Rose: 'It's messed up' how Knicks' season has gone
Months before the start of the 2016-17 regular season, Derrick Rose couldn't have been more optimistic about how his first year in the Big Apple would go, with the former MVP even going as far as saying the New York Knicks would be a "super team."
Fast forward to today, and the Knicks find themselves on the outside looking in with a 27-41 record - six games behind the Milwaukee Bucks for the eighth and final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference. They're not mathematically eliminated, but with just 14 games to go, the chances of New York qualifying are bleak.
Suffice it to say, how Rose envisioned the season playing out and how it's actually gone are on opposite ends of the spectrum.
"I didn't care about my stats," Rose said Tuesday, according to Newsday's Al Iannazzone. "It was the fact I was coming to a new team, having a huge opportunity in front of me to come here and try to spark something. It's messed up that it's gone the way that it's gone."
Head coach Jeff Hornacek - who the players have reportedly "tuned out" - understands his Knicks are, in all likelihood, not going to end their playoff drought this season. Rose, on the other hand, isn't ready to throw in the towel.
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"I still haven't - until I know the season's over," said Rose. "It's kind of hard setting goals or having goals early on in the year and things don't work out the way you want them to work out or plans don't go exactly how you want them to go."
The Knicks were right in the thick of things prior to hosting the Boston Celtics on Christmas Day, possessing the 12th-best record in the Association at 16-13. Since then, they've gone 11-28, with only three other teams (the Los Angeles Lakers, Orlando Magic, and Brooklyn Nets) having worse records in that span.
Rose - who is set to become an unrestricted free agent this summer - finished with 16 points on 7-of-12 shooting in a low-scoring 87-81 Knicks victory over the Indiana Pacers on Tuesday at Madison Square Garden, ending the team's three-game losing skid.