Last night the Knicks obtained Carmelo Anthony in a trade with the Denver Nuggets. All in all it was a trade that had to be made. In the end the Knicks may have paid a “tad” too much for “Melo”; given that they had to throw in lots of cash: but I'm not going to bitch about that. The Garden needed this player as much as Sarah Palin needs some more college credits: real bad. Plus, the Knicks obtained a few throw-in players who will be quite useful over the next year or two (namely, Billups, Williams, Carter and Brewer); useful off the bench, or useful as trading-fodder.
So now the Knickerbockers have acquired themselves two bona fide NBA stars: Amare Stoudemire and Carmelo Anthony. Offensively speaking, both are very talented individuals. Defensively speaking, both are just barely adequate. And the question now becomes: where do we go from here? How do you win an NBA crown (after a 37-year drought), without good defense?
Do you ever win NBA titles by just running up and down the court trying to basically out-shoot your opponents? I guess this is where the coaching staff comes in; right? But then, the current Knick coach (D'Antoni) isn't even close to being a defensive genius: far from it. His up-tempo run and gun style, probably wins championship-rings once every decade or more. Do the math!
Until the Knicks find a center and a point guard, who (first and foremost) are both defense-minded in their basketball orientation and philosophy, then they are going to dwell in the mid-pack range as per NBA rankings. Shooting guards are a dime a dozen: rookie Landry Fields can do for now.
Don't think for a minute that I don't support this trade: I do. Any true Knick fan is rooting for this pair to light up the Garden night after night. Between Amare and Carmelo you are looking at a combined total exceeding 50 points per game. Plus they provide adequate insurance in case one goes down for any spell due to injury.
For the Knicks to become champions they have to make the two moves I just outlined. And it doesn't have to be star-players by the way. We just need some tough, hard nose defenders, who will block, steal, rebound, take charges in the lane/paint, screen, run, jump and set picks for Stud and Melo; in order for the two of them to do what they do best: score big points.
Stay tuned-in folks: the Knicks could be on their way to an NBA championship before Justin Beiber reaches the legal drinking age; and long before Lindsay Lohan finally grows up.
See you in Madison Square Garden: get your New York basketball here.