Amar'e Stoudemire's talent has been crucial for the New York Knicks all season long. With the addition of Carmelo Anthony, some fans have been extremely quick to say that the Knicks already have a shot at the title.
However, people like me still remain somewhat apathetic about the lackluster franchise.
Basketball interest has been revived in the city, and even though I hail from Brooklyn, I'm not that thrilled. Maybe part of the reason is that I'm an Orlando Magic fan. Go figure, right?
Yes, getting Anthony in a trade in addition to having Stoudemire is huge. But claiming that the Knicks are a serious threat in a tough Eastern Conference is ridiculous.
One trade doesn't negate the existence of Miami, Boston, or Chicago. Plus, there's no guarantee that the Stoudemire and Anthony combination will actually work.
What's blocking the Knicks from becoming an upper-echelon team goes beyond just talent. Mike D'Antoni's lackadaisical approach to playing defense is a serious problem. You can't go very far while ranking third-to-last in the league in points-allowed per game.
New York recently let the lowly Cleveland Cavaliers score 115 points against them, which is inexcusable for any self-respecting team. Its second-place ranked offense certainly didn't help them there.
Defense, not talent, wins championships.
Secondly, the Knicks live and die off of their starting five, since they are almost talentless from the bench. One thing that the dominant Eastern Conference opponents have that New York doesn't is depth. New York is overly dependent on its starting five and, the last time I checked, a basketball team consists of 12 players.
This is dangerous because the large workload is going to wear down the starting five. Ronny Turiaf has already shown signs of this, and Stoudemire has a history of knee problems. At this rate, the starters (Melo included) won't have enough to give in the upcoming games to beat big-time teams like Orlando and Atlanta.
Also, I'm pretty sure that the Knicks' fans have experienced the type of hype Anthony has brought before. I'm guessing they should remember the subsequent letdown, too.
Remember when the Knicks signed Hall-of-Fame coach Larry Brown for mega-millions in 2005? The change in coaching was supposed to send the team back to its winning ways after a mediocre couple of seasons. Instead, the fans got more of the same when Brown lasted only one disappointing year.
I'd definitely be remiss if I didn't mention the former superstar Stephon Marbury. The point guard was touted to become essential to the Knicks' success in the mid-2000s. But by the time he got traded away to Boston, he became known as merely a nuisance.
Knicks fans should be used to such disappointment by now. They had stars like Patrick Ewing, Allan Houston, and John Starks in the '90s, yet New York still lost both of the times it went to the NBA Finals in the Ewing era. The average Knicks fan can't remember the last time his team won a championship, because he most likely wasn't born when it happened (1972-73).
New York does have more of a chance to be successful since it acquired one of the league's best players. But please don't forget: heartbreak can come just as easy as hope.
E-mail: brian.josephs@ubspectrum.com
Photo: Courtesy of UB Athletics
