Okay. So, it’s been a dreadful year for hoops in the metro area. Unless you’re an avid fan of some of the best HS basketball, there’s little to get amped over. If you frequent this space- meaning you probably got nothing else better to do- than you know how down I am on my alma mater St. John’s, who got predictably walloped by No.1 rated Syracuse last night 85-66. Can someone please wake me up when the Norm Roberts Era Error finally ends?

Then, you’ve got the Knicks who have come apart at the seams in Mike D’Antoni’s second season similar to last year. Monday, I was busy all day on Battle Of New York catching up on all the chaotic NHL hoopla leading into today’s 3 ET trade deadline. It cost me a chance to see a championship game I’d have liked to have caught. The BC Lady Lions fell at Martin Luther 51-44. Sounds like it was a really good game. Darn. Between that and former Berkeley standout Zoe Cohen’s New Paltz losing their league title by five (50-45) over the weekend, bad luck I guess.

At least those teams put out the effort. A foreign term for the Knicks, who are back to humiliating themselves. How else to explain their 30+ point loss to LeBron’s Cavs? A game so uncompetitive that a disgusted orange and blue fan tweeted about it, which made me check the score. When I saw 74 points for Cleveland and only halftime, my eyes almost popped out. They trailed 101-59 at the end of three quarters. C ‘mon!

While the Knicks have dropped 10 of 11 and 13 of their last 15, there aren’t even words to describe the ineptitude of the Nets, who amazingly with their 104-96 upset of the Celtics in Beantown have fared better. Yes. Remarkably, they’ve won two of their last seven. Break ‘em up! Too bad this sad bunch had just four more wins in 59 games, making the Jersey disgrace 6-53. Impossible. This is a pro sports franchise who boasts talented inside/outside duo Brook Lopez and Devin Harris. Courtney Lee, Yi Jianlian and Chris Douglas-Roberts aren’t bad either. However, it hasn’t mattered with injuries and lackluster play costing Lawrence Frank his job. If only it was getting better under Kiki Vandeweghe.

Amazingly, when you look at some of the pieces along with the enormous opportunity to win the NBA Lottery and select Kentucky’s John Wall, they could be much improved this Fall. Given the franchise’s uncertainty surrounding Brooklyn with the club shifting from the Meadowlands to The Rock, would a July 1 big name consider them? A lineup featuring Wall, Harris and Lopez is intriguing.

While their closest rivals cleared plenty of space by acquiring Tracy McGrady, there appears to be more unknowns surrounding the Knicks. Outside of Danilo Gallinari and Wilson Chandler, there’s little else who will be back. Of the other moves Donnie Walsh made, Eddie House has been alright in his familiar role off the bench. With not many other options, D’Antoni is overusing him which has led to more misses from the outside. Speedy Spanish guard Sergio Rodriguez has proven he can get into the lane and dish but has a tendency to hold onto the ball too much. Spanish Chocolate needs to bulk up. As for Bill Walker, the jury’s out.

For all the positives David Lee brings, his defense is atrocious. Mr. Double Double can’t guard bigger centers and is exposed daily. Would you re-sign him and only target one max player? The Knicks are better off letting Lee walk while chasing Chris Bosh and either LeBron or D-Wade. They still need to address the lack of true point guard and a big man. Something they’ve lacked since that No.33 which hangs from the rafters.

Finally, just to exhibit how bad Net bball is, they’re so desperate to get people to come that they’re whoreing tix anyway they can. Ball Don’t Lie’s Trey Kerby had more on the bizarro marketing of the Nets:

This Friday, the Nets will unleash another in their long line of minor league-esque promos:

Their latest promotion will be unveiled Friday, when the Nets play the Orlando Magic. New Jersey residents 18 or older who attend the game will get a coupon that they can redeem at a Roni Deutch Tax Center to get their state income tax done free.

No one likes doing their taxes, but is it worth having to go to a Nets game? At just a $29 value, I’m not so sure.

Uh…this is a new low. If you’ve flipped to a Net game, the empties make it seem like nobody cares. Either that or huge blizzards every night which come to think of it, could’ve been possible given how the winter’s been. Perhaps it’s time for a new slogan.

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