By Peter Cordi Edited by Peter Cordi
The All-Star break is over and so is Carmelo Anthony’s season as he won’t be taking the floor any time soon for the New York Knicks. He played through a severe injury on his left knee since the second game of the season. While his toughness is credible, by playing through his injury, he may have made it a lot worse. Anthony will undergo a season-ending surgery on his left knee that will keep him out for as long as four to six months. He is projected to be back in Blue and Orange in time for the 2015-2016 season’s training camp. But how will that affect the Knicks for the rest of the season?
Coming into the All-Star break, they held the worst record in the NBA, at 10-43. Phil Jackson has already labeled this season a “failure” and has shipped off several key players like JR Smith, Iman Shumpert, and Amare Stoudemire. With Carmelo Anthony also gone, the Knicks will need to get the most out of their newly acquired players like Shane Larkin, Langston Galloway, and Jose Caldron. Before the All-Star break, the Knicks’ highest scorers (who will be on the team post-All-Star break) were Langston Galloway and Tim Hardaway Jr, each averaging 11.1 points per game. They will need to step up their games if the Knicks are to have a successful second half of the season.
It wouldn’t be a tragedy if they win even less than they did before the All-Star break, so they can have a great shot at the first pick in the draft. It is shocking that the Knicks are playing so poorly this season, after they had three productive seasons in the last four years including three consecutive playoff appearances, resulting in their elimination early in the tournament each season. With young players like Tim Hardaway Jr and Cleanthony Early looking great before the season started, it looked as though the Knicks would hop back into the playoffs for the first time in two years. The 2014-2015 New York Knicks team is on pace to the their worst in franchise history. Their winning percentage this season is 18.9%, significantly worse than their worst season as an NBA franchise, their worst winning percentage was 26.3%.
The Knicks are going to begin a long rebuilding phase that will see Carmelo Anthony at his peak, and on the decline in a few years. It looks like Melo will have to wait a while to be in position to earn his long-awaited NBA Championship ring. The lack of star power on the Knicks provides their bench players with ample opportunity to prove themselves and secure a spot, or a chance to start on next year’s roster. Will they pull off a few wins and salvage their season, or will the sink into a deeper hole and get a great draft pick? Who will shine in the absence of the Knicks’ best players? These questions will be answered in the coming weeks of the NBA season.
The All-Star break is over and so is Carmelo Anthony’s season as he won’t be taking the floor any time soon for the New York Knicks. He played through a severe injury on his left knee since the second game of the season. While his toughness is credible, by playing through his injury, he may have made it a lot worse. Anthony will undergo a season-ending surgery on his left knee that will keep him out for as long as four to six months. He is projected to be back in Blue and Orange in time for the 2015-2016 season’s training camp. But how will that affect the Knicks for the rest of the season?
Coming into the All-Star break, they held the worst record in the NBA, at 10-43. Phil Jackson has already labeled this season a “failure” and has shipped off several key players like JR Smith, Iman Shumpert, and Amare Stoudemire. With Carmelo Anthony also gone, the Knicks will need to get the most out of their newly acquired players like Shane Larkin, Langston Galloway, and Jose Caldron. Before the All-Star break, the Knicks’ highest scorers (who will be on the team post-All-Star break) were Langston Galloway and Tim Hardaway Jr, each averaging 11.1 points per game. They will need to step up their games if the Knicks are to have a successful second half of the season.
It wouldn’t be a tragedy if they win even less than they did before the All-Star break, so they can have a great shot at the first pick in the draft. It is shocking that the Knicks are playing so poorly this season, after they had three productive seasons in the last four years including three consecutive playoff appearances, resulting in their elimination early in the tournament each season. With young players like Tim Hardaway Jr and Cleanthony Early looking great before the season started, it looked as though the Knicks would hop back into the playoffs for the first time in two years. The 2014-2015 New York Knicks team is on pace to the their worst in franchise history. Their winning percentage this season is 18.9%, significantly worse than their worst season as an NBA franchise, their worst winning percentage was 26.3%.
The Knicks are going to begin a long rebuilding phase that will see Carmelo Anthony at his peak, and on the decline in a few years. It looks like Melo will have to wait a while to be in position to earn his long-awaited NBA Championship ring. The lack of star power on the Knicks provides their bench players with ample opportunity to prove themselves and secure a spot, or a chance to start on next year’s roster. Will they pull off a few wins and salvage their season, or will the sink into a deeper hole and get a great draft pick? Who will shine in the absence of the Knicks’ best players? These questions will be answered in the coming weeks of the NBA season.