Philadelphia, PA (SportsNetwork. Mookie Wilson Jersey .com) - This week, in almost every facet imaginable, has been a disaster for the New York Knickerbockers. On the court, the team is mired in a 10-game losing streak, which is two off the longest rut in team history. Their 4-20 start is the worst in team history and their 20 losses are the most in the NBA this season. Thank God for math, (which is a contradictory statement, I get it,) because math is the only thing saving the Knicks from the worst record in the league. The Philadelphia 76ers still own that dubious honor fractionally. The NBA tried to change the rules of drafting to combat the Sixers awfulness. What will the association do if the Knicks earn that distinction? Ban Michael Rapaport? On Monday, team president Phil Jackson said the Knicks possess a losers mentality. He said the team has combated the change in culture. Basically, Phil is disappointed, but those are harsh words from the president, who put together part of this roster embedded with a losers mentality. When it comes to having a losers mentality, what I can take from that, I think when you lose games consistently the same way that were losing games I think its easy to get accustomed to kind of trying not to lose rather than trying to win games, explained superstar Carmelo Anthony. On Tuesday, the Knicks lost to the New Orleans Pelicans. On Wednesday, several reports came out that Anthony and second-year man Tim Hardaway, Jr. butted heads about Anthonys shot selection, his defense, his leadership, his rebounding, you name it. We also learned the Knicks employed the tried-and-true players-only meeting earlier in the week. It was a very productive meeting, Anthony said on Thursday. Everybody had the platform to kind of speak their peace on what they felt about whats going on and how they can better the situation. Then, overnight Thursday into Friday, the New York Post reported that Anthony would be willing to waive his no-trade clause for a better situation. Oof. What a week. If you look at each individual instance, its bad. But Ill tell you all of this is much ado about nothing. Its never a good thing for the team president to introduce the L-word into the equation when speaking about his team. Anthony could be correct in his assessment of the situation, but it could mean a few different things. One, maybe Jackson is trying to motivate his troops in a way head coach Derek Fisher cant. Ive been around flagpoles more animated than Fisher, so perhaps Jackson is stoking the flames for his coach. No matter what, you cant call Jackson wrong in what he said. Brutal honesty is his game. It can sometimes be confused with arrogance, but hes consistent. He and Fisher also both spoke of this resistance to change within the Knicks. Thats 100 percent their problem to fix with these players, or, to find players who can adapt. The philosophical dilemma facing the Knicks is: should we try to mold the players to fit what we want to do, or should we play more to the strength of our roster, but at the expense of what we want to do? Its a toughie. And youve heard by now how awful the triangle offense is in New York, how ineffective the Knicks are at running it and how the players have been wedged into running it like square pegs in round holes. This personnel may not be the best equipped for running this offense, fine. However, its still just an offensive system. Its not radical. Its passing and cutting. Melo is an elite scorer who should thrive in any offensive structure so long as a hoop and a ball are involved. Offense is clearly an issue considering the Knicks rank 27th in scoring, but its hardly the only problem. The Knicks are in middle of the pack defensively in terms of scoring and field-goal percentage. They are 27th in defensive efficiency, which is number of points allowed per possession. New York gets outrebounded by almost three boards per game, which is tied for 26th. They are 29th in rebounding on their own. Basically, there are issues running deeper than the triangle and who Jackson and Fisher are trying to shoe-horn into it. The fighting between players doesnt bother me in the least. It shows some passion, which, frankly, seems to lack on the court. If a team loses 10 in a row, it should be mad. Every member of that squad should be chapped and so be it if its at one of your own. Anytime a superstar gets called out for things, is also a positive in my mind. It means they arent bigger than the establishment. Where I do have a problem is the fact that a second-year, backup shooting guard is the one calling out Anthony. My issue isnt his stature on the team, but this group is so devoid of leadership that Hardaway is the one having to call out Melo? Oh yeah, their leader is a Dallas Maverick, or the head coach of the Milwaukee Bucks. Theres no one in the locker room who can defuse this situation. Fisher appears incapable of controlling the team and calling people out for their problems. Thats a concern, especially on Fishers end. Its probably time for a few non-church words from Fisher. Thankfully, but for the grace of God, theres no lingering issue between Melo and Tim. Me and Tim have no problems. Hell tell you the same thing. Thats pretty much all I can say, Anthony said. Tim is a guy who I always wrapped my arm around and put under my wing from day one, helped him through times when hes been down, and I will continue doing that. This really could be a heat of the moment situation. Neither denied the altercation took place. And, even if they believe their own opinions, and disagree with the others, its time to show some pride. Fights happen when situations stink and emotions are in play. This whole thing shows me at least a few guys care enough to have to be separated. While not believing anothers sources is generally a frowned upon concept, I have serious doubt about Anthony being traded, certainly anytime soon. First, hes 24 games into a five-year, $124 million contract and it seems a tad early for either side to push the panic button. Within the story, writer Marc Berman says Anthony isnt quite there yet on asking for the trade, but might consider. Secondly, how tradable is Anthony at the moment? Hes owed all that money on the current deal and Berman reported he has a trade kicker which is worth 15 percent of the current contract. So, as the Post states, if Anthony was traded on Monday, the Mavs, or Houston Rockets, or Los Angeles Lakers would owe him a lump-sum of $17 million, plus the remainder of the five-year deal. Thats mighty prohibitive. And, finally, who wants Melo at the moment? He missed Wednesdays game with the San Antonio Spurs because of a knee injury, which he said, wont get any worse, but it wont get any better, so its just a matter of how much pain I can take. General managers must be lining up for that kind of financially-crippling, damaged-goods swap. Bad things happen to bad teams throughout the course of the season. The Knicks were bad last season, but not like this. Theyre new to handling embarrassment. Thats what leads to fights and public bickering. It appears to be nothing more than that. Guys are spouting off. The Knicks need to improve in a lot of areas, including making decisions on the triangle. But Fisher needs to be more assertive, even if it contradicts his personality to an extent. Melo isnt going anywhere. Neither are the Knicks this season. What were the expectations? Among pundits I thought I was pretty generous thinking they could contend with the Brooklyn Nets for the eighth seed. No one believed this team was a contender. They are going through the growing pains, or shrinking pains, of a team new to being really bad. Call it the infancy of the rebuild. Maybe this week of nonsense creates a spark. It all looks bad, but these things happen to teams without hope. Just wait until next summer when those Andrea Bargnani and Amare Stoudemire contracts come off the books. There wont be fights then. RANDOM THOUGHTS - The Oklahoma City Thunder are already just 2 1/2 games out of the eighth seed in the Western Conference. Kevin Durant has been in uniform a little over a week and they made up half their deficit already. There are four teams between them for that final spot, but Denver, Sacramento, New Orleans and Phoenix are no match for OKC. In fact, Durant hasnt really played well yet, so this group might end up cruising into the playoffs. - The MVP at the quarter pole, to a lot of people, will be Anthony Davis. Hes a freak. However, my vote would go to James Harden of the Houston Rockets. Dwight Howard was playing well and the two led them to wins. Howard has been down for weeks, and the Rockets keep winning. Houston is a top-three team now in opponents scoring, and while Harden isnt All-Defensive material, hes improved. Plus, the Rockets missed point guard Patrick Beverley for a stretch so all play-making fell on Hardens beard. - Three teams have winning streaks of eight games or longer. - Kobe Bryant profanity-laced tirades make me smile. - Movie moment - Christmas Vacation time of year and Im not one to give financial advice, but Clark may want to cancel the pool. Theres an obscene amount of property damage after that holiday, plus, who knows if he gets hit for the storm sewer explosion, which didnt kill a frail 80-year-old man who flew 20 feet in the air. The police wont cover the expenses when SWAT came in through every window in the building. Insurance, probably not either. Clark just needs to be a little safer with that bonus. - TV moment - Im going to miss the Stephen Colbert character if he doesnt bring that with him to CBS. I understand why he wouldnt, but I dont think hell abandon it totally. Daniel Zamora Jersey . Jamies number grades given are out of five, with five being the best mark. Tuukka Rask, Boston Bruins (5) – He had a brilliant game; it was a huge response for his average games before. New York Mets Shirts . -- The Detroit Lions made it crystal clear to Golden Tate that he was their top target in free agency. https://www.cheapmetsjerseys.us/1390l-j-d-davis-jersey-mets.html . Vonn had another scary moment at Saturdays World Cup downhill in Val dIsere, ending up clutching her knee in pain after losing her balance and missing a gate. But she gave a reassuring answer shortly afterward, saying no new damage had been done to the surgically repaired knee, and that her plans for the Sochi Olympics were still intact.VITTORIO VENETO, Italy -- Stefano Pirazzi won the 17th stage of the Giro dItalia on Wednesday, the first professional victory of his career while Nairo Quintana retained the overall leaders pink jersey. Pirazzi made an obscene arm gesture as he crossed the finish line and was reduced to tears following his win. "It wasnt a nice gesture, Im sorry, forgive me," Pirazzi said. "But its been five years of anger, five years of criticism. As the days went by, my moral was going down. I was here to get this victory finally, that was the target. "I was unleashing all that. Five years of criticism is a lot for a young guy. I really had to deal with a lot. Today I reached a goal that I wanted since I was a young boy watching the Giro. Im very happy. Ill enjoy it and never forget this moment." Pirazzi, who had led from the breakaway, made his move with little more than a kilometre remaining and edged out Tim Wellens and Jay McCarthy in a sprint at the end of the 204-kilometre (127-mile) stage from Sarnonico to Vittorio Veneto. The peloton crossed the line 15:36 behind Pirazzi as the top overall standings were unchanged. Quintana remained 1:41 ahead of fellow Colombian Rigoberto Uran and 3:21 ahead of Cadel Evans, with Pierre Rolland only five seconds further back. Victorias Ryder Hesjedal, the 2012 Giro champion, finished 33rd in Wednesdays stage and was in ninth overall, 4:16 back of Quintana. Svein Tuft of Langley, B.C., was in 158th after finishing 144th in stage 17. Quintana had moved into pink after Tuesdays tough leg, which was marrred by confusion after some teams believed part of the route had been neutralized -- meaning the times for that section wouldnt count. Stephen Nogosek Jersey. "In reality there is no controversy," Quintana said. "I know what happened. Theyre creating a story which isnt there. "It would be unjust (if they took time away from me). The organization said the race wasnt neutralized so why remove an advantage that I won?" The peloton remained together for almost half the route before a group of 26 riders managed to get away. After the previous tough stage -- where the cyclists had to deal not only with both the legendary Gavia and Stelvio climbs, but with snow and rain as well -- the peloton was happy to keep a steady pace and let the escape go. The best-placed rider in the break was Damiano Cunego, who was more than 48 minutes behind Quintana, and so the pink jersey group allowed the gap to go out to more than 12 minutes. Thomas De Gendt attacked from the breakaway on the approach to the last of three classified climbs, the ascent up the Muro di Ca del Poggio. Pirazzi followed and caught the Belgian cyclist near the summit, and they were soon joined by Wellens, McCarthy and Matteo Montaguti. There were attacks off the chasing group but the quintets advantage continued to grow and it swiftly became apparent they would not be caught before the finish. The Giro returns to the mountains in Thursdays 18th stage, a 171km (106-mile) leg from Belluno, with a summit finish up to Rifugio Panarotta. The race ends on Sunday in Trieste. ' ' '