When the three-games down New York Knicks cut the Boston Celtics lead to 84-80 in the fourth and final game of their first-round 2011 NBA playoff series, I wasn't fooled. I stayed in Starbucks typing this article (and keeping abreast of things on the web) rather than go to the local bar next door to watch.
I knew the Celtics would win (they did), because the Knicks had already shown in the series that they just don't have that “IT” in them.
For the current Manhattan NBA ballers are a motley collection. A rag-tag bunch. An ill-conceived, thrown-together collection of players. How else to explain “Vanilla” Bill Walker, Roger “gunner” Mason, Shawne (with an “E”) Williams and Anthony “jitterbug” Carter running around playing prominent roles at crunch time. These players are of little production. New Yorkers deserve better.
Even the presence on the team of Carmelo Anthony and the vastly overrated, although productive Amar'e Stoudemire cannot redefine or elevate the disheveled mix that is the now New York Knicks. The Celtics series proved this.
Matter of fact, watch these two “stars” go to work in the 2011 NBA Playoffs, and one sees that they are ill-equipped, inexperienced and indecisive under this kind of pressure. Neither one has the doggedness, drive and dauntlessness of a Kevin Garnett, a Kobe Bryant or a Tim Duncan. Far from it.
Carmelo Anthony, for all of his 25-point plus scoring seasons and relative unstoppability on offense, has many hurdles to jump before he reaches the top echelon of NBA greats. What earned him a college crown, does not work in the pros. In the NBA, there are more good players around to stop you. They indeed gang up on you. And their athleticism matches yours.
Case in point: When Boston threw two defenders at Anthony for the whole of Game 3, “Melo” turned to mush. The 2008 NBA champs put Carmelo into a Celtics green haze wherein the Knicks leading scorer acted as if to say “excuse me while I kiss this series goodbye.” “Melo” was helpless, helpless, helpless.
Message to Mr. Anthony: the Celtics throwing two defenders at an elite NBA player in the crucial time of the playoffs is nothing new. Did you not watch Celtics vs. LeBron circa 2010? And stop whining about such things as you did in the New York newspapers: The truly great players find a way to succeed despite such defenses.
Further message: Hire a trainer and get in better physical condition. Do yoga, even. Perhaps you and your buddy LeBron can go to meditation classes together or to a séance? Or maybe simply ring up Kareem Abdul Jabbar for advice on how to beat the double-team?
As for Amar'e Stoudemire, he is on a lesser tier than Anthony. His flaws are many: poor hands, bad defender and inability to affect important games in a meaningful way. Not to mention poor decision making and inferior rebounding, he does not have that superstar presence or knack. For him to flourish, he really does need superior on-court leaders like a Steve Nash.
Yes, the Boston Celtics with their fab four (the “fifth Beatle,” Kendrick Perkins, is now with the surging Oklahoma City Thunder) are more battle-tested than the hastily-conceived New York Knicks, but the New Yorkers blew their present opportunity. As in the first two games, when they didn't fully have the attention of this Boston team of championship pedigree.
In Games 1 and 2, the Knicks came up character-less. Lost when they could easily have won. Then, as with all naïve playoff squads, they assumed the logic of one or two games might lead to the next. It doesn't happen that way in the NBA playoffs, and it didn't for the 2011 New York Knicks. In Games 3 and 4, the Bostonians paid attention.
The Celtics, if their legs hold up, can easily get to the NBA Finals yet again. That is their goal. They are focused only on this year. And their road there is not all that difficult. They know how to stifle LeBron James, and the team with the conference's best record, Chicago, appears to be a bit of a one-man band, in the person of probable league MVP Derrick Rose. No one-man team can beat Boston.
With a regular-season record of 42-40, the New York Knicks improved themselves this year. (They couldn't get much worse.) However, a .500 or so record leaves things nebulous. What does such a record really mean, especially with their new conglomeration of players? If they had been 10 games over .500 this year, there could be cause for more optimism.
The Knicks must again re-do their whole roster. They badly need a shooter, a slasher and a strategist on the sidelines.
Mike D'Antoni should be appreciatively let go. (This time, Charles Barkley should not have apologized.) Why? Coach D'Antoni has historically shown no proclivity to conquer change or to propel his crew past a certain achievement point. He didn't do well enough after Carmelo Anthony came. (In this regard, the Celtics squashed his dreams.) He can't adjust well enough during the game. (Doc Rivers thoroughly outcoached him.) He can't coach defense well enough. (Obvious.) These negatives won't about-face. Also, an intangible: He doesn't fit the New York glamour profile.
So, all in all, another year of false hope has passed for New York Knick fans. But come to think of it: Patrick Ewing looks pretty fiesty on the Orlando Magic bench. Has Charles Oakley been working out? Do they still have Anthony Mason's phone number?
Sarah Silverman Larissa Meek Gina Carano Sanaa Lathan Ana Beatriz Barros
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