Ladies And Gentlemen, It’s Your New York Knicks!
Ten days ago on Halloween night, New York Knicks fans walked into Madison Square Garden with their usual annual optimism and excitement. The sold out crowd roared and cheered like it was the playoffs, especially after the Knicks put on a spirited fourth quarter comeback against the Sixers that forced overtime. Then once again, the Knicks ruined the moment by getting blown out in OT.
Last night against the Jazz, not even two weeks later, the Garden barely had a pulse. Fans are so indifferent, they don’t even have the desire and passion to boo and muster up a “Fire D’Antoni” or “Fire Walsh” chant. It is clear that Knicks fans are sick of the losing, sick of the product and sick of the exact same storylines that have been going on for a half-dozen seasons. You know you lost the fans when the loudest cheers come from MSG’s latest go-to guy for entertainment during timeouts: the dancing fat guy on the jumbotron.
The so-called Mecca of basketball has lost its luster.
In years past, the front row was filled with all sorts of celebrities from Denzel to the Olson twins. Now, you don’t even see Spike any more. Yeah, when LeBron comes into town, you get Jay-Z, the Yankees and Woody Allen. But last night’s big celeb draw? It was Daryl Strawberry and he got a lot more love than Chris Duhon – who is shooting 25 percent from the field. Even though Nate Robinson has been out the last week or so with an injury, I’ve noticed his popularity has cooled off too. I remember attending a game a few years ago, and the Garden used to eat up his dancing and dunking. Not so much anymore.
I feel so bad for the marketing team, which has to pull out all the stops to make the game somewhat entertaining for the fans. They have brought out Kevin Rudolf and the Jabbawockeez for live performances. They’ve gotten celebrities like Diddy, Adam Sandler and Tracy Morgan to do taped promos to hype up the crowd. And they’ve thrown out every other gimmick imaginable to stir any type of emotion out of the crowd. My favorite is the 30 second video they run, where they take clips of Knicks diving for balls, getting in altercations – as if they are preparing for war. Yet they get significantly out boarded every night and beat to every loose ball.
The fans are not the only ones who are growing tired of everything. The players are sick of having to answer the same questions about their losing, what they’re doing wrong and especially LeBron questions. Coach D’Antoni is starting to look more and more like Isiah the way he seems so miserable when he has to face the Knicks’ beat writers.
We’re barely a tenth into the season and it’s still too early to chalk up this year as a wasted one. But it looks like they’re heading that way fast. Rumors of tension between Duhon and Al Harrington and Duhon and D’Antoni, prove that there will still be drama even though Starbury and Isiah are long gone.
A lot is being made out of LeBron or Wade coming in next summer to return the Knicks back to their glory years. After all, Boston proved a few years ago that an instant turnaround is feasible. But in the meantime, it could be a long and ugly season at the Garden.
November 10th, 2009 at 2:09 pm
Steve A says:
If they don’t get Lebron, I can’t imagine what’s going to happen to this franchise. It might be YEARS before they are even close to competing for anything. “Putting all their eggs in one basket.”
November 10th, 2009 at 2:11 pm
Coop says:
I think The Knicks are going to struggle winning in the playoffs with D’antoni at the wheel if they land Bron (and some decent pieces).
November 10th, 2009 at 2:30 pm
Saku 39 says:
Meh…wait for 2010. If they don’t get Lebron then they should have cap space; something they haven’t had in years. I’m optimistic things will turn within five years.
November 10th, 2009 at 2:37 pm
fiyaman says:
D’antoni is a horrible coach.. he justs lets his players run freely but this only works when you have a veteran controling the game (i..e Nash) with this team his caoching stands out.. he doesnt call plays (which he should every single time down the court) they dont run any sets, dont look for the hot man,
i agree with Coop.. we aint going nowhere with d antoni no matter who we have.. i give him 2 more yrss this yr and the yr aft then we move on and look at getting a real coach
November 10th, 2009 at 2:41 pm
MBE18 says:
I am a die hard and suffering Knick fan. So far this season, this is the worst team I have ever seen. Worse than the Larry Brown year. The players are just simply going through the motions and are already waiting for the offseason. It is tough to watch, and as sad as it is, I still try to catch as many games as possible.
November 10th, 2009 at 2:52 pm
Diggity Dave says:
NY can’t afford two max players, and no superstar is going to want to get their hands dirty with the painful rebuilding job they have to do.
There are other teams that have a talented foundation who would be far more attractive than the Knicks. Chances are that Walsh is going to look like a fool after next off season and get his ass fired.
My guess is that Lebron either stays with the Cavs, or goes somewhere with an established core that’s very close to contending, ie Chicago, Miami, etc.
November 10th, 2009 at 2:55 pm
George W Kush Sr says:
They all need to go. Dolan Jr is an idiot. Walsh only did one thing, gut the team, I don’t he deserves any praise for rolling out such weak teams the last 2 years. Sure, D’Antoni’s teams have good offense, but they always suck at defense.
The team has NO IDENTITY, I miss the 90’s Knicks. Yeah Jordan always beat us, but we were a smash mouth squad, Oakley and Mason punishing in the inside with Starks and Harper roaming the perimeter. To hell with Dolan, Thomas and Larry Brown for fucking over my Knicks
November 10th, 2009 at 2:56 pm
RonNation says:
Utah gets the knicks first round pick next year..
Yeeeeeeeeeeeesssssssssssss
November 10th, 2009 at 2:56 pm
Celt4life says:
Coop?!? Playoffs! Really!?!?
November 10th, 2009 at 2:56 pm
Name (required) says:
also a suffering knicks fan…. but i dissagree with this piece…… even before halloween everyone was fed up.
the worst thing is not seeing it get any better any time soon. gona have the worst record in league history, but no draft pick. gona have cap space next summer, but will end up signing Amar’e, whos basicly al harington with more hops and less range, then wasting the rest of it on overpaying shitty david lee, and superundersized 2guard nate.
oh yeah.. and jordan hill is looking more and more like a bust…. i think the knicks thought they were getting dejuan blair, thats the only excuse i can think of for drafting him.
November 10th, 2009 at 2:58 pm
fiyaman says:
chances are everyone the doubed the Knocks rebuilding process and our ability to get free agents will look like the bigger fools… I’m not bettign on Lebron coming to NY in fact I dont want him .. we have a better chance of gettign 2 FA if we dont get Bron (i.e.. Wade n Bosh)
November 10th, 2009 at 2:58 pm
JC says:
Please fix the typo in the title. That’s pretty bad…
November 10th, 2009 at 3:00 pm
the really real tyrone says:
they dont even say “YOUR NEW YORK KNICKERBOCKERS” anymore.its just KNICKS…
November 10th, 2009 at 3:08 pm
the cynic says:
i miss Isiah, it was a funnier time; now its just sad
November 10th, 2009 at 3:12 pm
DanL says:
I was at the game yesterday and I have to say the crowd was pretty spirited and into the game. They want the team to do well. And @really real tyrone, they always just said “Knicks” for as long as I can remember, which is the early 90s. You might precede me in fandome.
November 10th, 2009 at 3:22 pm
Maynard says:
I just don’t get what people wanted to have happen here. Did they want the Knicks to keep adding mediocre players on long-term contracts? They say you can’t rebuild in New York properly because people don’t have the patience for it. I remember Knicks fans last year being upset when Walsh somehow figured out a way to get the contracts of Randolph and Crawford — notorious NBA non-winners — off the books. As one commenter above said, regardless of whether they get LeBron, getting under the cap is a GOOD thing. Donnie Walsh and D’Antoni aren’t fools. So go ahead, pine for the days of Shandon Anderson and Howard Eisley. Or you can exercise some patience — you know, patience? — and see how it all works out.
November 10th, 2009 at 3:31 pm
scotsman says:
@11
i agree, its a much better idea to try and snag two great players in the offseason. Lebron is not coming to NY because that would put him in a worse situation than he is now and the dude wants to win titles. When the cavs tank this year i predict lebron goes to miami (if wade stays) or dare i even hope it, the nets. With devin harris and brook lopez, adding lebron to that team would be killer.
November 10th, 2009 at 3:51 pm
sh!tfaced says:
Man, the comments here are depressing… like being in a damn funeral…
November 10th, 2009 at 3:58 pm
scotsman says:
i dont understand what people expected of the knicks this year. everyone knew they were offloading contracts and basically shaping up to completely overhaul their team in 2010. Im a nets fan and the way this year is going we dont have it any better, result wise.
Knicks will need to tough it out for the year and add a couple of quality players in the off season. Say what you want about david lee, but as a 3rd option on a team he would be a great player and the knicks would have a legit team.
November 10th, 2009 at 4:01 pm
Heckler says:
i say it every day/week.
as long as mike d’antoni is the coach, the knicks will keep on losing. the guy sucks and is the WORST coach in the league.
donnie walsh was a good hire, but he instantly goofed when he hired d’antoni as coach over mark jackson. mark jackson would have gotten a (REAL) point guard and show him how its done. he would have built the team around eddy curry and given the knicks an identity (even though curry aint really shit; but at least action jackson would have had an action plan, unlike d’antoni)
as for free agents, yeah, lebron is a possibility. about 15% chance. he might as well; in 2yrs the knicks will be better than the cavs anyway — and all the headlines are gonna say he should have left cleveland for ny. watch.
if lebron is truly smart and wants to conquer the global market and win nba chips with a good team around him, he should sign with… THE NEW JERSEY NETS!!
yep. imagine in 2yrs what the nets would look like on the court with devin harris (nice young pg), brook lopez (your center for the next 10yrs) and a compliment of terrance williams, sean williams, yi jianlian and lebron james! alls they would have to do is round out their bench and add some shooters.
i aint in ny too often, but next time i go, dont worry dime, i will start the fire mike d’antoni chants. i will even bring the sign….
November 10th, 2009 at 4:04 pm
Heckler says:
@ Gerald (article writer)
please tell me, what is the point of the dime office sending you to the knick games? this website doesnt do full recaps of previous nights games. and your not a beat writer for any local ny paper (or are you?).
so then, why are you at games? what reporting are you doing and for what? to interview players from the other team in the locker rooms? whats the point of even that if its not re-reported to us on the website each day?
dime doesnt post box scores. nor game recaps. nor even have standings.
SO WHY THE HELL ARE DIME CREW EMPLOYEES AT GAMES?!!?
November 10th, 2009 at 4:07 pm
Heckler says:
@ 16 Maynard–
only certain caliber teams need to under the cap. NY is the richest team in the league. the franchise is still worth more than philly, la or boston. it doesnt matter if the knicks are under/over the cap. dollar for dollar tax isnt phasing this team.
rich teams and poorly located small market teams dont need to be under the cap. it doesnt make a difference to how they can do business
November 10th, 2009 at 4:44 pm
Citizen B says:
Move the Knicks to Seattle.
November 10th, 2009 at 5:05 pm
eggya says:
but kevin malone (brian baumgartner) from the office was there too! yeah!!!
November 10th, 2009 at 5:29 pm
Maynard says:
I agree that they don’t care about the costs. They could just raise my cable bill if they have to. (I really need to get around to switching to Fios) But they needed to get under the cap to have the freedom to sign players when they came available who might be interested in playing in the largest and most attractive media market in the US. It’s not like a Yankees thing where they can spend as much money as they can reasonably budget. They’re at least in the discussion for LeBron at this point. If they’re battling for the 8th seed with Crawford and Randolph, it would be impossible for them to sign him.
November 10th, 2009 at 6:09 pm
loons says:
Gerald. I politely ask you to never ever ever ever EVER compare Walsh/D’Antoni to Isiah/Isiah.
To any Knicks fan, that should be a major insult.
November 10th, 2009 at 7:05 pm
Guitar Hero says:
Meh…2010 is just around the corner.
It’s obvious that the Knicks will get one elite player, maybe two (my guess is Bosh+JJ), so let’s just suck it up for one more season.
At least Gallo is looking like a beast and Tony Douglas looks promising.
November 10th, 2009 at 7:41 pm
BiG ShoT BoB says:
When were the Knicks good again?
November 10th, 2009 at 7:42 pm
hansosword says:
WTF?? They’ve dug their own grave. Jordan Hill over Jennings and Derozan???
November 10th, 2009 at 7:44 pm
BiG ShoT BoB says:
@ Heckler I’m guessing it’s because they’re a basketball magazine and it’s fun to go to games.
November 10th, 2009 at 11:29 pm
Arnold Drummin says:
1.A.Harrington,2.D.Lee,3.N.Robinson,4.L.Hughes,5.D.Milicic6.C.Duhon are all history after this season.That leaves Gallinari,Chandler,Hill,Douglas,,(Curry & Jeffries).If we can some how shred the last two contracts,the N.Y.K. will be in good shape come 7/1/10.
November 10th, 2009 at 11:41 pm
Shep says:
Prediction: Knick fans will ALMOST find themselves wishing for the days of Isiah’s reign. At least he was supposed to fail. Now that the “adults” are in charge, the continued hopelessness of the team is all the more depressing.
And… D’Antoni is not a championship-level coach. Defense wins ‘chips, and he doesn’t know how to teach it.
November 11th, 2009 at 3:51 am
maeng says:
sign allen iverson for 1 season!
November 11th, 2009 at 4:00 pm
Adam says:
So if the rapid-fire Knicks haven’t mustered more than 40 points in the first half of any of its last three games, but hasn’t been outscored in the second half of any of them – isn’t it about time D’Antoni calls off the no-shootarounds-at-home experiment?
http://blog.sportscape.tv/2009/11/10/the-knicks-just-a-case-of-red-bull-away-from-improvement/
Sidelines not only broke down just how bad the team’s been so far, but offers a pretty good suggestion why this might be (HINT: they’re sleepy).