Nowadays, being a Knick fan is a torturous lifestyle. You want to support the squad that calls Madison Square Garden home, but this team is so hate-able that I sometimes find it impossible to watch them.
It didn't use to be like this. I remember being able to wear my Knicks gear around town with pride. Now whenever I wear a Knicks shirt, I get cracked on like I'm wearing an ugly Christmas sweater.
During this 18-42 season, I always reminisce about one of the happiest moments of my life. Back in 1999, New York was in the playoffs after a shortened NBA season. As an eighth seed, they upset the much-hated Miami Heat in the first round after an amazing floater by Allen Houston.
After sweeping the Atlanta Hawks in the next round, the Knicks advanced to the Eastern Conference Finals to take on Reggie Miller and the Indiana Pacers. The Knicks gained a three to two game lead heading into game six at The Garden.
Late in the game, the Knicks were down 91-88 with 11 seconds left and had the ball. The ball was inbounded to Larry Johnson, who was fouled while making a well guarded three-pointer. At that moment, everyone in The Garden celebrated like they just won the lottery. Johnson would make the free throw and propel the Knicks to the NBA Finals.
After the 1999 Finals, the Knicks would make the playoffs two straight times before missing the playoffs for the first time since the 1986-1987 season. The only other time the Knicks have made the playoffs was in 2003-2004 when, mid-season, they added the abomination formally known as Stephon Marbury.
What happened to a franchise that was so successful?
The 2007-2008 squad is full of players with undeserving contracts and no work ethic. With the second highest payroll in the NBA, New York has only a couple of players that deserve the money they are making.
The combination of Zach Randolph and Eddy Curry gives the Knicks the worst post-defenders in the NBA. Randolph provides offense and rebounds, but he couldn't guard a garbage can. Curry brings nothing to the table. As a starting center, he averages an abysmal 4.7 rebounds per game.
To put that into perspective, Baron Davis averages the same number of rebounds. The problem is that Davis is a 6-foot-3 point guard while Curry is a 6-foot-11 beast of a human being. Am I the only one who sees the problem with this?
The frontcourt is only where the problems begin for New York. At point guard, they Stephon Marbury, the third-highest paid player in the NBA. Players like Kobe Bryant and Tim Duncan make a couple million less than Marbury does. There is no doubt that Marbury is nowhere near half as effective as these guys.
What has Marbury done to earn his $20 million? There is no question that he can light up the scoreboard, but he is a proven loser. He has made the playoffs a total of four times in his eleven-year career, but has advanced past the first round only once.
Another scary fact is he has gotten worse since he first got to New York. During his first two seasons, he averaged more than eight assists per game. The two seasons after that, Marbury averaged 6.4 and 5.4 assists, respectively.
There are a couple reasons for this. There is not as much talent in New York as there was in Marbury's first couple years. I would take Kurt Thomas over any of the frontcourt options on the current team in a heartbeat. Now, Marbury feels the need to take over the game and carry the team on his shoulders, but he can't lead a team to many wins doing this.
Marbury's contract expires after the 2008-2009 season, so unless Isiah Thomas pulls some amazing magic, New York will be stuck with him for one more year. This will most likely be another painful year, since only the contracts of Dan Dickeau, Fred Jones and Randolph Morris expiring.
Much more depressing than Marbury are players that are being paid millions to sit on the bench. Jerome James has played a total of two games this season and yet makes almost $6 million. Some of the best players in the league don't even make over $5 million. New York is stuck with him for two more seasons.
Knick fans will have to be patient with this team. There is no room to add a big player, and they don't have any players to trade because almost every player has a bloated contract, diminishing their value. Three years from now, with a couple top five picks under their belt, the Knicks will be able to release their useless contracts and structure their team.
Of course it'd be nice if James Dolan and Isiah Thomas were fired. That would speed up the process.
Photo: Breadchastick / Wikimedia Commons
