New Year, Same Old New York Knicks

The Knicks failed to get LeBron James, but they were not going to let it ruin their offseason. They mentioned Amare Stoudemire, Raymond Felton, Anthony Randolph and Ronny Turiaf would make them a better team.

That wasn't saying much at the time. Anything would have been an improvement over what we saw in recent years. 

Sure, they are going to win 35 games, but that isn't good enough to make the playoffs.

The Knicks' performance left a lot to be desired this week. After beating the Bulls and the Wizards on back-to-back nights last week, they took a step back by losing to the Sixers, Bucks, Warriors and the Timberwolves.

They have no business losing to those teams. It was imperative they beat a team they were competing against for a playoff spot this year. With losses like that, it's hard to take them seriously as a playoff contender.

The bad week shouldn't come as a surprise. The Knicks are capable of beating some good teams, but bet on them to lose to bad teams. That's the team we saw over the years.

It was old long time ago. This franchise showed no inkling of progress under the Donnie Walsh regime. As the Knicks coach, Mike D'Antoni failed to get the most out of the team's talent.

D'Antoni may not be coaching past December if the Knicks can't improve. Walsh is likely going to be gone after failing to get James.

The hypothetical firing may convince James Dolan to hire Isiah Thomas again, which is a bad move. It exposes Dolan's weaknesses. He wants to hire Thomas because that fraud butters him up, which is something Dolan's competent employees never do.

That's why Walsh and D'Antoni had to succeed right away. But now, that's a lost cause. With Walsh's age and health, it's hard to believe he wants to keep doing this. D'Antoni's style does not work.

Walsh was hired to clean up the mess left by Thomas. He accomplished that by getting rid of the unproductive players, though his order of business was to get James. Walsh couldn't have known that James didn't want to deal with the pressure of being "the man" for any franchise.

James' decision will cost Walsh's job, fair or not. Losing does not help his cause.

D'Antoni's tenure has to come to an end. The team still does not play defense. His offensive philosophy is only shooting threes. While that may be fun, it doesn't work. Teams win by scoring in the paint, and so far, the Knicks showed they are inept at that.

The coach failed to develop players. Danilo Galinari and Wilson Chandler performed inconsistently. Jordan Hill couldn't flourish under the system.

From watching D'Antoni's offense these last couple of years, Steve Nash made the coach's system more than anything. A great point guard makes other players better, and it makes the offense fun to watch. D'Antoni has not gotten the same results with other point guards.

One wonders what D'Antoni was thinking in leaving the Suns for this mess in the first place. Sure, he had issues with the former Suns general manager Steve Kerr, and Suns owner Robert Sarver, but he should be smart enough to know he wasn't going to win in New York without great players.

Now, he realizes he made a bad decision. He has to live with it now. He may have a hard time getting a coaching job after this experience. Teams will figure out D'Antoni was nothing without Nash, and that's a perception that will be hard to shake off.

Losses like this week's don't fortify D'Antoni's job security. If the Knicks lose tomorrow night to the Rockets, it would be surprising not to hear "FIRE D'ANTONI" in the crowd. D'Antoni lost the fanbase a long time ago.

After blowing a big lead against the Timberwolves last night, this has a potential to end. The Knicks play four games in five nights on their West Coast trip. It's hard to predict they will win three of four. If they can't beat mediocre teams, how are they going to beat the Nuggets, Kings, Clippers and Warriors?

Currently, the Knicks are 3-6. If the Knicks go 4-10 by the end of next week, this season could spiral out of control. Players will likely quit on D'Antoni, with the idea that he will lose his job. There will be all sorts of distractions that comes with it.

It's imperative that this team responds after what happened Friday night. They can't have an attitude from which expect to lose. It's too early for that to happen.

What took place in Minnesota was unacceptable. They had no business losing to a terrible Timberwolves team. Kevin Love should not be having 30 points and 30 rebound night at any time. Only the Knicks can make it happen.

This is gutcheck time. Now, we find out how good these new guys are. We will find out if they can lead or if they are tough enough to covercome Friday night. We will also find out if D'Antoni has his guys attention.

It's absurd to say the season is on the line this early, but when a team stunk for so many years, it's not crazy to say it early. This team never had a winning culture in this decade. When losing teams are accustomed to losing, it's hard to overcome that feeling.

The Knicks need to find a way to win their fans back. That franchise has become irrelevant for a long time now. It used to be the team was a must-see TV every night in the winter, but now, no one bother to watch. What's damning is people are indifferent to this team.

It wasn't like that back in the '90s. At one time, the Knicks were more popular than the Yankees, if anyone can believe that. That's no longer the case, with bad management and incompetent ownership plaguing their popularity.

Winning this week will bring the old disenchanted fans back, and at least it will keep the diehards hopeful for a while.

The season shouldn't have to end this week. It's up to the players to want it. It's up to them to find a way to get it done.

One would hope they would be angry about Friday night. They shouldn't be shocked. They shouldn't settle. They should do something about it. It has to start with a dominating performance tomorrow night against the Rockets, and then one more against a good Nuggets team.

It's not going to be easy, but that's where heart and leadership come into play. The players have to find a way to save D'Antoni's and Walsh's job.

This week becomes interesting. That's life in Knicks land.