How can this talented Knicks team achieve their potential, or at least make the playoffs? What needs to be done? Trade Melo? Fire Mike D’Antoni? Well, D’Antoni resigned as head coach of the New York Knicks. What can the Knicks do the salvage the season? In the midst of the current losing streak, there has been talk of Melo asking for a trade. Will D’Antoni’s resignation appease Anthony? How can the Knicks be fixed?
The New York Knicks started the season with some projecting the Knicks into the Eastern Conference or NBA Finals. I was not quite so optimistic, although I did have them in the playoff mix. With the arrivals of Amar’e Stoudemire, Carmelo Anthony, and Tyson Chandler these seemed like somewhat reasonable expectations. The Knicks started the season off average (6-4), lost Melo to injury, the Jeremy Linsanity exploded, Melo came back, and the Knicks are 2-8 since his return—after going 7-0 to start the Lin-Era. After Linsanity, and everyone in New York going Linsane in the membrane, now the Knicks team is starting to look like just a bunch of Linglorious Bastards.
As March Madness gets going, it is tempting to think about fresh NCAA players that may make a difference for the Knicks. But, that may not be option for this team this off-season, as the Knicks have worse draft picks (#40) than the Los Angeles Lakers, if that gives you some idea. Even though there are some nice players coming out of the draft this year, the odds are against the Knicks drafting a franchise-changing player with that pick. Looking ahead, the Knicks have given away their first round picks in 2014 and 2016 (to get Melo), so it’s going to be difficult for the Knicks to improve via the draft.
One of the biggest problems with the Knicks is their defense. Some might blame that on Melo, Stoudemire, or the coach, but those who follow the game saw problems with defense coming a mile away just by putting those three together. The addition of Chandler is the only move that has helped them defensively in the last few years. Now, people wonder why the Knicks are struggling? They do not have enough players who focus and care about playing exceptional defense. A couple solutions would be for the Knicks to hire a defensive specialist as a head or assistant coach. Michael Cooper comes to mind at least as an assistant. Besides some different defensive strategies, the Knicks need more defensive-minded players. In the meantime, the Knicks could pick up an unsigned big man like NBA veterans Mikki Moore or Dan Gadzuric, who are each averaging almost a double-double in the D-League.
Maybe the worst thing for the Knicks is what actually happened—losing their coach. On Wednesday, D’Antoni resigned as Coach of the Knicks. We may agree the Knicks need more focus on defense, and that may mean that they need a more defensive-minded coach. But, changing coaches towards the end of a shortened season, where there is hardly enough time for practice, and hardly enough time for a new coach to implement his system is a recipe for disaster. Besides, whom could they bring in who has a better resume than D’Antoni? He is an offensive guru. D’Antoni has won the NBA’s Coach of the Year award, and he has two Italian League titles as a coach. He went to the playoffs a lot with the Phoenix Suns. He’s been to the Western Conference Finals. So, although a change in coach may be needed, now is hardly the right time. The only thing the Knicks can hope for is that losing their coach forces the team to play together and rely on each other more, and that somehow this new camaraderie translates into wins.
Whether or not it will happen now, trades and signings seem like the best ways these Knicks can improve. Carmelo Anthony and Jeremy Lin surely have considerable trade value, but STAT’s (Stoudemire) recent dip in production and concerns about his health have decreased his trade value. But, if you trade your big pieces away, whom are you building around? It’s a pretty undesirable situation, especially if you are a Knick fan. You want to build around Melo or Lin, but they are also your best trading assets. Their best plan of action is probably to trade Melo (because they can get the most for him) and build around Lin, Stoudemire, Chandler, and their other young talent. If there were any way to acquire Dwight Howard and pair him up with Lin, Anthony and some other feisty defenders and team players, they might have something.
While there are Knick fixes, most of them are not quick fixes. Here’s an easy one: Jared Jefferies averages more blocks than Anthony and Lin combined, and almost as many blocks as Stoudemire (0.83 bpg). Why not use the lineup of Chandler and Jeffries together more? They would be long and difficult to score against, besides it would probably make the Knicks a better rebounding team than they currently are. But, what the Knicks really need is someone to teach them how to play defense like Chicago Bulls Head Coach Tom Thibodeau, then an assistant to Doc Rivers, taught the Celtics to play against Kobe Bryant in the 2008 NBA Finals.
That’s the kind of defense that wins you championships, or at least one.
