while giving a thumbs up high in the air.

As our friendship has grown from head nods in the street to daps and hugs in downtown Oakland, I had to ask about his favorite basketball team: the New York Knicks.

He turned to me in a faux sinister sneer, rubbing his hands together like a cartoon mouse who had stumbled across a big block of gold cheese.

“Ayo son, the Knicks is a problem this year, you hear me my boyeee?”. He then dramatically raised his head back and lifted his eyes to the heavens before muttering, “This may be our year.”

I burst out laughing. The Knicks ain’t winning a damn thing, and that’s a gold blooded guarantee. I know that you, the loyal members of Dub Nation HQ know that, and I’d bet you deep down inside of their hearts the Knicks know that too.

But what do I know? I haven’t watched more than 49 seconds of Knicks basketball this year besides what I’ve seen from Twitter feed highlights. So, I had to ask where all this fountain of hubris was bubbling up from (award winning journalists like myself are burdened with the responsibility of always probing for more).

“Who the Knicks got bro?” I sincerely asked. “You got the Brunson dude, that’s about it”.

He staggered back, clutching his chest as if I had just shot him in the heart at point blank range.

“WHO THE KNICKS GOT? First of all Jalen Brunson is HIM. He’s that dude and he’s coming for souls, my guy”.

His staggering histrionics had now morphed into a slow, giddy shuffle towards me, pointing to his fingers as if he were rattling out 5 reasons the Knicks would be champs, with Brunson’s greatness leading the way.

“And OG Anouby and Donte DiVincenzo are straight dogs!” he exclaimed while emphatically clapping his hands. Warriors fans can relate to DDV being an elite glue-guy running on pure hustle and grit after his time with the Dubs last season. And Anunoby was formerly a prized developmental piece for the Toronto Raptors who is entering into his basketball prime at 26 years old, standing at 6-foot-7 240 lbs.

At that point, a faint sound of smashing glass in the near distance jerked our attention down Broadway. “Bippers,” we both muttered in unison.

Somebody’s car was getting their windows shattered out in broad day light and their belongings ripped out of their vehicles by thieves. As the getaway car arrogantly cruised away from the crime, windows tinted black as night, our eyes followed the vehicle with the jaded wariness that can only come from seeing these shenanigans on a day in and day out basis.

As the culprit’s car disappeared down the block, foot traffic resumed around us. “Anyways, nah Julius Randle is trash B,” the maintenance supervisor grumbled, his eyes staring off down the street. “He can only go one direction with the ball, if you stop that his ball-hoggin ass ain’t doing nothing else.”

And here I was believing Randle, the Kobe Disciple, was their best player.

“Anyways I gotta get back to work, don’t we play yall Thursday?” he teased. “CURRY IN TROUBLE SON!”.

We dapped our goodbyes as I vehemently chuckled at the fact that he believed the Knicks would ever stand a chance against the Golden Empire. Then I remembered the Knicks are actually one of the best teams in the East this year…and the Warriors are fighting to stay relevant in the Western Conference standings.

It’s Thursday folks. Will the Dubs answer the call in New York City today?!?!