The fact that the Knicks beating the Magic in overtime last night has become a major headline today is a testament to how bad the Knicks have been as of late. Before the game Carmelo Anthony called out his team and stated that this game was a “must win” for the Knicks. After the game he had this to say about that statement:
“I said that. That’s how I felt, that’s how we felt as a team, that it was a must win for us. We, as a team, backed it up tonight.”
So what exactly did you back up last night? Sure the Knicks won, but let’s be honest they had a lot of help. The Magic were without Jameer Nelson, J.J. Redick, and Dwight Howard fouled out of the game with 1:17 left in the 4th quarter. The Knicks acting as if they accomplished some big feat last night leaves me speechless. The fact of the matter is that the Knicks are no better today than they were before February 21, 2011. With last night’s win the Knicks are 36-38 overall and 8-12 since the trade. The last time I checked that is definitely losing. As a matter fact the rest of the season should be “must win” games for the Knicks. There should be no consolation when it comes to winning a game against a team who was definitely lacking last night and to top it off the Knicks still had to take it to OT to win. So again I ask…what exactly did you guys, as a team, back up last night?
Now due to the state of some of the teams in the East, the Knicks will probably make the playoffs, but the question is will they make it past the first round? Let’s take a closer look at their record since the Melo trade; they are 1-8 against teams with losing records and 7-4 against teams with winning records. The fact that they have a “winning record” when playing teams with “winning records” probably gives Knicks fans a reason to hope that they just might make it past the first round, but if I was a Knicks fan I wouldn’t hold my breath. What is the probability that the Knicks will beat the Bulls, Celtics, or Heat in a seven game series? I’m going to go ahead and say none. In all likelihood the Knicks will probably lose in the first round of the playoffs. I guess the Knicks fans should find some kind of comfort if they make it to the playoffs since it will be the first time since 2004. I mean you have to start somewhere…..right?
