Just under a year ago, 34th Street was
glowing, prepared to embrace the triumphant return of a homegrown hero. Now, an iconic building has an ever growing
feeling of disdain festering within its walls. The building, of course, is Madison Square
Garden. After the Knicks gutted their
roster to acquire Carmelo Anthony in February of 2011, excitement swept New
York. When the Knicks played .500
basketball after the trade—the sentiment being fed to masses was patience, and
that “Next year” would be the year that Amare and Carmelo and the rest of the
Knickerbockers became a winning force. Following
an early playoff exit, the Knicks retooled in the offseason, picking up
defensive dynamo Tyson Chandler play center, and give defensively last ranked
Knicks some help on that end of the court.
Starting as preseason favorites, now, more than one month into the
season, the Knicks are 7-13, but the latest news is that there is hope, once
Baron Davis returns, the Knicks will resume winning ways. Baron Davis—yeah right. The arrival of one player cannot fix the
Knicks.
The Knicks’ problems are far worse than lacking depth at
the point guard spot, the entire team is suffering. Perhaps the most obvious problem with the
Knicks is their 3-point shooting. This
season, the 3 point shot has not been finding the bottom of the basket for the
Knicks, yet it appears that the Knicks have grown infatuated with the 3, taking
as many as 43 in a single game! What’s
worse for the Knicks is that they are only converting 30% of those shots;
furthermore, the 3 point “marksmen” of last season have disappeared, with Toney
Douglas, Carmelo Anthony and Landry Fields shooting 25, 30, and 22 percent from
beyond the arc respectively. The Knicks
have had poor shot selection with the 3 as well, shooting them when well
covered, and at times when a surer bucket is available. Baron Davis’ presence on the court cannot fix
the shots of his teammates, and he cannot remove the fascination with the 3 ball
that the rest of the Knicks have, as they refuse to stop shooting a ridiculous
amount of them, 23.8 per game to be exact, which places them for 3rd
most in the league. Another serious
issue that the Knicks face is the complete disappearance of their star forward,
Amare Stoudemire. Stoudemire is a shadow
of his former self on the floor, once being a dominant and important scoring
force for this Knicks team, he now fouls almost apathetically, sometimes
getting only 20 minutes on the court.
The Knicks need Stoudemire to play.
Stoudemire is also missing open looks regularly, shooting a dreadful 42%
from the field, a full 11 percentage points beneath his career average. Putting Baron Davis into the mix will not let
Amare drive to the basket more effectively, nor will it improve his shot. The shot that the Knicks desperately need. Last season, Amare averaged 25 points per
game, and the team as a whole ranked 2nd
in points per game. Now the Knicks rank 17th in points per
game. Lastly, and most importantly, the
Knicks are playing lazily and apathetically.
With one exception, the rookie Iman Shumpert, who hustles all over the
court. The rest of the team trots down
the court, and never appears to be fazed by defeat, even to much lesser
opponents. After a turnover, the Knicks
will play lackadaisical defense, whether it be fouling without challenging a
shot, or failing to even defend the perimeter, as the Knicks have been destroyed
from outside all season. How can the
fans expect Baron Davis to fix the Knicks?
An oft-injured point guard, who has been accused of playing without
heart. That appears to be what the rest
of the Knicks team is. So, by replacing
the most active player on the court with Davis, what can the Knicks
expect? More of the same.
