New York Knicks: Recalling Mike D’Antoni’s Knicks tenure

Mike D’Antoni has put the Houston Rockets back on the map with his signature offense. It’s funny to remember his time with the New York Knicks.

Mike D’Antoni’s tenure with the New York Knicks was the complete opposite of his time in Houston. He made the playoffs one time with Knicks, while his Houston Rockets are the No. 1 seed in the stacked Western Conference.

D’Antoni’s reign in Houston is off to a much hotter start.

During his term with the Phoenix Suns, D’Antoni always came up short against the Spurs in the playoffs. It seems like he is in a similar predicament now with Rockets’ rivalry with the Golden State Warriors.

When D’Antoni was with the Knicks, his predicament was getting the team to a .500 record. He still employed the “Eight seconds or less” rule, but didn’t have a catalyst for the offense.

During his first two seasons from 2008-2010, we saw most of the Knicks’ possessions led by the dynamic tandem of Nate Robinson and Jamal Crawford. David Lee would grind down low and manufacture his own points.

Other times we would see Al Harrington and Zach Randolph take highly ineffective long-range twos. These are the darkest days of my Knicks fandom.

2010-2011

Something happened in 2010 that doesn’t get talked about because it all crumbled, but the Knicks were on the precipice of having perfect lineup for the D’Antoni offense!

In 2009, the Knicks had the eighth pick in the 2018 NBA Draft. This class is wildly considered one of the best in recent memory, as it produced the likes of Blake Griffin, James Harden, DeMar DeRozan.

One person stands out more than all, however, because if the Golden State Warriors didn’t take Stephen Curry with the No. 7 overall pick, the Knicks would be a much different team.

Can you imagine if Curry played within the D’Antoni system? He would’ve changed basketball to a three-point shooting league in New York.

Curry would’ve been the perfect cornerstone of the franchise, but sadly, that’s not the way the ping-pong balls bounce.

During the 2010-11 season, Amar’e Stoudemire was playing like the best player in the league. The Knicks complemented him with Raymond Felton (17.1 ppg, 9.0 apg), Danilo Gallinari (15.1 ppg, infinite range), and Wilson Chandler (16.4 ppg, also a productive shooter).

Now, re-imagine an offense with these pieces plus Curry, who could be the lead point guard.

Then It All Came Crashing Down

Carmelo Anthony, an ancient Chauncey Billups, Renaldo Balkman, Sheldon Willams, and Anthony Carter joined the Knicks in exchange for Felton, Chandler, Gallinari, Timofey Mozgov, a first-round pick, and two second-round picks (one of them being directly after Nikola Jokic)

I’m the first one to defend Anthony, but the D’Antoni offense was not a good fit. Back-to-basket, mid range operator, with a bad habit of dribbling the air out of the ball doesn’t translate well to an “Eight seconds or less” system.

This trade led the Knicks to the playoffs with a 42-40 regular season record. They proceeded to lose to the Celtics in four games.

In 2011-2012, the Knicks were without Stoudamire until December. By that point in the season, it was too late to save D’Antoni’s job. After an 18-24 start, the Knicks fired D’Antoni, amidst continuous feuds with Carmelo Anthony.

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Yet, as one watches the Houston Rockets, one can’t help but wonder what if Mike D’Antoni could’ve helped the New York Knicks with a better fitting team.