NEW YORK (AP) The New York Knicks fired coach David Fizdale on Friday after two straight blowout losses dropped them to 4-18, a person with knowledge of the decision said.
Fizdale ran practice earlier in the day but was then fired, the person told The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because no announcement had been made.
The Knicks have lost eight straight games, with the last two by scores of 132-88 to Milwaukee on Monday night and 129-92 to Denver on Thursday night. They have the worst record in the Eastern Conference after finishing with the worst record in the NBA last season in Fizdale’s first season.
Fizdale’s firing was first reported by ESPN.
The Knicks went 17-65 last season to match the worst record in franchise history and they are on pace to even worse this season. New York missed out on the top stars that were available in free agency and the players they did get haven’t meshed nearly well enough.
Still, team executives expected better results, saying so with an unusual press conference to express their disappointment after a loss to Cleveland on Nov. 10 dropped them to 2-8.
Things didn’t get much better from there, especially once the scheduled turned tougher this month.
And it led to the second straight quick exit for Fizdale as a head coach. The former Miami assistant led Memphis to the playoffs in his first season, but then was fired after the Grizzlies got off to a 7-12 start in 2017-18 and he clashed with center Marc Gasol.
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