Your New York Knicks!!

For years in NY, the Knicks have relied heavily on the big man and on the center position to be the focal point of their offense. Starting in the late 1970’s and right up until the end of last season, the Knicks’ offensive style of play has been a half court, post up type of offense. From Bill Cartwright, to Patrick Ewing, the team has always focused on them, getting things going through the biggest guy on the court. That type of play is a slower kind of offense, utilizing the clock and setting up a controlled situation. Now with the addition of a new coach, Mike D’antoni, that whole entire scheme is getting thrown out the window. D’antoni coached for four seasons in Phoenix, prior to coming to NY. There in Phoenix, the Suns averaged 110.07 points per game, that is good for third highest in the league over that span. D’antoni’s coaching stems from a run and gun philosophy, allowing any player who has an open shot to take it at will. He wants his teams to get the ball across the half court line under 7 seconds. He also wants his teams to play fast and aggressive, scoring as much as they can. When D’antoni has had the right players in his system, he has been very successful and it showed in the win column where he averaged 59 wins a season in Phoenix. After finally getting out from under the Isaiah Thomas fire blanket, the Knicks as an organization can start new in this upcoming 2008-2009 season. They have a new coach, as well as a new GM, Donnie Walsh, a New York City native. Walsh has come into a position of power with the future as bright as he wants it to be. Walsh can do no wrong this season due to the fact that he is following such an abysmal GM and President like Thomas. Isaiah left the team in turmoil, failing in all aspects of his job that resulted in a playoff draught and a significant drop in attendance never seen at Madison Square Garden. Walsh has tried desperately to separate himself from all of that and he has vowed to bring the Knicks back from the dead while he is in NY.
D’antoni has made it clear that every player on the team, regardless of contract and star power, is auditioning for their role. Nobody is a lock for a starting position or for playing time. He has said that whoever can get up and down the court the fastest, passing and scoring as much as they can, will see the most action. The Knicks, however, didn’t make that many changes to their roster to give D’antoni players ready to perform up to his standards. The Knicks acquired Chris Duhon; a point guard who didn’t play much in Chicago and was a pass first, shoot second guard at Duke University. He is really a back up and there are questions about whether he can lead a team and orchestrate the offense. With the 6th overall pick, they did draft a 19-year-old Forward from Italy, named Danillo Gallinari. Gallinari is a player who could flourish in D’antoni’s system when he’s healthy; unfortunately he has begun his American Basketball career on the disabled list with back problems. So, the Knicks haven’t really changed at all from last year to this year, leaving little room for the coach to maneuver his lineup into something he would like to see everyday. The Knicks predominantly have never been a team that consistently ran up and down the court, scoring at will. None of the players currently on the roster have been on a team like the one D’antoni wants to mold this one into. It really takes good team chemistry to create the mixture D’antoni wants to serve up to the league and the Knicks have not shown any signs of that in the last four years. So the question still remains, why D’antoni?
There is a lot of truth to what D’antoni preaches. He believes that any player that puts his best out on the court, game after game, will have the chance to do well under him. His approach, to coaching and to the game itself, is structured in a loose and relaxed manner. He smiles a lot on the sidelines and doesn’t get too tight about losses. That could be the reason for his hiring. Loosening things up at the Garden would be a real breathe of fresh of air, after all the tension during the Isaiah years. He does have a tough task though, in trying to turn the ship around in New York. Although, if he gains enough trust from the players and if they reciprocate with enough effort, things will only get better. There is another problem. This new situation can be a recipe for disaster if the team doesn’t win very much, early on in the season. Knicks fans have endured too many losing seasons, witnessing their team become the joke of the NBA and it can get real ugly if things don’t change. NY sports fans in general are very passionate about the teams they root for. Since the 1991-1992 season and up until the 2003-2004 season, the Knicks made the playoffs. But once Isaiah Thomas began his stay here in NYC that all came to an end and the Knicks have now failed to reach the postseason for five straight years. It is going to be hard to fill seats at the Garden, especially with the prices where they are and the economy where it is. Even though Thomas is gone, the damage he did still remains and Donnie Walsh and Mike D’antoni will have to try to fix it all, while hoping to lure fans back.