Keidel: Could It Be? Have The Knicks Finally Turned A Corner?
By Jason Keidel
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Back from the gym Monday night, my damp feet folded over the coffee table. I checked my Android and saw six texts and at least that many Facebook messages.
I figured something epic or historical just occurred. In fact, all that happened was Frank Ntilikina shoved LeBron James and then Enes Kanter went jaw-to-jaw with the King, so close each could smell what the other had for lunch that afternoon. It was a pivotal moment in Knicks history, which sparked a robust run from the home team.
As an ardent Knicks detractor, I delighted in reminding them that their beloved orange and blue squandered the 20-point lead, and the game. I reminded them that all Knicks victories are virtual or theoretical, appearing everywhere but the scoreboard.
But I lied.
Discarding my contempt for the Knicks, the Kanter moment meant something. It set the twin goals of refusing to be punked at home and enforcing the notion that the Knicks are a team, not a dozen disparate parts who collect varying paychecks.
Under former team president Donnie Walsh, the Knicks were building a team, properly, sans stupid draft picks or baffling free agent deals. Then they blew it all up to get Carmelo Anthony. Then the Knicks -- to borrow a doo-wop handle -- became Big Anthony and the Imperials, a lousy hardwood group in galling syndication.
Then Phil Jackson came to save the team, and the inverse occurred. Jackson managed to tick off their only established star (Anthony) and ostracize their budding star (Kristaps Porzingis). Both Jackson and Anthony are now gone, and the results are tangible.
If managed properly -- always a large variable with the Knicks -- we could see a fairly good basketball team fairly quickly. Forget James' useless assertion about drafting Dennis Smith Jr. Though arguably the greatest player in history not named Jordan, King James is hardly a wizard at picking personnel -- unless you think Tristan Thompson is worth $82 million -- and is much better at getting his pals paid than plucking the right players to fit his epic talents.
Forget about the Instagram post of James owning the Knicks' logo at center court, or his nuanced jabs at the team and town. The club is above .500 (8-6) after 14 games. Trivial stuff for some teams, but they've actually got a better mark than James' Cavaliers. No, it won't stay that way, especially once the Cavs get their All-Star point guard back from injury. But the symbolism matters.
Not that we can extrapolate an entire season from 14 games, but consider three years ago -- Nov. 19, 2014 -- the first autumn under Jackson's wayward fist, the Knicks were 3-10. Their starting lineup in a loss to the Timberwolves that night was an eyesore, an embarrassing collection of castoffs and wannabes. Quincy Acy led the team in minutes and rebounds. Shane Larkin led the team in assists. Anthony led in points. Iman Shumpert connected on one of his 11 field goal attempts. Samuel Dalembert rounded out the starting five, clocking eight minutes, scoring one bucket, grabbing one rebound and blocking one shot.
Wednesday night's win over the Utah Jazz speaks to a tangible improvement in just the month or two since the Knicks purged themselves of Anthony and Jackson. Every starter played at least 22 minutes. Four starters had at least 13 points, four rebounds and two assists, and none had more than two turnovers or two fouls. And only Courtney Lee (6-of-15) had a relatively poor shooting night.
In a reversal of historical pattern, the Knicks actually outscored their opponent in the fourth quarter (29-19) to win the game.
Of course, we must be dubious of any Knicks fan who thinks the team is back in a profound way. The standards are so subterranean that a 40-win season feels like a league record. So it's facile or fatuous to suggest this iteration will contend for anything more than a low-end playoff position.
But the Knicks just look better now, in every physical and metaphysical way. There's no hardwood pall hovering over the franchise, no infantile squabbles between players, coaches and management. No revered alums (see: Charles Oakley) being booted from a home game, with security guards being flung like dolls around the stands and accusations of alcoholism from the recovering alcoholic owner.
Sure, it's just November, a month no championship club cares to dominate. But all wins and optics matter when you've been so bad in the stands and standings, and such a PR drag as the Knicks have been. A .500 record isn't out of the question, nor is a playoff spot -- deeds that were little more than dreams for the last 15 years.
Please follow Jason on Twitter at @JasonKeidel
