Knicks Down in a Sweep

Well the Knicks season has come to a violent and disturbing end. After showing improvement and making the playoffs for the first time in 7 years, the team looked lackluster and failed to win a playoff game just like the last playoff series in 2004. The Knicks playoff drought is now up to ten years without a playoff win and they became the only team in the playoffs to get swept (possibly Denver ironically).

After a 42-40 season and the first winning season in a while, it looked as if things were on the rise for this struggling franchise. The Knicks came out and looked great in game 1, but collapsed in the final minutes as the Knicks tend to do. However they played the whole game with hustle, defense, determination, wit, and aside from a few boneheaded plays by Carmelo Anthony, should have walked away up 1-0. They lost Chauncey at the end of the game to a knee injury and wouldn't see him again for the rest of the series, likely his last game in Knick colors.

In game 2 the Knicks came out with a vengeance, firing on all cylinders. They did it without Billups and Amare Stoudemire got hurt within the first ten minutes creating a 1 on 5, Carmelo vs the Celtics. They hung in there with grit and sheer dominance from Melo to the tune of a 1 point lead with 19 seconds left. For the second straight night at the TD Garden they blew the lead and lost the game in heartbreaking fashion.

After those first two games it felt like all of the wind was knocked out of their sails. Imagine a team that made a big blockbuster trade during the middle of the season adding one superstar to join another superstar to provide a huge 1-2 punch but only has 20 games to work with each other. The team makes the playoffs for the first time in a long time and has to go into Boston to play the defending Eastern Conference Champs. You do so with injuries and a very young and inexperienced supporting cast. You play two nail biter games that come down to the wire but the team fails to execute and loses both games. It's not difficult to see why and it was impressive to see the team play with such heart, but there are no moral victories. The two losses in Boston were symbolic of the team itself, very talented and very competitive but not quite there. It also set the tone for the two games in NY. The collapses by the Knicks in Boston were so difficult to overcome that it was clear the team was going to get mowed down at the real Garden.

The team did just that. They got stomped in both games at home and Boston just showed why they have been the best defensive team in the East and are two time Eastern Conference Champs in the last 3 years. They came out with energy and were dominant and unafraid to go for the kill shot when the lead ballooned. Rondo was penetrating in the paint and looked to quick to guard. He was hitting his open jump shots, getting his running layups, and dishing for any man in a green Jersey. He did this to the tune of 20 assists and his 3rd career postseason triple double. Pierce and Allen looked like they couldn't miss and any time the crowd started to creep back into it, they would have a big shot and silence the New York faithful.

The Knicks on the other hand looked tired and uninspired. The were lazy, didn't rotate, failed to box out on the glass, and were not dishing and swishing as Clyde would say. Only 3 assists in game 3 from their PG play, you could say they missed Billups. Amare looked like he was at 50% strength and was only in there to play Willis Reed for motivational support. Anthony tried his best Superman impression as he had done in game 2 (42, 17, and 6) but he was double and triple teamed and no one was willing to help him. All in all, they just got manhandled by a better team.

So game 3 and game 4 the Knicks went quietly and they now sit around for the next 6 months and wait for their next chance to play with Melo and Amare. The good news? They have 2 superstars who will learn how to play with each other and have training camp to learn the system. They got their young guys some playoff experience which will be vital going forward. They didn't expect to win a playoff series, however it would have been nice to win a game or two.

The team needs to address big man and point guard in the offseason. Billups injury showed a glaring hole in their team, they have point guard play and it is the KEY to a D'Antoni offense. Toney Douglas is hardly a point guard, he is a scorer and a good defender but he doesn't distribute the way a PG should. The Knicks were at their best this season with Raymond Felton dropping 9 assists a game and establishing a pick a roll offense every time down the court. Billups is old and over the hill and if the Knicks bring him back, they'll need better than Carter or Douglas as a PG to back him up. Chauncey will get hurt and will not play more than 30 minutes so we need something legitimate. We also desperately need a big man. Jeffries, Turiaf, Sheldon Williams; none of these guys qualify as a solid C and none of them can score. Amare shouldn't play the 5 and this is something we need to work on for next season.

We did bring some energy back to the Garden, but we have a little ways to go....