Crisis in Madison Square Garden. But who is to blame?

                           The number one question circulating through NBA circles besides whether Dwight Howard will be traded or not, is what in the world is going on with the New York Knicks? Is the problem with this team as cut and dry as the head coach. Is Mike D’Antoni the reason this team has severely underachieved? Is this coach the reason why this team if the playoffs started today would not be in the playoffs? Is it really so simple as to blame the head coach and absolve the players and this organization for the mess that has gone on this year? The answer is no. Let me say that again. The answer is emphatically no! See one of the major problems in professional sports is that the media and fans always look to blame the head coach or manager and never place blame at the feet of the players. I’ll be the first to admit. Mike D’Antoni has done a terrible job coaching this team. He’s wildly regarded around the sport of basketball as an offensive genius. That might very well be true. However, he comes up short in two very important areas. He doesn’t preach defense to his teams and he doesn’t hold his players accountable. While he’s sorely lacking in those two very important areas, there’s another major problem that exist in Gotham. That’s the Knicks players. 

                      Take a look at Amare Stoudemire’s quote from last night after the Knicks lost their sixth game in row to the Bulls in Chicago. “The joking around has to stop at some point. We’ve got to take this game very serious, especially in a time where now we’re in the eighth seed and we’re not playing well. So the time is now.” What about Carmelo Anthony’s quote after the game? “Maybe I should grab an extra rebound and dive on the floor.” Maybe? We need to stop joking around? We need to take games more seriously? This is your two $100 million franchise players after losing a sixth game in a row saying the team needs to take things more seriously and questioning their own effort. This is inexcusable. Hear in lies the problem with the Knicks. Their two star players don’t play with enough effort. They don’t give the team a maximum amount of effort on the defensive end or when it comes to rebounding. They’re scorers. Nothing more and nothing less. When you build a team around players who only give you a maximum effort on one end you’re doomed from the start. That’s why the Melo trade didn’t make sense in my eyes last season. I was steadfast against the deal for two reasons. I didn’t want the Knicks giving up all their assets for one player. I also felt the Knicks needed a more multidimensional player to play a long side Amare. Is Dantoni the one out there missing shots? Is he the one out there not boxing out his man and securing rebounds? Is he the one out there letting players who are not offensive threats blow by him for uncontested dunks? Is he out there not diving for loose balls while the opponent is? The answer again is no. It’s the players that are out there not giving the amount of effort it takes to win in this league. 

                         So for all the short sided fans and media types who continue to make Mike D’Antoni the main scapegoat, take a harder look at the players. They are the major problem. The major culprits for why this Knicks season is spiraling out of control. Firing D’Antoni and sliding Mike Woodson in as the interim head coach is not the answer. This is the same Mike Woodson who was brought in to be the defensive coordinator. He was brought in here to solve all the defensive issues. However, all he has done is implemented a bewildering “switching” defense which has consistently put the Knicks in major mismatches on the defensive end. Don’t believe me? Take another look at the Boston game from last Sunday. Paul Pierce was consistently being guarded by Lin, Shumpert and Smith. Three undersized defenders. The solution for saving this Knicks season is simple. Their star players have to give a maximum effort on both ends of the court. If they do that the other players will follow their lead. Simple isn’t it? Just play hard. Or maybe playing hard is just not that simple. 

-Dock