What I’ve come to understand though is that the Knicks are actually similar in some ways to a team that’s always been near and dear to my heart: the Washington Redskins. Like the Skins, the Knicks so desperately want to be relevant in their sport that they will try and do just about anything to field a good team. Also like the Skins, they try a little bit too hard at times…either that, or both franchises just like to go grab every shiny new toy that’s available without thinking about things like team chemistry and how all the parts fit together. That may work with a sport like baseball, which has some team sport elements, but it is really a lot closer to an individual sport on a lot of levels. Players who have a certain skillset can usually be projected to perform similarly if they are put in a specific role on another team. Basketball is a much more fluid game, and often the whole is greater than the sum of the parts or vice versa in some cases. Just look at last year’s Finals, where Miami had 3 of the best 4 individual players on the court at any given time and still came up short against the Mavs.
Anyway, the Dan Snyder method for forming a team rarely works in football…it’s almost impossible in basketball. (Yes, I’m talking to you, James Dolan.) All this year, people made it seem as if the Knicks would be some kind of juggernaut once they had their full complement of players. After all, they rarely, if ever, played a game this year where Carmelo Anthony, Amare Stoudemire, Tyson Chandler, JR Smith, Jeremy Lin, and Baron Davis all dressed. That’s a lot of talent right there…but you’re also only allowed to play 5 people at once, there’s only 1 basketball to go around, and someone other than Chandler’s got to play defense once in a while. I can’t be the only 1 that noticed that over the past 2 years the Knicks played their best basketball when only 1 out of these 3 guys was in the lineup: Melo, Amare, and Lin. Last year prior to trading for Melo, the Knicks were 1 of the league’s hottest teams with Amare leading the way. Once Carmelo came on board, everything seemed to bog down. When Melo and Amare were out of the lineup and Linsanity exploded onto the scene earlier this year, the Knicks suddenly went on a win streak. And when Lin and Amare were out towards the end of the regular season, Melo carried New York to a strong finish. Why? Because with each of those guys the Knicks had a distinct style of play with all the team’s role players (Novak, Shumpert, Fields, Jeffries) coming in and doing whatever their specific jobs were. The couple of games that I saw where all those talented offensive players were all in the lineup (and these playoffs without Lin too), the Knicks were ugly to watch.
For what it's worth, I really do think Amare and Melo tried to make it work. The pieces just didn't fit.
Now, you almost have to grade the Knicks on a curve this past series against the Heat. Lin didn’t play a single minute due to a knee injury, and Shumpert and Davis both had catastrophic knee injuries of their own during the series as well. Those are their 3 best backcourt players. Having said that, they just seemed overmatched. To me, Tyson Chandler is the 1 guy on their roster that could be placed on any team that uses any style of play, and he’d be fine. He is going to control the paint on D, block shots, grab rebounds, and finish around the basket. Everyone else on the Knicks needs to be in the right system for them to succeed, which is the problem. Take Stoudemire for example…if you disregard his health problems, Amare plays best in the pick-and-roll (so does Jeremy Lin, in fact). Unfortunately, Carmelo is best in mid-post isolation plays. This usually involves him going to work while the other 4 players on the court stand and watch. This works when you are playing Melo next to Chandler and 3 guys who can spot-up and shoot 3’s, but if Amare and Chandler are both on the court with Melo, the floor isn’t properly spaced. Defenders can sag and help on Anthony, while still being able to get out and contest shots if Melo drives and kicks the ball out, thus rendering this offense pretty useless unless Anthony happens to shoot about 80% from the floor.
The other problem with how these guys all fit together is that Anthony, similar to LeBron, is really most effective on offense when he’s not playing the 3. Small forward is the natural position for both guys, but their unique size, quickness, and skillset allows them to play other positions too. When Amare was hurt towards the end of the regular season, the Knicks often went small with Melo at the 4. This allowed the Knicks to spread the floor even more effectively when Anthony was isolated in the wing or in the post. However, to me Anthony is best when he is matched up with a smaller player that he can just bully in the post and on the offensive glass. We saw shades of this a few years ago in the playoffs against the Lakers while Anthony was with Denver. Kobe is a pretty big 2-guard, but Melo could have his way with him if Kobe ever switched off on his man to guard Melo. The problem with this is that Melo isn’t quite the ballhandler, passer, or defender that LeBron is, so playing him at the 2 opens up other avenues to opposing teams.
The last thing seems minor, but can someone please tell me what the Knicks were thinking with JR Smith? Smith is uber-talented, but he’s a terrible fit for the Knicks. If the Melo acquisition was the worst example of Knicks Daniel Snyder-ism, Smith’s signing was a close 2nd. There was no need to pick Smith up once he finished playing in China. He’s an explosive scorer, but he’s streaky, has terrible shot selection, and turns the ball over like crazy. I feel like JR Smith took about 5 years off George Karl’s life while he was in Denver. More than that, you already have 2 guys, Melo and Amare, who are offense 1st players who take a lot of shots. What the Knicks felt they needed with a gunner like Smith is beyond me. Couldn’t those minutes have gone to Novak, Fields, and Shumpert (before he got injured) instead? It’s probably a small bone to pick, but Smith drove me crazy watching this series with Miami. If you looked at your TV closely enough, you could see Pat Riley smirking in the stands every time Smith dribbled away 10 seconds of the shot clock and then jacked-up a contested 20 footer. Don’t get me started on why they kept trying to play him at point guard either…
Apparently, Smith wasn't feeling the love from Knicks fans after the game. I'm sure they would tell him not to let the door hit him in the a** on the way out.
Anyway, I’m not sure what the Knicks do going forward. It looks like a pretty meager free agent class this offseason, but even so they might already be pot-committed to the hand they’re already playing. I’m not sure who they can afford to sign given how much of the salary cap they have tied up with Chandler, Melo, and Amare. Logic would dictate that they would try to trade Stoudemire given that Melo and he don’t really seem to be good complements for each other on the court, but I’m not sure if there are going to get any takers on that contract with those uninsured knees. And if they want to keep Jeremy Lin, I’m sure they’re going to have to pony up a good amount of cash for him too. Their best bet is probably to trade Amare at 50 cents on the dollar, plan to play small ball next year with Anthony at the 4, and then hope that they can improve internally. It all seems like a mess to me, but this is what happens when your owner plays fantasy sports with the roster. Just ask Dan Snyder…
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