The lineup was Malik Rose, David Lee, Fred Jones, Quentin Richardson, and Jamal Crawford. And it was a beautiful thing. Crawford and Q were raining down 3's, while David Lee reminded the MSG crowd why they come to watch the Knicks. Then to start the second half, both Curry and Randolph were back in the game and as predictably as the sun rising and setting, I got to watch lazy rebounding, lacksidasical defense and poor decision making. That's not to say they didn't have their typical flashes of brilliance and the occassional display of hustle, but it just wasn't fun to watch. Gone was the good ball movement, it became a pure post up, sluggish style of play.
You have to wonder what the strength and conditioning coaches within the Knicks organization must be doing. I mean either Curry is lazy or out of shape. As an NBA player, there is really no excuse to not be in top shape in terms of strength and cardiovascular stamina. Either someone's not doing their job getting these guys in shape, they have a metabolism issue, or they eat spoonfuls of lard and fried foods for 2/3 of their meals. I'm really hoping it's the 3rd reason because not only would that be disgusting, but it would make a great KFC advertisement.
So maybe Lebron was having a bad day and the Cavs just felt bad for the Knicks. Maybe the Knicks were motivated by Isaiah calling them out on playing with no heart. It was enjoyable to watch, but in retrospect, they're pissing me off. This means that (1) Isaiah may not have put together the worst highest paid team in the NBA and (2) he was right. They're doggin it on a regular basis. There are some great individual impact players on that team, and some great role players as well. The team COULD be REALLY GOOD.
But it's time to face facts. The Knicks will NOT make the playoffs, and you're not fooling anyone by saying otherwise. It's time to go back to your losing ways, take your top draft pick and find the next Patrick Ewing to save the franchise. Let's assume that Isaiah isn't a complete asshole. (which is really hard to do - give his use of the Allan Houston rule, his trading away first round picks for Eddy Curry, trading away Penny Hardaway's expiring contract to bring in Steve Francis's HUGE contract, and drafting Renaldo Balkman while Marus Williams was still available. Sure he has some good moves, David Lee has become a fan favorite, Nate Robinson won a dunk contest, and I'll even give him the Zach Randolph move, although I'm predicting Channing Frye becomes a solid NBA forward.) Like I said, assuming Isaiah isn't a complete asshole, kind of tough now huh, and he manages to hold on to the Knicks first round pick, they're bad enough that this would be a good time to start tanking the season. It'll be much like that episode of South Park, where while playing little league all the teams are TRYING to lose so they can stop playing baseball and enjoy their summer.
This upcoming draft has a few solid players, it's not of the caliber of a Lebron or even a Carmello, and I doubt any of them would have a Ewing like impact, although there is still time for these players to get hyped and develop. It's been two years since the Knicks even had a first round pick and they've been shitty enough to come close to getting a good one each time. The Knicks have a history of poor drafting, so this time around they need a sure thing. (Not a Sweetny type sure thing). The Dolans may be shrewder than we thought. Keep Isaiah long enough so he can make them bad enough to get a top pick in the draft, maybe even the first one. But whatever they do, DON'T let Isaiah make the pick. As a Knicks fan, this would be absolutely fine with me. I think the Knicks fan base would embrace it once the determined what was going on. And maybe for the first time in years there won't be boo's when the Knicks announce their pick.
New Team Motto: New York Knicks - Losing to Save Basketball.
Keep an eye out for a recommended Knicks draft strategy column down the road. I'll try to remember I said that.
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