The Knicks are reeling. After last nights 105-78 loss in OKC, the Knicks sit at 4-13 to kick off the Phil Jackson era in New York. The team has redefined bad basketball in a lot of games this season thus far, but randomly show glimpses of what they could be.
For example, the Knicks were without Carmelo Anthony and almost (should have) stole one in Dallas this week. Of course this prompted all the anti-Melo fans to come out of the cracks and say, “We don’t need that ball hog!” What ensued the following night in OKC should have silenced those critics: 78 points, including under 20 in both the first and third quarters. Yeah, the Knicks don’t need their best player…
So what gives with the Knicks? Are they really this horror show that has shown up through the first 17 games? My first instinct is no, but look at this team!
Not only do they have the knack for losing streaks, but they just can’t seem to get everyone healthy. Right from the get-go, they were without arguably their second best player in Jose Calderon. In an offense that is built around good perimeter shooting and stability at the point guard position, this was a bigger blow to the team than most had imagined. The Knicks really struggled to get into a rhythm on the offensive end in the beginning, and more importantly, Melo was ice-cold for a week stretch.
Once the Knicks started playing Iman Shumpert at the point, the offense seemed to run more smoothly on Melo was back on target. The offense finally seemed to click, even without their point guard. Then Calderon comes back, and he and Melo win their first game of the season together against a brutal Philadelphia team. All is good and the Knicks should be good, right?
Fast forward a game and watch Anthony walk off the court gingerly holding his back. Not only were the Knicks beating a better team in the Houston Rockets, but Anthony had 14 points in 16 minutes. As soon as he leaves, the Knicks go back to a garbage basketball team. Sure, they played well in Dallas when Calderon his 7 three’s, but when they needed a go-to scorer at the end of the game, do you really want to rely on the forever inconsistent J.R. Smith? I’ve always backed Smith, and he made a HUGE shot, but he is not the solution to the Knicks problems.
Defensively, the Knicks are a nightmare. We knew that headed into the season, and they are reinforcing it with the latest debacle in OKC. Russell Westbrook had not played in a month, yet scored 32 points in 24 minutes on Friday night. Yikes. If they left him in the whole game, he might have scored 90.
This brings us back to the question, are the Knicks really this bad? The short answer is yes, the Knicks are not a good basketball team. However, the team has had some terrible luck with injuries this year, and when you are trying to build some chemistry and your best players aren’t healthy at the same time, it is going to take a while for the team to play well. Depending on how long Melo is out with his back injury, the Knicks will probably struggle for a few more games.
If the Knicks can get both Carmelo Anthony and Jose Calderon healthy at the same time, I don’t think the Knicks will be as horrendous as they have portrayed lately. Unfortunately, back injuries are not quick to heal and can cause long term problems. Lets hope the $124 million man is not out for too long. If he is, at least the Knicks have their first round pick this year.