It's over. The 2012-13 New York Knicks' season, one that started with a ton of uncertainty and then excitement, has ended miserably. For the fans this was a season that, once it got rolling, was supposed to end one of two ways: either with a tough Eastern Conference Finals exit to the Miami Heat or with a trip to the Finals. The latter was a bit of a reach, of course and anything more than that was surely fantasy, at best. These Knicks were not going to beat Miami. But they weren't supposed to struggle with the Celtics and they weren't supposed to lose to the Pacers. They did, however, and now they have all offseason to think about what went wrong and how to correct it.
But was this season a failure? As a die hard fan like myself, many of us might say that it was. This team was obviously built for the here and now; guys like Jason Kidd, Marcus Camby, Rasheed Wallace and Pablo Prigioni weren't brought to NY as parts to some sort of 3 year plan. Those guys were put in place to do one thing and that was to win now. Most of them didn't make it through the whole season, with Rasheed slipping back into retirement well before the playoffs, due to injury. These seasoned vets were supposed to be the graybeards to 'Melo's dynasty; the guys who were going to show him what it took to be a winner and a leader. In the end, it was a good thought but a gamble that didn't pay off. While Anthony had probably his best season overall, he was mired in an awful shooting slump that spanned between the Boston series and Game 5 of the Pacers series with him finally having a great game stat wise in Game 6. J.R. Smith, Robin to Carmelo's Batman for most of the regular season, never reclaimed his game after his 1st round Game 4 suspension. After struggling with Boston, a team that they could've swept but realistically should've finished off in 5 games, the Knicks confidence was shaken after their chin was tested. Dropping Game 1 to the Pacers on their home floor all but prophesied what was to come.
But to call this season a failure is a little harsh. Disappointing? Yes. The Knicks had a season long strategy of moving the ball to maximize their 3 point shooting ability. Mike Woodson took a little bit of what Mike D'Antoni had implemented while he was head coach and added a bit of tough defense early on that surprised many onlookers and opponents alike. But many analysts stated early on that there was no way they would be able to keep that torrid shooting up for an entire season and on into the playoffs. The Knicks also lost their defensive swagger as the season went on, with 'Melo regressing a bit from his early season defensive efforts. While they shot well for most of the year, their flaws were glossed over enroute to a 54 win season and an Atlantic Divison title. The Knicks haven't seen success like that since the 1999-2000 season. Their bench wasn't as deep as the front office and the team itself had initially projected, due to age and nagging injuries. The late season aquisitions of Kenyon Martin and Quentin Richardson only proved to be a band-aid on the glaring fact that the Knicks had no real defensive identity and was not a good rebounding team. Rasheed Wallace, who had been lured out of retirement by Woodson to stretch the floor for the jump shooting Knicks, was fools gold with his age and conditioning. And while Jason Kidd proved to be worth the investment with his leadership and mentoring of 'Melo and Raymond Felton, his age as well betrayed him in the end. The Knicks overacheived during the regular season, but pretty much played par for the course during the playoffs. This was an untested team that, at the start of the season had only one major goal: win a playoff series for the first time since 2000. The rest was icing on the cake once that was accomplished. When the Pacers chin checked these unproven Knicks, they hit the canvas and couldn't get up. Carmelo Anthony needed to lead this team, and he tried valiently Saturday night with a 39 point performance. But they needed more from him. They needed him to be Patrick Ewing all those years ago when he had to slap John Starks in the back of the head for headbutting Reggie Miller. They needed him to grab a hold of J.R. when he elbowed Jason Terry and got ejected and suspended (as suspect as that elbow was). They needed the 'Melo Fellow to get in the faces of Raymond Felton and Tyson Chandler and say "C'mon, guys! Don't lay down like this! These are the Pacers! They are not better than us!" They needed him to be the Captain. Maybe this loss will show Carmelo Anthony that the Knicks need more than points while he's on the floor.
The Knicks front office needs to be held responsible, not for a failure of a season, but for the upcoming offseason. While having wiley veterans on your team is always good, overloading on them may have been a mistake. New York has players approaching 40 in crucial roster spots, with no discernable back up. They were fortuante to pick up Kenyon Martin because had they not been able to, they surely would have had a tougher time with Boston and may have been swept by Indiana. With Wallace gone, Marcus Camby not being used and Jason Kidd not being effective, Tyson Chandler got into foul trouble and was rendered just as ineffective as Camby was. Had Iman Shupert not caught fire when he did, this game would've have been a massacre. The Knicks must get younger, even if that means another short run to the playoffs next year. Carmelo is 29 years old and in the heart of his prime years. If he wants a chance to compete w/ Lebron James, he's going to need the kind of help that A'mare Stoudemire and J.R. Smith can't give him. He's going to need another offensive All-Star level player that can make Anthony's workload a little bit easier. J.R. Smith did well during the regular season but flamed out in the playoffs. Raymond Felton did well but came up empty when he most needed to be effective. Iman Shumpert isn't consistent enough.
The Knicks have to grow up as well and this is where Mike Woodson and Carmelo need to be on the same page. Granted, the officiating sucked all series against the Pacers. But the Knicks fell into the trap by arguing and whining about calls, being assesed a vew technicals and and losing a few possessions along the way. They lacked discipline at times and clearly lacked the confidence they had earlier on in the season. Champoinship teams are tested when things aren't going there way, when they drop a game at home, when the other team makes a run. Championship teams come together and say they have one another's back; that if a defender slips by one player, another will come and rotate and help out. Championship teams trust each other. The Pacers played like champs in this series. Unfortunately, the Knicks played like they weren't ready. But that is okay for now because champions aren't built in one year, in one season. Miami lost to Dallas before they went back the following year and won the ring they were built for. Chicago, during the Jordan years, had to deal with Boston and Detroit, with legends like Bird and Isaiah Thomas before they broke through. The Knicks will have to deal with Miami for years to come as long as LeBron is there. They are going to be tested ever more.
So all we have now is next year. Miami will more than likely win a 2nd consecutive title and be well on their way to becoming the dynasty that everyone thinks they are going to be. It's like deja-vu all over again for fans who've been following the Knicks for the past 20 years or more. Michael Jordan tormented us through 2 three-peats, robbing Hall of Famers like Ewing, Barkley, Stockton and Malone along the way. LeBron James is shaping up to be this generation of NBA players' ring nemesis, already knocking off Kevin Durant on his way to his first championship with Miami. Unless the Knicks can pull off either one more blockbuster deal to get a guy like Chris Paul or even Dwight Howard to take less money to play in New York alongside No. 7, Carmelo will share at least one thing with Patrick Ewing. He'll have a good reason why he never won a ring, having the misfortune of playing during the same era as another generational talent who has a penchanet for finger jewelry.
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