N.Y. Knicks: In Search Of A Miracle On 34th Street

From the desk of:  DUTCH PANTS CAN'T JUMP

There Will Be No Miracles On 34th Street This Season

NEW YORK KNICKS: Taking A Bite Of A Rotting Apple...

I knew the Knicks would be bad this season, but even this is a little more than I anticipated.  They've already managed to post the franchise's worst start over the first 20 games of a season, and realistically have little to no hope of a getting this campaign turned around.

(...unless you're playing for extra ping pong balls, which then makes sucking a good thing.  So yes, at this rate there's always the draft to look forward to.)

The Knicks present losing streak is now up to ten games.  Their last victory came on November 22nd against the lowly Sixers.  And I'm sure you remember, earlier in November they lost seven straight.

They'll look to snap their streak this evening against Boston.

At the first quarter turn of the season, Phil Jackson rightfully accused his team of having a loser's mentality, and pointed out that certain players are still not buying into the system.

Words never rang more true.

The Knicks literally look like an uncommitted team attempting a triangle offense in a round building named Madison Square Garden.  That's screwy geometry for a team that has more problems than a math book.

(...but deep down inside, dontcha think Phil wants this team to get worse before he tries earning more ping pong balls making it better?)

I can't say the cumulative effect of losing this season has finally gotten players openly at odds with each other because last season that was Tyson Chandler's forte.  Tim Hardaway Jr. was only the latest (of the boldest) to challenge Carmelo Anthony's eminence.

That said, I hold a belief: once is an occurrence, twice is a coincidence, and three times is a trend.

In successive seasons, Melo failed to mesh with Jeremy Lin; Melo couldn't get along with Tyson Chandler; and most recently, Tim Hardaway Jr. felt compelled to share his displeasure with Melo.

I also have no doubt others found/find life in Melo's world difficult to negotiate.  Amare Stoudemire has perhaps exercised the most tact in voicing his opinion.

The media has largely tip-toed around Melo since his arrival in New York.  Isolation, Melo Ball, the star system, et al, have surely been discussed and criticized from time to time.  But, fortunately for Melo there have always been multiple angles with which to debate the state of the Knicks.  And with the hiring of Phil Jackson, an extension on patience was also in order.  With the recent Melo/Hardaway flare-up, however, the media finally feels inclined to make Melo's perceived acidic existence in New York a topical subject.

I hold Carmelo Anthony accountable for none of this.  I place any and all blame on James Dolan for trampling over Donnie Walsh in a desperate effort to win the Melo sweepstakes (and then essentially firing Walsh).

The present state of the Knicks stems from that very moment, with Carmelo Anthony at the center of a rotten core.



Mike