The New York Knicks, one of the most followed, but not storied franchises in the NBA, have actually made fans enthusiastic about this basketball season. The proud team from Manhattan, which has a very deep fan base, has been mired in the cellar or close to it, ever since the great Isaiah Thomas tried to run the franchise into the ground. The Knicks have only won two NBA championships, and that came before most of you readers were alive – in 1969 and 1973. Those teams had the likes of Willis Reed, Walt ‘Clyde’ Frazier, Bill Bradley, Dave DeBusschere, and Earl ‘the Pearl’ Monroe.
The New York Knicks – No Longer D-League Material
In the 1990s, with Patrick Ewing leading the way, the Knicks made two NBA Finals appearances, losing both series in grueling fashion, but giving the Madison Square Garden faithful something to look forward to in the future. Players like John Starks, Charles Oakley, and Bill Cartwright, just to name a few, looked like they were poised to finally bring the championship, along with glory, back to New York City, after a long absence. Basically, the Knicks were one of the best teams of that era that never won anything, while their Garden mates, the New York Rangers, won the Stanley Cup in 1994, after a 54-year drought.
Fast forward to the present day, and the last few seasons, and the Knicks were a team and franchise more in turmoil than what the fans expected to see on the court each night. Jim Dolan, the owner and resident landlord of the Garden, loved Thomas, and gave him ‘carte blanche’. In turn, Thomas signed old and over the hill players, gave away draft choices left and right, and turned the Knicks into one of the jokes of the NBA. Still, the fans came to the games, Dolan was making money from them and the Rangers, and nothing seemed to change.
When the Knicks did have draft choices, the team didn’t use them wisely, and it appeared they had blinders on when good, solid NBA players were chosen after their picks. Does anyone recall the draft of 2009, when Stephen Curry was chosen at number seven, and with the eighth pick in the draft, New York selected Jordan Hill out of Arizona. Jordan who? Exactly. The Knicks, and their brain trust, continued to pick underwhelming talent, from a pool of players that went on to perform much better for other teams. On top of that, their free agent signings were those of stars that were good at one point in their career, but seemed to be at their worst when putting on the blue and orange of the Knickerbockers.
Last season was rock bottom, when the Knicks fielded a team that looked like a bad version of a small conference college team. In fact, there were times when some of those top college programs could have beaten the Knicks. A measly 17 wins was all they could muster, in an 82 game campaign. Phil Jackson, the basketball guru who won 11 championships as a coach, and yes, two as a player with these same Knicks, was hired to come in and right the ship. Or in other words, he was chosen to perform a miracle. He told the fans that it would take time, it wasn’t going to happen overnight, and to simply be patient.
The likes of Quincy Acy, Cole Aldrich, Sam Dalembert, Ricky Ledo, and Travis Wear all made the Knicks’ roster last season. That list sounds like a “who’s who?” of NBA Development League castoffs, but all of those players got playing time with the Knicks. On top of that, the starters included Iman Shumpert and J.R. Smith, both of whom never lived up to their potential in New York, and got traded to the Cavaliers mid-season. Amar’e Stoudemire and Andrea Bargnani also graced the sidelines and court, only to be hit with injuries and see that their better days had passed. The only one who really had any credibility left was Carmelo Anthony, and we all know what happened to him last season – he played until the All Star Game, then decided to take the rest of the season off to nurse a sore knee.
There was no reason for Carmelo to play with those players surrounding him, and risk serious injury, especially after signing a $124 million, five year extension to stay in New York. For full disclosure, he did give the home team a five million dollar discount, instead of signing for the $129 million max. For most Knicks fans who were down on Melo, he seemed to turn his back on the team at their worst point in time. Sports talk shows and beat writers felt that he should have signed elsewhere, and that Melo was not a leader that a winning franchise could be built around.
As Phil Jackson preached patience, Knicks fans grew tired and cranky. The team was picking fourth overall in the draft, despite finishing with the second worst record; the lottery balls weren’t kind to them. Everyone’s first pick, Karl Anthony Towns, came off the board. Next was D’Angelo Russell, followed by Jahlil Okafor. The Knicks were on the clock, and the announcement came from league commissioner Adam Silver that the Knicks chose Kristaps Porzingis, a seven foot tall Latvian who played for Sevila in Spain in the prior season. To say that boos were heard from the Garden to New Jersey was an understatement. It seemed that the magic of Phil Jackson was replaced by ‘what the hell was he thinking!’ chants.
Throughout the summer, the press had a field day with the choice of Porzingis, and wondered if the team would even match their win total from the previous year. The team’s other draft choice, Jerian Grant from Notre Dame, seemed solid, only because fans got to see him play in the U.S. No one had a clue about Porzingis, and some wondered if the tall, skinny kid could even play in the NBA. Jackson took his time and signed players like Robin Lopez, Arron Afflalo, and former first round choice Derrick Williams, who seemed to be a bust in the NBA, after much fanfare out of the University of Arizona.
Much to everyone’s surprise, the 2015-16 New York Knicks have exceeded expectations, even with their 18-20 record. That’s one more win than all of last year, but more importantly, the team is competing in almost every game they play, and showing signs of better offense and defense on both sides of the court. Porzingis is proving his detractors wrong, and is almost guaranteed a double-double every game. Grant has been solid off the bench, as has Williams, who has found a new life in New York. Afflalo has been on a tear, and puts up big numbers when needed. The Knicks are winning games they would have never been in last year.
The biggest surprise, however, is the play of the franchise player – Carmelo Anthony. No one knew how ‘Melo would react to Porzingis getting all the accolades and attention from game to game, and how that would affect Carmelo’s ego. The funny thing is, as ‘Melo has been healthy , he seems to have bought into Phil Jackson and coach Derek Fisher’s system, and is playing like a true team player – which is hard for fans to imagine from Anthony. He has whined before about playing time, and the team, but perhaps that’s because he didn’t really play with any NBA level talent on the Knicks since he arrived.
This team looks like it can compete on any given night. Everyone knows that it’s not ready for prime time, and may not even make the playoffs this year, but it has given fans a reason to believe that better days are on the way. Phil Jackson may look like the genius he is, and folks could even admit that Fisher is a decent coach, and ‘Melo is a ‘team’ player, and not out for himself. If this trend continues, the past glory of the Knicks and Garden faithful may return for quite some time, which would make everyone, including Knicks fanatic Spike Lee, that much happier.
