Epic Fail
Written by Josh Katz
Unless you’ve been living under a rock like those guys from those obnoxious Geico commercials, you know that the Knicks recently traded their entire roster for Chauncey Billups and superstar Carmelo Anthony in a blockbuster trade, giving both parties what they ultimately wanted. It felt like the first night of Chanukah for most Knick fans the night Carmelo made his debut at Madison Square Garden alongside Amar’e Stoudemire. The place was electric, and even against a team like the lowly Milwaukee Bucks, a playoff atmosphere swept through the arena that hadn’t been felt since the days when Patrick Ewing and Pat Riley were Knickerbockers. On paper, the Knicks seemingly had their own “big three”, with veteran point guard Chauncey Billups as lead maestro orchestrating the Knicks high-powered offense. But it has not exactly been a Garden party since ‘Melo has donned his sold out #7 Knicks jersey. The Knicks have been a mediocre 7-8, losing twice to the Cleveland Cavaliers, and losing last weekend to the awful Milwaukee Bucks, after being down 32-9 at the end of the first quarter.
Even the most optimistic of Knicks fans knew that there would be growing pains, bad losses and hiccups while this team transitioned into a formidable opponent, and no one was certain that this team would be a championship contender here in 2011, but nobody with a casual basketball IQ thought that this Knick team would be this unwatchable to start the Carmelo Anthony era. The Knicks have been as up and down as a see-saw, beating Miami one night, and losing to Indiana the next; so up and down, I am beginning to get motion sick. They play zero defense, which is to be expected in Coach Mike “No D” Antoni’s “shoot-first” system, but they simply cannot stop the opposing team in a big spot to save their lives. And now more than ever, they rely heavily on Carmelo Anthony to save the day, which is not exactly his forte. The Knicks are beyond predictable on offense. Carmelo takes 30 shots a game, and the Knicks supplement that with average three-point shooting, which ultimately dooms them down the stretch when they should be attacking the cup or feeding the ball to Amar’e, trying to draw fouls and get to the charity stripe.
I know, it’s only been 16 games since the Carmelo trade, but already I can see a problem with these new-look Knicks. Defense is a mindset and mentality, and the Knicks do not play to stop their opponents. They allow teams beneath them to run up and down the floor, ultimately putting the pressure on themselves to make the big shots, which they proved they cannot do all the time. After surrendering the 6th seed to the Sixers, and with 7th seed Indiana Pacers creeping up slowly behind them, time is running out to get themselves in gear for playoff time, assuming they can even remain in the hunt at this point. I am sure that the Knicks will sneak into the playoffs, get blasted by Boston or Orlando in the first round, thus verifying the extreme hike in season ticket prices next season to watch Carmelo take 30 shots and play no defense. But if the Knicks want to get us fans really excited, they need to install a mindset of defense first, and do it fast. Whether that means changing the coach or the philosophy, I do not care. But I think I speak for every Knick fan when I say that the Carmelo honeymoon is over, and we are getting quite tired of saying “there’s always next year” when it comes to our boys in blue & orange.
