Knicks; 11 Under and Counting

In reference to the Counting Crows song, 'A Long December'-December wasn't long enough for the Knicks. Lately, the Knicks have abandoned everything that had them playing winning basketball. It's more than Duhon playing as if he belongs in AAU ball. It's more than not having a true center. The defense, once starting to look formidable has reverted back into 'Swiss cheese' form the last 12 games. Unable to hold an early 14 point lead as well as as 5 point lead at home against the raptors with under 2 minutes remaining in the game; unable to put forth any sort of effort against Washington and Minnesota; then there was the 50 point loss to Dallas. To add insult to injury, David Lee gets left off the all star team. Injuries have mounted and the timing couldn't be worse. Even beat writers are seemingly questioning the severity of some of those injuries as Marc Berman clearly did in his article on Monday.

It's not rocket science, the Knicks simply aren't a very good team and they certainly aren't a top 8 team in the East. At one point (in December) even I was convinced; the Knicks were a playoff team. It seemed as if they newly found results from a distinct effort boost would become addictive and that they would be one of the teams that isn't necessarily talent-blessed but plays hard and competes. The Houston rockets are a good example of that. Maybe some new plays, rotting away on the bench need a chance. Maybe Toney Douglas is the answer, maybe not. Jordan Hill has been seeing some new minutes, but it seems more of a showcase rather than a development plan. As bad as he is sometimes, Jared Jefferies is very important to this team defensively. When he exited the game against Toronto last Thursday, the Knicks weakened defensively and eventually lost the contest.

The Knicks reality is five and a half games out with just over 30 games left and a likely date with the off season come mid April. Fans can readjust their scoreboard watching to the Miami Heat now, who after going 4-6 in their last 10 have fallen to the 8th seed. Are the Knicks as good as Miami? No way. (0-2 against them on the season)

Games still need to be played out, that's the beauty of Sports. But with the next three games acting easily as potential losses, the Knicks may not have as much time as one may think. Upcoming games are Washington and Milwaukee at home and then Cleveland on the road this Saturday. So far the Knicks have played each of these teams once and lost each time by a combine 34 points-You do the math.