David Lee of the New York Knicks

After watching the New York Knicks play this year, it is sad to realize that they haven’t really accomplished anything! This year they won 30 games, which is not really an improvement from what we had saw with Isiah Thomas, whose best season was 39-43. Isiah’s team, therefore had 9 games ahead what Mike D’Antoni accomplished this season. The Knicks record this year in fact ranks 6th worst season of all time based on overall wins. If there was anything positive to take from this season it was we have Donnie Walsh. Walsh has made great moves over this season, setting the Knicks up for the future. Understanding that, I trust he will make the right decision on which one of his young stars he will need to keep going into next year.

Nate Robinson of the New York Knicks Fighting J.R. Smith

The large debate up until this point has been who he should sign, David Lee or Nate Robinson? This to me sounds pretty silly considering that David Lee lead the league in Double Doubles this year posting 62, which was one above Dwight Howard. If you look at Lee’s numbers he is a power house averaging 16 points and 11 rebounds a game. David has always been a consistent star for the Knicks, putting out great performance after great performance. David Lee at the age of 25 and a height of 6′9 still has a lot of great Basketball left in him.

Nate Robinson fights with Chris Paul!

Nate Robinson on the other hand, has had a very up and down career. This year Nate only started 11 games for the New York Knicks, most likely because of his size. They say it’s amazing to watch Nate play, being tha that he is only 5′8. I say that is just dumb. I don’t need any circus freaks on my team. I’d rather just win. So what, the guy can dunk, defensively he is a liability. Do you really think Nate can keep up his game considering it is completely predicated on his jumping ability when he hits 28 years old? He doesn’t even start and until this year he was not even a great scorer, as shown by his career average of 12 points per game. Nate also has had problems with his own demons. Everyone knows that he has a very short fuse and is far to emotional for his own good. Just look at the all the instances where Nate flew off the handle. There was the Nugget fight, the Kyle Korver incident and let us not forget the Chris Paul fight as well. Nate needs to grow up literally and figuratively. There are way to many issues with him talking back to officials and he gets way to many technical fouls. It funny to think that some people think he is a great PG. They are just delusional. He only averages around 4 assists per game purely because he thinks of himself as a SG more than a PG. If he really was a Point Guard averaging 2 assists per game over his career would just be pathetic. Nate is giving out the most that he can currently and honestly it really isn’t enough for me. I say New York move on, let this dunking midget go!

Hey Walsh, make the right choice, don’t just keep Nate because he’s exciting, lets try to get to the playoffs next year, so get him out of here and keep your Stud Forward David Lee. It’s just that simple!

Rookie Derek Rose has his squad thinking Playoffs.

With about 18 or so games to go for each NBA team, the playoff races begin to tighten. By now, any true NBA enthusiast should know the situation in the Western Conference and how seeds eight through two are neck and neck. They should also know that the Phoenix Suns are in poor shape in the ninth spot being five and a half games behind the currently eighth seeded Dallas Mavericks. However, over in the Eastern Conference the race for eight is on. With Chicago, New Jersey, Charlotte, Indiana, Milwaukee, and New York no more than two games apart from one another, that battle is still very interesting.

The New York Knicks have improved mightily from last season with the run-and-gun style that has been infused by new head coach Mike D’Antoni. However, they have a run-and-gun with a bevy of role player caliber ballers. It’s not like they’re the superstar-filled Suns of years past that D’Antoni had before. So, although the Knicks are a much improved team, they shouldn’t be making the playoffs any way.

The Charlotte Bobcats were already making positive strides prior to the trade that brought them Raja Bell and Leandro Barbosa at mid-season. Now, they have improved further, but they are still highly inexperienced and will require more time and at least one All-Star player to get in.

The Pacers on the other hand have their All-Star caliber player in Danny Granger, but he has been hurt. They too are like the Knicks and tend to run, but once again, too many role player type people on their team. That’s no good.

New Jersey’s got All-Star Devin Harris, and former superstar, but more than capable Vince Carter. But they have too many woes at home and they can’t be expected to make a run just because they are decent on the road. Decent on the road is great, where they have a 14-17 record, but a non-winning 14-19 home record just won’t do it.

The Milwaukee Bucks currently hold the eight spot, but they still have one problem… they are Michael Redd-less. They did a great job in the early going of his absence from his season-ending injury, but now his loss has started to catch up and the Bucks are just 3-7 in their last ten games.

With that being said, the eighth seed has to be given to Chicago. They have the leading candidate for rookie of the year in Derek Rose, and a great scoring pickup up at mid-season in John Salmons who is averaging 18.2 points per game this season. On top of this they have a stable of young guys with playoff experience in Kirk Hinrich, and top-scorer Ben Gordon. Their big men are also efficient; Tyrus Thomas and Luol Deng. Last, but not least, the other guy that game over from Sacramento with John Salmons… veteran and playoff-savvy Brad Miller.

The Bulls, in my mind, are already a team with a bright future, while the others that were mentioned still do not have much to build on except for some true grit. Bulls get in.

Nate "The Great" Robinson

Mr. Double Double

I have been quite upset with the Knicks this season. With the hiring of Mike D’Antoni, the Knicks have promised playoffs for the fans this year. The thing is I can’t see it happening. The reason it can’t happen is simple,  you can’t win games when you can’t finish. Literally the last 5 games the Knicks have played pathetic in the 4th quarter. It’s depressing and awful, considering that the talent on this squad seems to have been raised with the acquisition of Al Harrington, Chris Duhan and the promising play of Nate Robinson, David Lee and Wilson Chandler. I really think this team has the potential to be a 4 seed, yet they just seem to be to green. Well time will only tell if they can take that 8 spot and make the playoffs like D’Antoni promised.

Wilson Chandler

Baron Davis

There have been some talks lately about Baron Davis being possibly traded away from the Clippers already to the Knicks. It is somewhat surprising since he has been with them for barely half a season, but then again it isn’t. The Clippers have talent and yet are not even competitive. Teams like the Wolves and even Thunder are playing tougher and more admirably than this team. If Baron Davis wants to leave already (or his team wants to get rid of him), then that must mean that things are pretty bad. But you know what… I don’t care.

Baron Davis in the spotlight

I think it would be awesome to see Davis become a Knickerbocker, because he would be coached by Mike D’Antoni, and I am almost certain that a similar fast-paced offense like the one he had with Steve Nash in Phoenix will surmise.

It is not as if the Knicks don’t already play a fast-paced offense, but with a point guard who can actually run and gun, it would be great. I think lots of people look at Davis as a scorer, but he can dish it out too. And don’t get me wrong. Chris Duhon has been great, but he ain’t no run-gunner.

Baron Davis

Finally, if there’s one thing he can do better than Nash, it’s play defense. He may not be highly-touted for it, but he can definitely get some big stops and steals. I think if Davis goes to New York, it’s instant playoffs for them, and they could definitely cause problems for someone in the second round if they were to escape the first.

Steve Nash and Dirk

I was reading the daily news recently and I stumbled on a article by Frank Isola. The article was basically about the fact that Steve Nash misses his coach and would be willing to come to New York in 2010. Is Bill Parcells coaching the New York Knicks? Who thinks up this stuff? Do you really think D’antoni thinks, “Lets just move all the stars of my last squad to my new one.” I mean do we just want the Knicks rosters and Sun’s rosters just switching jerseys like this? Message to Dolan “These SUNS NEVER WON A TITLE”. Come on D’Antoni bring me new blood, bring me better defenders and whatever you do, just please don’t combo up Nash and Amare in 2010. I would be more upset, than the first movie critics to watch Kazaam. In fact if that were to happen we could petition that the team name should be changed to the New York Geriatrics. If I see the Knicks pick up an aging superstar in 2010 who is over 33 I will be furious, There is just to much young talent available in this free agent class. Dirk and Nash should be crossed of the Knicks wish list already!

Allen Iverson cuts to the basket on a unaware Knicks Team

The New York Knicks, supposedly need to gel, according to Mike D’Antoni. I fear that no amount of time will fix the Knicks woes. The Knicks have absolutely no defense. I mean during The Tuesday night Piston game they made just 4 stops in the 2nd half and the announcer started talking about how they are trying to turn around their Defensive troubles. Mike D’Antoni’s system does not focus on defense, which it should, Mike believes in out scoring all and any opponents. With the players they have you’d think they be able to make some stops. I mean Wilson Chandler is one of the longest and most athletic SG/SF in the east, Al Harrington was drafted as a defensive specialist, Chris Duhan was said to be a great defender when he was picked up, so why do they suck so bad? The answer is quite obvious, they are the New York Knicks. They have a losing persona, and that is not changing anytime soon, even if they get what they want in 2010.

Al Harrington suits up as a Knick

Al Harrington first suited up as a Knick on the 25th of November, His first start was on the 26th against the Pistons. He has loads of potentail in this system, not a bad pickup for fantasy basketball. Another noteable aqquistion will be Tim Thomas. He will fit in great in this system, since he already knows it, all he needs to do is get into running shape. Tim Thomas could be a 20 point 10 rebound guy, so if you need help in FFBB take a shot on this guy.

Mike D'Antoni has made good so far in his first stint with the Knicks.

In the Knicks’ four victories they have averaged 110.5 points per game, and all have been quite convincing. Those kinds of numbers seem to be a direct reflection of a Mike D’Antoni coached team. Everyone who watches basketball knows what kinds of numbers the Suns put up when D’Antoni was in Phoenix.

Many people may have criticized D’Antoni and his decision to have starting point guard Stephon Marbury sit out. However, the players seem to be finding their roles under the steady direction of a more true point guard, if not nearly as talented, in Chris Duhon.

Hopefully for the Knicks, they can continue to build of this success.

Wilson Chandler finding faith in the New York Knicks new offense.

The New York Knicks beat the Miami Heat tonight in the home-opener by a score of 120-115. The Knicks were more like the Suns then the usual Knicks we have grown to hate. Today, they played well,infused by young talent and great coaching, and grow an early lead. They put up a 15 point lead at half and had effectively extinguished the Heat early in the 3rd going up by 23 points. However, the team did slip back into it’s old tendencies and lacked the killer instinct, allowing the heat back into the game, letting Miami go on a late run. This late run only stopped when the Heat trailed by 3 points. The Knicks looked great without the help of Stephan Marbury and The teams resident fatty, Eddie Curry. Mike D’antoni, heard chants of , “We want steph! We want Steph!” in the 3rd quarter. It was obvious that Mike was not happy about this when he responded, “Are you F***ing kidding me?”. Stephan’s supposed replacement Chris Duhan did not look impressive at all, yet Nate Robinson did. Nate ended the game with 13 points 7 assists. Another notable young player was Wilson Chandler. He quite simply looked great, and will be a big player for this team all year. If your looking for a fantasy sleeper, Chandler is your guy. In the 2nd quarter he dunked over Shawn Marion and Haslem with authority. Chandler ended with 17 points and 9 rebounds.  Jamal Crawford once again put up big numbers leading all scorers with 29 points. irrefutably, the knicks played better but the what is going to happen to Marbury? Regardless, he is indefinitely the best guard not to start in the NBA.