Why the New York Knicks Wish They Had a Time Machine

Anthony Gruppuso - US PRESSWIRE*

by Carlos Cruz:

The New York Knicks have been a franchise plagued by mediocrity for more than 15 years. This does not certainly constitute a groundbreaking revelation as the New York Knickerbockers became a laughingstock immediately after the retirement of Patrick Ewing. Patrick Ewing’s retirement did not signal the end of playoff appearances for the Knicks as they made the playoffs in 2001 and 2004, but those playoff “runs” fizzled out in the first round.

The purpose of this trip down memory lane is not to rub salt in the wounds of New York fans (admittedly one of my favorite pastimes) but to question the sanity of New York basketball culture as a whole. Knicks management and fans have become so out of touch with reality that they managed to convince themselves of the arrival of a basketball savior in 2011. The alleged savior was not Amare Stoudemire, as he was regarded as a bronze medal after missing out on LeBron and Dwyane Wade. Rather, the savior coming down from the mountaintop (Denver, as it is affectionately known) was Carmelo Kiyan Anthony.

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Carmelo Kiyan Anthony (often lovingly referred to as Melo) is not a franchise player. Any attempts to build a franchise around the appropriately nicknamed Melo (read: marshmallow) is an exercise in futility. Before beginning to expound upon Melo’s shortcomings as a franchise cornerstone, I just want to address one potential counterargument that the millions of the readers of this blog may have. Success in college, even winning a championship, does not mean that you are a bona fide franchise player (right Adam Morrison?).

Therefore:

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So why were the Knicks completely wrong in electing to trade away a bunch of solid pieces (Danilo Gallinari, Raymond Felton, Timothy Mozgov (most famous for being posterized by Blake Griffin), and maybe the Statue of Liberty) for the marshmallow man? Reason number 1: Limited playoff success. In his eight year career, Carmelo Anthony has won a grand total of two playoff series. Allow me to repeat that: Carmelo Anthony, the savior of New York Basketball, won a grand total of two playoff series as a member of the Denver Nuggets. Moreover, both playoff series wins came in the same 2009 season. So the other six seasons of Carmelo Anthony’s career resulted in zero advances past the first round of the playoffs.

Some might suggest that the futility of those playoff “runs” should not fall onto the shoulders of a player who has the toughness of the Stay Puff Marshmallow man of Ghostbusters fame. To those individuals, I provide the following list of high quality teammates provided to Carmelo during his tenure in Denver: Allen Iverson, Chauncey Billups, Nene, Andre Miller, J.R. Smith, Kenyon Martin, Marcus Camby, and Chris Anderson. Admittedly, not everyone on this list would be considered a star in the NBA, but to suggest that he didn’t have help during his tenure in Denver would be absolutely mind-boggling. Allen Iverson was a superstar in his own right and Chauncey Billups was a former NBA finals MVP. The job of a franchise player involves more than putting the ball into the bucket. A franchise player should make weak or so-so supporting casts look like a million bucks (see: LeBron James entire tenure in Cleveland for more information). Carmelo Anthony was unable to raise the collective play of his teammates and this shortcoming resulted in abbreviated playoff runs.

Outside of Melo’s lack of a noteworthy playoff resume, Melo’s complete aversion to playing defense represents the second critical flaw in Melo’s game. Rumor has it that for the aforementioned reason, Melo’s favorite game of the NBA calendar is the NBA All-Star Game. The NBA All-Star game should be renamed the Carmelo Anthony experience. All-Star weekend allows all players to experience the pure bliss that Carmelo Anthony experiences on a nightly basis as they get to play showtime basketball on offense and Charminesque defense. Following the conclusion of his NBA career, Melo is planning on opening up a chain of escort services based on his extensive experience of escorting opposing players to the hoop. Simply put, Carmelo Anthony’s defense is an eyesore and it sets the bar incredibly low (read: on the floor) for his teammates. However, this might be the only aspect of Carmelo’s game that enhances the apparent play of his teammates. A substandard defender can play alongside Carmelo Anthony and appear to be the love-child of Gary Payton and Dikembe Mutombo solely based on comparisons with Melo’s ability to defend.

The New York Knicks traded away a solid rotation of players for a player who had no real playoff success and is allergic to playing defense. Moreover, the bounty given up by the New York Knicks has resulted in Denver being one of the surprise teams in the entire NBA. Denver is a team without a true superstar, maybe even without a true star, but they are playing as an actual team and in this regard the whole is greater than the sum of its’ parts. On the other hand, the New York Knicks are setting the Atlantic division on fire with a below .500 record. The New York Knicks are on their way to another glorious first-round exit leaving fans of the Knicks in a state of complete despair (nothing makes me happier).

*From http://www.rantsports.com/courtcrusades/2012/01/31/carmelo-anthony-could-miss-game-tonight-against-detroit-pistons/
**From http://www.omg-facts.com/view/Facts/33849