Dan Popper
Editorial Director
Five games since the blockbuster Carmelo Anthony trade, the New York Knicks are 3-2, including a huge win over the Miami Heat on Sunday. However, consistency on the defensive end is what looms as the Knicks’ main issue.
All season the Knicks have been have been absolute dynamite on offense, averaging 106.2 points per game, good for second in the league. There is no question that Anthony only makes the Knicks offense more lethal and versatile, but the problem is that he won’t improve the Knicks defense, which is currently 27th in the league at 105.5 point allowed per game. According to George Karl, Anthony’s previous coach with the Denver Nuggets, there’s a good chance that that “Melo’s” lack of effort will make the Knicks worse on defense. Karl called out Melo in an interview taped before Feb. 24, saying he was enthusiastic about how the Nuggets would be playing defense now they didn’t have to “handle what Carmelo gives you” on the defensive end, according to ProBasketballTalk.com.
In terms of the trade itself, Donnie Walsh, Jim Dolan and Isiah Thomas did what was necessary to acquire a once-in-a-lifetime player. Melo can do things on the offensive end that nobody else can do in the league. When you have that kind of opportunity, you do everything you can as an executive to make the trade happen.
At this point, the Knicks are good enough to finish sixth in the Eastern Conference, but they simply are not good enough to surpass the Bulls, Celtics, Heat, Magic or Hawks by the end of the regular season. They have shown flashes of brilliance in these last five games, most notably letting up a mere 86 points against the Heat. But they’ve also shown a lack of effort and consistency in their six point loss to the Cleveland Cavaliers, giving up 115 point to a team that averages 95.8 points per game.
It is clear that the Knicks can compete with any team in the league on the offensive end. However, until they dig down and play hard on both ends of the court, they are going to be stuck below that 50-win plateau.
I agree with you, but Carmelo does bring an aspect of the game that the Knicks desperately need. He’s first among all small forwards with 7.6 rebounds a game. Plus, there offense had been slacking of late, and while it was brilliant at times, there were certain nights where it was just not there. With Billups, Carmelo, and Amare, the odds that none of them are on are very slim. Plus, between Billups, Carmelo and Amare, the Knicks have the most clutch player of there position at three positions.
If you add in Billups defense, the Knicks may not have improved as much as suspected, but they are a significantly improved team.