Breaking Point

by, Greg Hutchins

Following Sunday's home loss to Denver Nuggets, Mike D'Antoni's team looked physically and emotionally exhausted. After starting the season as one of the league's surprise teams, D'Antoni's Knicks head into the New Year in an all-too-familiar position: last place in the Atlantic Division.

Say what you will about the timing of Donnie Walsh's trades, but it's far from the sole reason why this season has gone awry. Now that D'Antoni's team has started to string together losses in the same fashion as the prior coaching staff, we now see that a reliance on fool's gold coupled with a poor defensive effort is a recipe for a losing streak. Despite starting the season 6-3, it was only a matter of time before this undersized and undermanned unit lost their legs. With one-third of the season complete, D'Antoni appears ready to take his seat on the dais at the draft lottery in Secaucus, NJ for a second consecutive year.

In some respect, Walsh's trades were the equivalent of waking someone in the midst of a good dream. Just as the Knicks were learning to fly again, Walsh sacrificed the team's present for a brighter future. Come July 2010, the Knicks will be major players for the services of some the NBA's premier talent. In the interim, The Garden Faithful will continue to be subject to the same type of abject play we've witnessed since Don Chaney was handed a clipboard. For every one inspiring victory, two debilitating losses seem to follow and poor defense continues to be the common denominator.

As the Knicks head into 2009, there are some who want to hit the fast-forward button on this season. Mike D'Antoni has done an outstanding job with a painfully short bench, but a coach of his caliber deserves better. Granted, D'Antoni must assume some culpability for co-signing the draft selection of oft-injured Danilo Gallinari and adding fuel to a contained Marbury fire, but he gives the Knicks an identity they were sorely lacking. Add 2-3 healthy bodies or 1 All-Star player and this team would be a lock for the playoffs. Unfortunately, D'Antoni hasn't found any of the "fortuna" he talked about back in May.

When trying to pinpoint the moment this season went south, I chalk it up to the days shortly after Al Harrington was named Eastern Conference Player of the Week. Although Harrington has filled Jamal Crawford's leading scorer role admirably, once he started gunning, the Knicks stopped running. The crisp ball movement that won over the MSG crowd has now been replaced with selfish one-on-one play and a bevy of bad shots. Moreover, the team continues to launch 30+ shots from deep each game. With the misses starting the mount, opposing teams are racking up on fast break points.

Eddy Curry's return may actually be just what the doctor ordered as a team that needs size and post offense in the worst way. Regardless of what D'Antoni thinks of Jared Jeffries he's not the answer at center. D'Antoni claims the lack of practice following Walsh's trades is the reason why his team has hit the skids, but we're starting to see that the focus on 2010 is taking its toll.

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