Alright Knicks, I See You

I really don’t know what it is, maybe I’m becoming a softie, but I’m honestly beginning to root for the team I had once so despised. The New York Knicks have always held negative connotations in my mind because of the ordeal involving the Denver Nuggets and Carmelo Anthony. They were always envisioned as “the enemy”. Whenever I watched them play, I would spitefully look for ways to criticize Melo and think to myself, “Yup, there is the Carmelo I’ve grown to know”. But something has changed this season.

There hasn’t been a ton of opportunity for me to watch the Knicks, but what I have seen has impressed me. The season first started with the news that All-Star Amar’e Stoudemire would start the first six weeks of the season on the injury list. Then shortly after, Hurricane Sandy hit New York and left great damage in the city. Maybe that was the start of my sympathy towards the Knicks. And ever since, the team has banded together and played with a very admiral passion and team-game.

It would simply be unfair of me to not acknowledge what is going on in New York. The Knicks currently stand at 6-0 in the early goings of the season, heralding the only undefeated record. They have handled the Heat, pesky Philly, Dallas, and Orlando teams, and just defeated the experienced San Antonio Spurs in a comeback effort. They aren’t playing the selfish basketball everyone expected with a Carmelo Anthony-lead team, but rather are stretching the floor and allowing role players to play their parts.

Role Players like JR Smith are doing their jobs

This rejuvenated team is currently living out the early Cinderella story in the NBA. I’m weary of making a huge deal about it yet, but there is need for recognition and applause. It seems as if newly signed PG Jason Kidd is giving every last bit of his 39 year old body for this team, averaging a respectable 8.7 points per game and 3.0 assists per game. Tyson Chandler is playing with his normal tenacity averaging a near double-double every night (10.3 points per game and 7.8 rebounds per game). JR Smith, also a former Nugget, has proven to not only be a very strong and consistent scoring option off the bench but also just a solid all-around player, averaging 18.0 points per game, 4.8 rebounds per game, and an astounding 2.0 steals per game. Even players like Raymond Felton and Rasheed Wallace, yes I said Wallace, are playing above their expected abilities.

Melo is handling his business as a leader this season

But what can this be attributed to? It almost hurts me to admit it, but Carmelo Anthony has seemingly turned into the leader that everyone in the NBA has waited to see emerge. He is playing to his normal offensive abilities, but also has shown strides in his rebounding game averaging 8.2 boards per game, almost 2 more than his career average of 6.3 rebounds per game. And he seems okay with not needing the ball to go through his hands every possession. The last San Antonio game was very telling of how Carmelo has allowed this team to progress. He scored a measly 9 points on an abysmal 3-12 shooting night, yet collected 12 rebounds and 3 assists in the process while playing 41 minutes. It’d be impossible to say that he didn’t contribute to the comeback victory against the Spurs while playing about 85% of the entire game. Something about his mentality and effort has changed drastically.

Now, I’m not saying the Knicks will find themselves as the #1 seed in the Eastern Conference by the end of the season. I wouldn’t even be shocked to see them drop out of the top 4 seeds. But I do see the makings of a promising team. I think letting Jeremy Lin go to Houston and not paying him that absurd contract was the right move. Having role players to fit the mold of the team like JR Smith, Raymond Felton, and Tyson Chandler also is proving its worth for the team. And the questionable signings of aging players like Jason Kidd and Rasheed Wallace may be the exact veteran experience the Knicks needed. But above all, I am extremely impressed by the mature mentality that Carmelo Anthony has displayed during the season so far. That is saying a lot coming from a Nuggets fan, with all the bitter feelings he left behind in Denver.

But one huge question still remains for this squad. How will they respond when Amar’e Stoudemire returns to the lineup?

Can Amar'e coexist with this team?

It’s really hard to imagine feeling sad or afraid of the direction your team will go when talking about a perennial All-Star like Stoudemire, but I really feel like there are a lot of question marks around how he will fit. I could say that he is a professional and will fit in seamlessly, only helping the team with his abilities. But he isn’t that kind of player.

Stoudemire constantly needs the ball in his hands. The problem with him is that he is an average defender at best, with a thirst for taking possessions away from teammates. That is the way he has always operated.

So what are the options? The Knicks might just have to play into the original plan of feeding the stars, Melo and Stoudemire, and hope for the best. OR, I know how crazy this sounds, trade Stoudemire to a team in-need of that type of player. Now that makes things tricky because of the current no-trade clause in his contract, so that option seems very unlikely. I just don’t know what will happen with this team when he returns which makes the outlook for a little foggy.

But nonetheless, the New York Knicks deserve credit for what they have proven in the early goings this season, undoubtedly with the title “Best Team in the NBA”. Do I see this excellent play persisting? Most likely not. But I will acknowledge them as a possible threat in the East, and applaud Melo for his efforts as a leader.