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November in Review
By: Malcolm Merritt
Email: mjmerritt23@gmail.com
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A year ago, we weren’t having this conversation. A year ago
things were looking bright, everything was on a crash course with an NBA Finals
appearance. After their last game in November, the Knicks (3-12)
defeated the
Washington Wizards by 21, were 11-4 overall, and 6-0 at home. The ball was
moving and the three point shot was falling. Players could be seen smiling on
the bench in games. Oh how things have changed.
Right now Knicks fans are looking in the mirror trying to
figure out what’s wrong. They are trying to find a remedy to their losses that
seem to be stringing together. This last month was punctuated by a grueling
road trip out West as MSG hosted its own festivities. They did not win a game
at home either during this stretch.
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| Knicks fans have been sorely disappointed as their squad hasn't been able to win a game at home in the last month. |
Their last home win was the season opener against the lowly Milwaukee Bucks
(2-13) who happen to be one of only two teams with a record worst than New
York’s. The losing has created discord and drama in the locker room as players
are pointing fingers and making slick remarks towards one another.
The worst thing to do in a situation like this is to fall
apart. What most fans aren’t noticing at the moment is that the East is
EXTREMELY weak this year. Only 3 teams in the conference are above .500 right
now and the Knicks are only 2.5 games out from a top 8 spot. Only 2.5, that is
absolutely nothing with 68 games left in the season.
So what this means is that New York needs to do its job
against these sub-par teams. It could once look down on these teams and destroy
them in the previous seasons. Now, they are right with them and need to pull
themselves out of it. Losses on this road trip were expected due to all their
communication problems that have haunted them since the start of the season as
well as the injuries that have drastically adjusted the line up. But New York
needs to win easy games. This month started with a five-point loss to the Charlotte
Bobcats (8-9) at home, and finished with a 2-point loss to the Nuggets (9-6).
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| Frustrated and annoyed, New York has nowhere else to look but up in this time of strife and blown expectations. |
The Bright spots will come along as the year goes along. The
Knickerbockers seem like they are playing a waiting game for center Tyson Chandler,
who was the unspoken leader of this team as well as the only player that truly
valued defensive intensity besides slumping Iman Shumpert.
With those two players playing their best ball and Carmelo Anthony
continuing to play hard despite missed calls and heckling from around the
league, New York can turn their season around. But they have to remember not to
rush him. Yes Amar’e
Stoudemire has not been playing well, but Kenyon Martin
and Andrea
Bargnani have. They can hold you down if everyone plays their best for a
short amount of time. Rushing Tyson Chandler could force him to re-injure his leg,
which would make the situation 10000x times worse than it already is.
It’s like a broken puzzle, they have all the pieces, and
they simply don’t know how to put it together. That’s November in a nutshell
and I can’t wait to see what December is bringing (besides the
ugly Christmas uniforms).
Check out the review of the Denver
Nuggets Game here!
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