Knicks Still With Much To Prove
April, 29th 2001. That is the last time the New York Knickerbockers registered a postseason win. The Knicks beat the Toronto Raptors that Spring day 10 years ago. Glen Rice scored 18 points off the New York bench for Head Coach Jeff Van Gundy. Antonio Davis was Toronto’s leading scorer with 19 points.
Yes, it seems like a lifetime ago… And although the Knicks qualified for the postseason again in 2004, they were quickly swept back into irrelevance by Jason Kidd’s New Jersey Nets, who destroyed New York in four straight games.
For the most part, the past decade has constituted the franchise’s dark ages. Perpetual gray skies and black clouds seemed to be constantly hovering over Madison Square Garden. This once-proud organization devolved from a NBA flagship franchise into a league-wide laughingstock. From embarrassing off-court incidents, lawsuits, and assorted drama, to incessant losing on the floor, the last 10 years have given Knicks fans very little to smile about. However, over the past 10 months, the clouds have parted and some sunlight has begun to break through.
Thanks in large part to the diligent and imaginative work of Donnie Walsh the Knicks are back on the right track. It began with Walsh committing to a full-scale rebuilding effort, a determined endeavor to thoroughly cleanse MSG after the stench and grime of the previous decade had permeated nearly every crevice of the organization.
Walsh’s first step was clearing out the cap-clogging contracts, which would give the Knicks something they hadn’t had in ages: cap space. By the time the summer of 2010 arrived, the Knicks finally had the financial flexibility to be players in the free-agent market. Although they didn’t land the apple of the Big Apple’s eye (LeBron James), Walsh was able to secure Amar’e Stoudemire.
There were some skeptics as to whether New York made a wise decision in handing Amar’e $100 million; STAT, on the other hand, had no such doubts. Stoudemire swaggered onto the scene and announced loudly, for the world to hear: "The Knicks are back."
New York stumbled out of the gates in early November, but quickly righted the ship. By late December, New York had one of the East’s better records, and Amar’e was being serenaded with "MVP" chants whenever he stepped to the free-throw line. Nonetheless, NY’s makeover was certainly not yet complete.
The next big move was the much ballyhooed trade with the Denver Nuggets, netting New York Carmelo Anthony (a fellow superstar to pair alongside Amar’e) and Chauncey Billups. There have certainly been some bumps in the road since the blockbuster deal was completed; however, this past Sunday night in New York, when the Knicks defeated the Cleveland Cavaliers, it became official: NY was back in the playoffs. Finally.
It has been 10 long years since the Knicks won a playoff game. Do they have a chance to snap that streak this season? We shall see. However, as we glance forward toward the Knicks’ re-entrance into the playoffs, one thing is for certain- there are many of interesting subplots to that will peak plenty of interest:
* D’Antoni Feeling the HEAT?
When Mike D’Antoni agreed to become head coach of the Knicks in 2008, he was fully aware of what lay in front of him. Walsh had just began the rebuilding process and D’Antoni realized that he would be forced to coach a rag-tag collection of players over his first two seasons in NYC, a group of guys essentially assembled solely because their contracts expired on June 30th, 2010. The plan was to stay afloat those first two seasons, and then reap the rewards of his patience in the form of a revamped and drastically improved roster in time for the start of the 2010-2011 season. His teams lost plenty of games from 2008 through 2010, but no one, in good conscious, can pin those defeats on D’Antoni. In all fairness, this is the first season of his New York tenure that can be adequately judged. Nonetheless, D’Antoni has heard the rumblings from some unhappy fans and media members. One issue that has always lurked somewhere in the shadows is that D’Antoni’s style of play was never a perfect fit in NYC. Many New Yorkers were raised on the gritty, defensive-minded Knicks of the 1990s. Some were skeptical that D’Antoni’s unique style could produce meaningful (postseason) success.
In addition, D’Antoni initially signed a four-year contract, which means he has just one season left on his pact. With Donnie Walsh’s future possibly in question (due to his health, and potentially James Dolan’s stupidity?), D’Antoni is by no means guaranteed a long-term extension at this point. Thus, this upcoming first-round matchup could be an important factor in determining D’Antoni’s fate with the Knicks. What if New York gets spanked and quickly bounced from the playoffs and then starts off next season slowly as well? There will be plenty of people calling for D’Antoni’s scalp. Will too much emphasis be placed on the importance of a few games? Probably… Mind you, D’Antoni has only had a month or so (and very few practices) to round this new team into shape. However, all that will be forgotten over the summer. This is a results-orientated business.
The first issue D’Antoni has to address, even before the playoffs begin, is how he will handle resting his Big 2.5 of Stoudemire, Melo, and Billups. Amar’e has played a ton of minutes this season, averaging a career-high 37 minutes per game. Moreover, Amar’e played in all 98 games (including the playoffs) for PHX last season. When you tack on the 75 for NY this season, that’s 173 games of up-tempo basketball (on a micro-fracture repaired knee) in 16 months… On a related note, Billups is a little long in the tooth and badly bruised his thigh last month. Now the Knicks have secured a spot in the postseason, might it be safe to assume some rest is in order?
Last Sunday I asked D’Antoni if he planned to have his stars sit out some games down the stretch, or simply reduce their per-game workload?
{AUTHOR_BOX}"I am not a big believer (in having players sit out games), just because you throw your team off of the rhythm that they need," said D’Antoni. "You run the risk of that. So, you try to do a balance of it. You try and make sure they are fresh and ready to go, but at the same time, you don’t want them to get out of rhythm. At the same time, we as a team need to get into a momentum/rhythm-type thing." He continued: "I don’t know if there is any formula out there that is perfect. We’ll talk to the players and we’ll talk to the medical staff and we’ll see who needs the rest. Obviously, we’ll do that. But we would also like to keep building chemistry and keep building the flow of the game and keep doing what’s right."
* D’Antoni is certainly not the only member of the organization with plenty to prove this month.
Carmelo Anthony has advanced past the first round of the postseason only once in his seven-year NBA career. And with the Nuggets playing as well as they have been without him, you know he wants to prove to any doubters that the Knicks made the right decision bringing him in. We all know Melo can score as well as anybody in the league. The key for him in the playoffs may be exerting himself on the defensive end, especially if New York matches up with Miami in the opening round. A looming showdown with LeBron James, who Melo has fared well against since high school, would obviously be an enormous test.
* While the Knicks will obviously be significant underdogs against whichever team they draw in Round One, they are certainly some reasons for optimism. First and foremost, by way of the midseason trade with Denver, the Knicks added a total of 235 games of playoff experience. Billups, who recently appeared in seven straight conference Finals and has an NBA Finals MVP award on his resume, has appeared in 139 playoff games. Melo, who hasn’t missed the playoffs at any point in his career, has played in 45 postseason contests. Anthony Carter has appeared in 35 games. Shelden Williams and Renaldo Balkman have tallied eight each.
Here are a handful of stats Knicks fans can file under ‘encouraging signs / and things that would worry other teams:’
* Amar’e Stoudemire leads all NBA players in 4th quarter scoring this season (6.8 ppg)
* Carmelo Anthony is 18-38 (.474) in his career on shots that tied or put his team ahead in the final 10 seconds of regulation or overtime. That stands as the highest percentage for any active NBA player (minimum 20 attempts) in those situations during regular season play since 2003-04. (Per Elias)
* New York’s scoring tandem of Amar’e Stoudemire (25.5) and Carmelo Anthony (25.5) is averaging 51.0 points per game, which is the second highest scoring tandem in the NBA behind Miami’s LeBron James/Dwyane Wade (52.3). Stoudemire’s 25.5 points rank fourth in the NBA, while Anthony’s 25.5 points rank fifth.
* Knicks are 20-12 in their last 32 games at MSG
* Three Knicks rank in the top-18 in the NBA in free-throw attempts: Carmelo Anthony is seventh overall with 8.1 FTA; Amar’e Stoudemire is ninth (7.7), and Chauncey Billups is18th, (5.9)
* Toney Douglas has hit 53 three-pointers since the All-Star Break, which is tied for the most in the NBA.
* After ranking 29th and 30th in blocked shots over the last two seasons, the Knicks are 5th in swats during the 2010-2011 season.
* Knicks are 8-4 in their last 12 games against winning teams
That last point is interesting, because it proves that the Knicks, when they bring their A-game, can play with any team in the league – as they showed by beating the HEAT in Miami last month. Of course, the Knicks have also shown the flip side of that coin, a tendency to play down to the competition, as exhibited in multiple losses to the Cavs and other teams at the bottom of the standings. However, once the playoffs begin, expect the Knicks to bring a focused intensity. And given their undeniable collection of talent, a hungry, motivated Knicks team is a rare legitimately dangerous first round opponent.
As of now, the Knicks will likely take on either the Celtics or the HEAT (those clubs are separated by just a half-game at the moment). From a theatrical standpoint, a Knicks vs. Miami series probably would generate the most buzz. Amar’e going head-to-head with Chris Bosh; Melo and King James squaring off… Unfortunately, the Knicks have no answer for Dwyane Wade. Nonetheless, it the hype and excitement leading up to that series would be phenomenal. And while the Knicks have a fair amount of pressure on them, they would practically be playing with house money compared to Miami. After the drama of last summer, and the disappointing regular season record this season, has there ever been a team (in the history of professional sports) with more pressure on their shoulders heading into a postseason than the 2010-2011 Miami HEAT? Remember, this was a team that LeBron stated would not be satisfied with just one championship (not one… not two… not three…). Well, they have to win a series first. Imagine if the Knicks were somehow able to steal one of the first two contests in Miami? What would MSG sound like at the start of Game 3? Yikes…
Again, the Knicks will obviously be underdogs once their first round series begins two weeks from now. But for New Yorkers, who have waited 10 long, long years for the slightest excuse to be somewhat optimistic, the great news is that the Knicks will actually playing basketball games in late April. After a decade of darkness, the lights will be back on inside MSG. That alone is reason to rejoice. Now, maybe they’ll even win a game…
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