Knicks Headed Back to Playoffs

With the Bucks loss Thursday night to the Pacers, the Knicks have officially clinched a playoff spot.  The Knicks will head back to the playoffs for their second straight year.  The Knicks have not made back to back playoff appearances since the 1999-2000 and 2000-2001 seasons.  From 1987-2001 the Knicks made the playoffs every season.  From 2001-2010 they made it just once, where they were swept by the Nets in 2004.

Clearly, it has been a long time since the Knicks have put together back to back playoff seasons.  Last year's playoffs showed that the Knicks needed some more pieces as they were swept away by the Celtics in the first round.  This year could be a huge improvement for the Knickerbockers as the team has some more depth and shooting, something they needed desperately last season.  Once Amare Stoudemire went down with injury in the playoffs, Carmelo Anthony had the ball every possession taking more shots than he should.

The Knicks will get Stoudemire back tonight against the Cavaliers and will have him ready for the playoffs this year.  The team has pieces this year that it lacked last season coming off the bench.  Steve Novak has been monumental in the Knicks success lately as he continuously knocks down clutch three pointer after clutch three pointer.  J.R. Smith has started to come alive of late and everyone knows when his game is on, he will make a lot of shots.  Rookie Iman Shumpert has done a tremendous job bringing energy and a defensive presence that will be key come playoff time.  Mike Bibby has also played a role of late starting in the absence of Baron Davis and playing well.

The Knicks clearly have much more depth and a bench presence than they had last season.  Melo is also playing the best basketball we have seen him play as a Knick and maybe his career.  The Knicks are really hoping that they fall into the hands of the Bulls and stay away from the Heat in the first round.  We have seen how competitive the Knicks have played with the Bulls and how remarkable of a series it could be.  It is guaranteed the Knicks will play one of the two in the first round.  We will find out in a week who it will be.  The Knicks are the one team that nobody at the top of the conference wants to play.  I can guarantee that this year's playoffs will be a much better one for the Knicks as the Garden will be rocking like it did back in 2000.

Merry Christmas NBA Fans

This Christmas is going to be an extra special one for basketball fans.  Fans get to not only wake up on Christmas day to family and presents, but will also get to watch NBA basketball for the first time since June.  Early Saturday morning, the NBA owners and players would come to a tentative agreement to end the 149-day lockout.  The league plans to open up training camps and free agency on December 9th and have the first games on December 25th.  It is planned to be a 66 game season, 16 games less than a regular 82 game season.

The specifics of the deal have not been confirmed yet.  The players accepted a deal somewhere between the range of 49-51% in favor of the owners.  The exact details of the deal should be known in the coming days.  Most importantly, basketball will be played and both sides wanted to end this lockout as soon as they could.  Commissioner David Stern said it would take around 30 days from when the deal was made to begin the season.  In just two weeks, the craziness that we all saw once the NFL lockout ended will be seen in the NBA.  Trades and free agency signings will be in a frenzy as lots of moves will be made.  It happened to be one of the most exciting weeks in sports when we saw all the moves made in July following the end of the NFL lockout.  Plan to seen all that madness come again in December.  Owners, players, and fans are all relieved to see the end almost near.  It has been months of negotiations and meetings that at times had many extremely frustrated and had fans in disarray.

In New York, fans could not be happier.  We get to see 66 games of Carmelo Anthony and Amare Stoudemire together on the same floor.  ”Stat and Melo” had Madison Square Garden packed every night for the three months they got to see of them.  There is no question that MSG is going to have the same excitement this season as they get 75% of a season to see them suit up together.  The Knicks have a bright future to look to, but are going to need more than just two stars to win.  Veteran point guard Chauncey Billups played a pivotal role in the Knicks success late last season as well.  This will most likely be Billups only full season with the Knicks as he is a free agent after he makes $14.2 million this season.  The Knicks are going to need a lot more depth and some more size if they want to achieve success this season.  They struggled mightily at the center position last season.  They lacked size and depth to help out Stoudemire in the paint.  The Knicks are going to need to make moves adding depth to this team.  Rookie Landry Fields had a very solid season for them, but was nonexistent in the playoffs and spent most of the time on the bench.  Big man Jared Jeffries is a liability on offense and cost the Knicks a playoff game in the first round against the Celtics.  Guard Roger Mason did not get much playing time throughout the season and when he did was very ineffective.  One bright spot the Knicks did see last season was the play of backup point guard Toney Douglas.  Douglas was very effective off the bench and has a very bright future ahead of him.  The Knicks need help but have the pieces to build a championship contender.  Of course, they will have to compete the “big three” in Miami as well as Derrick Rose and the Bulls and the division rival Boston Celtics.

Knicks fans and all NBA fans are looking forward to Christmas day.  Mark down December 25th on your calendars NBA fans, it is a rare day where you get to celebrate two holidays in one day.  The season tips off at noon at MSG as the Knicks play the Celtics.  The Mavericks will host the Heat in a rematch of the NBA finals.  FInally, the Lakers will host the Bulls in a classic matchup of two past rivals.