Playoff Postmortem: New York Knicks

image by Michael Doret

Empire State of Mind
(image from popbytes.com)

I’ve always had a problem with this line from Jay-Z’s Empire State of Mind: “New York, concrete jungle where dreams are made of.” At least that’s how I hear it. The problem? The grammar is whack. It sounds like it makes sense, but if you really think about it, it makes no sense.

Were they worth it?
(image by Chris Trotman of Getty Images)

If you’ve followed the Knicks this season, and the accompanying Melo-drama, then that whole idea behind that line should be familiar. Getting Melo for the Knicks makes sense if you’re playing NBA Live, but for real? For nothing. 

By doing that, the Knicks just traded away their young and promising core for an 8-year veteran who’s known for nothing but his scoring and a guard who is well past his prime.

From the flat of your back again?
(image by Ronald Martinez of Getty Images)

 Does D’Antoni need  more scoring? Well, they did have the 2^nd-best scoring clip pre-Melo. What he really needed was more defense. Yes, D’Antoni doesn’t coach defense, but the formla will never change: Defense wins.

And that’s why New York lost. At home. Big time. To a bunch of oldies. KG’s over-the-hill 26 points? No Defense New York. No Defense.

Last time NY won a Playoff series, this guy was still playing
(image by Cataffo of nydailynews.com)

Here’s the thing though, New Yorkers will be blind to that. For the first time since 2004 they got into the postseason. For the first time since 2000, they have a winning record. For the first time in a loooong time, they have legit All-Stars. For the first time, things appear to be looking up, just not “as up as they think.” Melo and Amar’e will fill the MSG seats, and they should get into the playoffs repeatedly, but will they ever be title contenders? Not the way they are now.

Is this gonna be an annual thing?
(image by the AP)

The Pre-Melo Knicks were on the bubble, just getting their groove, and were getting set for a bright future.

These Melo Knicks’ bubble just burst, their groove is gone and, they are set for a flickering horizon.

Just when things were getting good, they went back to being... just okay. Concrete jungle where dreams are made? More like messed.