He’s back. The Irrational ever-optimistic Knicks fan is here. Guess what? After that dramatic win over the bucks, the knicks are only 7 games out of the final playoff spot!! But don’t start purchasing, your playoff tickets just yet. We still have 2 weeks to go before the trade deadline. Remember, if the defensively challenged suns can trade away their best defensive player, for a center who will not fit the Suns’ running style anything’s possible.

Marbury

Yes, you knew I’d talk about him. What can I say, the man’s from Brooklyn and he grew up rooting for the Knicks. For those two reasons alone, I’ll always be a Marbury fan. The news is, he’s out for the year after his surgery. I wasn’t expecting him to come back anyway. But I will say that all those pundits who thought the Knicks were better off w/o Marbury…..   Well you know the rest. The knicks embark on a losing streak of 5 or more once every 2 weeks. They didn’t do very well with him but they damn sure aren’t doing any better.

The Problems

They are numerous, stretching as far as the eye can see. I’ll start with the coach. Isiah never should’ve taken that coaching job. The knicks are constantly giving up leads in the 4th quarter. Or they fall behind big in the 1st only to watch a furious comeback fall short. They never play the full 48 minutes. They always finish the game with 15+ turnovers. Those are signs that point to an underprepared team. The blame of an unprepared team falls solely at the feet of the coach. While I don’t think he should lose his job as team president, they need a no-nonsense defensive minded coach such as Pat Riley who knows how to get the most out of a little.

I’ve been screaming about ths since they traded Camby. The knicks need a bona-fide shot blocker. The funny thing is, they have two. Jerome James got 30 mil, why not make him earn it? There’s also a young energetic center named Randolph Morris. The current rotation is obviously not working, why not overhaul it without having to make another bad signing? Instead these two guys, who can very easily help the Knicks defensively in the paint, ride more wood than Jenna Jamison. Again it’s the coach’s fault.

The Knicks do not have a single deep threat right now. While Robinson’s improved and Crawford shot selection is no longer on Blood-pressure-raising levels, there isn’t a single gaurd on the Knicks that makes you say: NO!!! For the love of God DON’T LEAVE HIM OPEN!!! Just about every Playoff Caliber team has a deadly outside shooter. The Knicks have none. I used to think Richardson would be that player, but he’s been taking performance-eroding drugs, so no dice.

The Solutions

Damn it just start rebuilding!! Isiah wanted the knicks to get “younger and more atheltic” when he took over as team president (If you can remember Scott Layden assembled the shortest, oldest, highest paid team in the league during his tenure). He’s about halfway there. Lee and Balkman are good energetic role players (not to mention Balkman is a hell of a defender) that you can put a few scorers around. Robinson’s energy is perfect as a 6th man (which is why he’s better off the Bench). Throw in a shot-blocking center, like Morris and the knicks are about 2 crunch time scorers away from being taken seriously. Whether that scorer is Crawford, or another 2 guard from the draft is irrivelant. Take a look at that roster: Morris at the 5, Lee at the 4, Balkman at the 3, Crawford or any other dynamic scorer (Did someone say T-mac?) at the 2, and a playmaking guard at the 1 (you know, like Marbury). All they’d need is some backup big men and a bona-fide, never-misses-when-he’s-open, shooter maybe at the 3 or 2. Get a defensive minded coach to teach Morris, Lee and Balkman the “No lay-up rule” (Mardy Collins already knows the rule as he so convincingly demonstrated to Smith in that Denver game) and you have a Team that the New York Fans would be proud to cheer for. And speaking of fans….

In the February 11th version of Sports Illustrated, the Garden was actually voted as the 4th scariest Arena for a visitor to play in. This despite the fact that The knicks have won a grand total of 10 games at home all year. Put it this way: Half of the league has already won more games on the road. What’s the point? I’m glad you asked. If opponents are afraid of the Garden when the Knicks are this bad, imagine how many nightmares they’ll have when the Knicks are good? If the Knicks can field a team that actually plays with passion, and wins, they’ll be a force to be reckoned with. They already have crowd elevating players (Nate & Renaldo), they’re just a few defensive stoppers away.

The Illusions

I don’t think the Knicks payroll is as big a deal as everyone makes it seem. OK so they have a high payroll. And the problem with that is??? NY is an expensive city to live in. We pay more to park at Yankee stadium, than other teams charge for their actual games. We pay more for everything, so why not have a more expensive team?? If the Knicks win a Championship, David Stern is not going to say “oh wait, you guys don’t deserve the trophy, you’re the highest paid team!” As far as am concerned, unless being the highest paid team directly deteriorates the level of play I don’t think it matters.

So there you have it: I’m officially joining the Fire Isiah chorus (but only as coach). The Knicks will win, and they’ll win soon. I’m hoping one day Isiah’s on the internet and accidently stumbles on this post. Maybe he’ll take some of my advice. Hey, weirder things have happened. Like Defensively challenged teams trading away their best defensive player.