TRASH & BURN

With disastrous season finally in rearview, Knicks can toss this lost year back where it belongs

The third full season of the Phil Jackson Regime with the Knicks thankfully ended Wednesday at the Garden. Reflecting upon 2016-17, a third-straight 50-defeat season, one question immediately comes to mind. What rhymes with garbage? The question most ask after a promise-filled 16-13 start implodes is: What went wrong? We might learn in August what Jackson thinks through the writing of pal Charley Rosen. Jackson doesn’t address his daily media coverage. He might tweet something indecipherable, maybe quote an obscure philosopher. But his thoughts usually are revealed after the fact.

“We got off to a good start,” said coach Jeff Hornacek, “then we had a stretch of games where you always say you want to make your own breaks but we had some bad breaks. We had guys hurt. There wasn’t a major injury but we had guys out for four games. We were losing close games. You look back and say, ‘If those guys were playing those games, we’re looking at a whole different record.’ ”

So here’s one view of what went wrong, in no real order.

Defense. More precisely, the lack thereof. The Knicks ranked 23rd in points allowed with 108.0 per game. Their ranking would have been worse, but other teams even tanked better than the Knicks this season. They lacked foot speed and opponents got to the rim too easily. Stop a pick and roll? Might as well have said, “Build a nuclear reactor with stuff from the fridge.”

Athleticism. Carmelo Anthony was a year older. Joakim Noah looked 41 years older. Derrick Rose made some nice dashes

to the rim but showed little defensively. When quickness and movement are now NBA staples, the Knicks were lacking. Hall of Famer Hubie Brown noted the Knicks stunk at closing games, losing 10 games by three points or less. Better athletes may have stopped that trend.

Carmelo Anthony. Yes, he lost a step. But he had to feel underappreciated. He is popular with players around the league, which will affect some free agents (most chase the money). Anthony was a major storyline all season, with his no-trade clause and all of the peripheral stuff, which had to affect him. He played as he always played and publicly was criticized by Jackson, who found few trade options (“The ball sticks. He stinks. Now give me a lot for him”). Here’s a quote often credited to someone not that obscure, Albert Einstein:

“The difference between stupidity and genius is that genius has its limits.”

Kristaps Porzingis. He is the future. Good thing he wasn’t the present. Porzingis is immensely talented, but did not take the giant step forward so many anticipated. Scouts wondered about his role on the team. At 7-foot-3, his post-up presence was nonexistent. True, he fought injuries. But in his second year, opponents knew to be physical. His future is unlimited. This season, not so much. Confusion. It began in training camp for a new team, a new coach, a new system. The point guard, Rose, missed most of it with legal issues. Coach Jeff Hornacek eventually could not run his system, and then the triangle offense was force-fed to often reluctant players.