The New York Knicks have had the worst slump from one year to the next I can remember. The Knicks were one of the best teams in the NBA one year ago today. They were sitting second in the Eastern Conference and getting ready to make a deep playoff run. Carmelo Anthony was going to be crowned scoring champion. Tyson Chandler was playing like the Defensive Player of the Year again, and J.R. Smith was well on his way to 6th man of the year honors. This year, however, something changed. The Knicks have been flat, slow, and rarely showed any effort offensively or defensively all year.
This certainly has been a very dark season for the New York Knicks. They aren’t going to even make the playoffs unless a miracle happens. They are sitting two games behind the Hawks for the final spot, and their season is beginning to look over. Things may only get worse this offseason. With such a disappointing season coming to an end, why would the Knicks’ best player (Melo) elect to re-sign with the Knicks? Will his love for New York be enough to get him to stay? Let’s hope so.
But where there is darkness there is always light. There were a few signs of life from the Knicks this year, and a couple things to make people think they can turn it around next year. One of the shining stars of this year’s rookie class has really come on strong in the second half of the year and cemented himself in the Knicks rotation for years to come. Tim Hardaway Jr. has really shown that he is the third—or maybe even the second—best offensive threat the Knicks have. He has shown he can constantly hit the three-ball and soar for rim-rattling jams as well. This young man could very well be a huge part of the future of the Knicks.
Another bright spot in this year’s dull season of New York Knicks basketball is Phil Jackson. That’s right; they finally got him. Ever since Jackson retired from coaching the Knicks have been trying to sign him to every job imaginable within the organization. After three years of not having doing anything basketball related, Jackson is now the President of Basketball Operations for the New York Knicks. He will for sure be able to bring in some big name talent to the Knicks’ roster. Even LeBron James said he would give the Knicks a look after Jackson became president.
The last bit of light we saw this year was after Jackson signed when the Knicks went on an absolute tear. The Knicks won 10 straight games and 12 out of 13. They even took over the eighth seed of the Eastern Conference playoffs temporarily. They were confident and ready to make noise in the playoffs until they lost to the Heat this Sunday and had this year’s playoff dreams crushed. They did show that they were capable of being as good as last year during this streak. They may have even looked better than last year’s Knicks. Hopefully they can start next season how they ended this one and get back to their winning ways, but this season is seemingly over.