More than one person is at fault for the New York Knicks.
From the front office to the sidelines, there is no shortage of scapegoats. Coach Mike Woodson’s stubbornness, owner James Dolan’s attempt to dabble in business dealings he knows nothing about, J.R. Smith’s poor play, Raymond Felton’s poor shooting and defense and Tyson Chandler’s declining defense are all driving forces in New York’s abrupt and anguishing demise.
But while yours truly originally thought Chandler’s regression on defense killed these porous Knicks more than anything, it’s become clear that Amar’e Stoudemire is the team’s biggest culprit.
To be honest, this season has been considered something of a success for STAT, who has remained relatively healthy and only missed 14 games thus far. The fact that we say he missed “only 14 games” through 58 contests is one of the signs of how far he’s fallen.
When he’s on the court, though, he falls even lower. And the Knicks fall even harder.
Long been touted for his work ethic and perseverance, STAT has become an unequivocal liability in New York. Financially, he’s always been an impediment, but we’re talking about something different.
The hope has always been that if he remained healthy, he could help the Knicks. Well, this season, he’s been (relatively) healthy and he’s hurting the Knicks. Bad.
On the surface, his 9.9 points on 53.8 percent shooting are solid numbers for a guy logging just shy of 20 minutes per game. Extrapolated, he’s at 18 points and 7.9 rebounds per 36 minutes, numbers that must be approached with caution, but feel legitimate in this case because STAT’s approaching 20 minutes of burn.
And yet, those surface numbers, as I like to call them, only tell part of the story. The Knicks are a minus-12.9 points per 100 possessions with him on the floor for a reason: He’s a god-awful defender and offensive ball-killer.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fQAtOD9Bbhc
When STAT’s on the floor, the Knicks are relinquishing 110.7 points per 100 possessions, which equates to the worst defensive rating in the NBA—significantly worse than New York’s already 27th-ranked defense. When he’s off the floor, the Knicks post a defensive rating of 104.8, noticeably below their season average of 106.6.
It’s the same story on offense, too, where the Knicks score 97.8 points per 100 possessions with STAT in the game, the equivalent of the league’s third-worst offense. When he’s on the bench, meanwhile, the Knicks are at 106.5, which would equal the NBA’s eighth-best mark.
Moreover, the Knicks are a plus-1.7 per 100 possessions without STAT. That’s huge when you consider they’re 16 games under .500. More still, the adverse impact he has on the Knicks is obvious by the game—not just big-picture wise—as Joe Flynn, writing for Bleacher Report, pointed out after New York’s loss to the Miami Heat:
And what happened to the Knicks Thursday night? Well, they were trailing by only four points in the third quarter when Woodson decided to bring in Stoudemire.
The Heat went on to outscore the Knicks by 19 points in the 6:30 that Stoudemire spent on the court in that third quarter. By the end of the period, Miami held a 23-point lead, and the game was effectively over.
Losses rarely fall on one player, but the Knicks-Heat game was an actual game until Woodson stuck with Stoudemire. That’s a problem.
For someone so diligent—I’m not being sarcastic—it’s perplexing to realize Stoudemire hasn’t put more effort into becoming a better defender and more willing passer. The Knicks cannot afford to watch him blow rotations or look on idly as the opposition waltzes their way to the rim. They also cannot afford to watch him sap most of the shot clock with his long, drawn out and oft-superfluos post-ups.
Time is of the essence for the Knicks, who are 5.5 games off the Eastern Conference’s final playoff spot. If they wish to salvage what’s left of this abysmal campaign, STAT has to be benched. Indefinitely. Give minutes to Jeremy Tyler and when he’s healthy, Kenyon Martin over STAT, even if it entails running shorthanded.
These Knicks, the 21-37 Knicks, are 9-5 without Stoudemire this season. While not incredibly impressive, it actually is. This is a team winning just 36.2 percent of its games overall, yet it possesses a 64.3 winning percentage without STAT, almost doubling their current win-to-loss ratio.
“All hell broke loose,” Woodson said after the loss to Miami, via Newsday‘s Al Iannazzone
Hell broke loose because Stoudemire was let loose. While sad and painful, it’s also true. He cannot help the Knicks anymore; he can only hurt them.
How much so? To the point already waning playoff hopes will soon dissipate into nothing, leaving the Knicks to approach free-agent-to-be Carmelo Anthony with the least-convincing sales pitch most superstars have likely ever seen.
*Stats courtesy of NBA.com (subscription required) and Basketball-Reference.
