With a 111-99 win at Madison Square Garden last night, the Orlando Magic scored some revenge against New York City for constantly sending its homeless people to Central Florida. But they also dealt another heavy blow to the struggling New York Knicks, who have now lost 7 of their last 8 and are 7-10 since making their blockbuster trade for La La Vasquez’s husband Carmelo Anthony. Last night’s loss also came on the one-month anniversary of the Anthony deal, so I assume there was no Fudgy the Whale to be had.
To make things even worse, the Denver Nuggets have won 7 of their last 10, including a big win over the San Antonio Spurs last night, and they’ve actually jumped to the 5th spot in the Western Conference playoff picture. And while we can all offer the Nuggets a collective “Big whoop”, we have to also wonder when things might get better for the downtrodden Knicks. Specifically, can it get better by the first round of the playoffs? Please?
Jerry West seems to think there’s no reason to worry.
“I think this is more of an adjustment period for all of them,” West said Wednesday before attending the Knicks’ loss against the Orlando Magic. “They’re trying to feel their way along.”
He added, “Expectations are not always met immediately.”
The statement is particularly poignant coming from West, the architect of two Laker dynasties (in the 1980s and 2000s), and a star player on another (in the 1960s). Patience was never his strength. West’s teams lost in the finals seven times — an experience that — “scarred me even to this day” — before finally winning a title. (Via New York Times)
What was supposed to be a new era of Knicks basketball has started off as a calamity, with Carmelo being criticized for showing no passion and then ducking the media, and some even claiming his superstar status is rather Bosh.
Realistically, Carmelo is still finding his feet on the biggest stage in professional sports, and he and the Knicks should be fine. This ongoing negative hoopla surrounding one bad month of play is just typical New York sports media, with talking heads trying to talk louder than the next. This Knicks team, with the addition of a few more pieces, has the potential be the greatest roster in the franchise’s history, and it should be only a matter of time before these stars are being bounced from much deeper in the playoffs than their fans could even imagine.
