The New York Knicks have lost 13 of their last 14 games, as Damian Lillard lit up their young backcourt for 37 points on 10-of-18 shooting and an incandescent 8-for-11 from deep. With their only win coming right after the All-Star break against the Orlando Magic, head coach Jeff Hornacek has been shuffling the pieces, but it might not prove enough to save his job.
Yet the man at the helm hasn't gotten any indication that his job is on the line quite yet.
“I still have next year so unless they tell me something different,” said Hornacek, who has one year left on his contract, according to Chris Iseman of NorthJersey.com.
Hornacek started rookie Frank Ntilikina for the first time at the off guard position, scoring six points on 2-of-7 shooting in the absence of Courtney Lee, who didn't play for personal reasons.
Starting point guard Emmanuel Mudiay had a mere three points on 1-for-9 shooting, adding to the long list of his shooting woes in his career. After a strong showing against the Golden State Warriors, Mudiay has faded, notching two single-digit scoring games and a goose egg against the Sacramento Kings, going 0-for-6 from the field.
The Knicks have been allowed to play through mistakes, which is the main benefit for a team that's tanking the season, but even an unprecedented ACL tear to Kristaps Porzingis couldn't keep Hornacek's job from being in danger.
As part of the Phil Jackson regime, this new front office of Steve Mills and Scott Perry could decide to go in another direction this offseason, with no clear benefits of keeping Hornacek as the boss.
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