For Knicks fans, the dream of enjoyment

10/23/08
stephon marbury
By Max J. Dickstein

For Knicks fans, the dream of enjoyment

By Max J. Dickstein

For Knicks fans, the best parts of the past few years have been the NBA off-seasons, when the bitter taste of the previous season ceased to linger and some sort of hope could be conjured for the next one.

Once the Knicks tipped off, as they will again on Wednesday, the on-court unraveling would begin.

Since coach Jeff Van Gundy’s final, 48-win season in 2000-01, the Knicks have averaged a 31-51 finish, meaning that the team’s bloated payroll kept it above the lowliest cellar-dwellers while ensuring that the franchise kept up its run of mediocrity.

This off-season, then, was particularly hope-inducing. Architect of disaster Isiah Thomas finally got his comeuppance, replaced by cagey team president Donnie Walsh and coach Mike D’Antoni, an impresario of up-tempo offense.

And yet beyond signing point guard Chris Duhon to run the team in place of disfavored point guard Stephon Marbury, the new brain trust has not made a single significant roster move. Even in the NBA, which has 16 playoff spots for 30 teams, these Knicks, basically the same players who reeled off 57 losses last season, do not comprise a postseason squad.

The great Knicks teams of the 1970s and 1990s had bruising, hard-nosed players. That is not the identity of the 2008-09 Knicks. Still, fans may yet find something to cherish in what is being conjured at the Garden this season.
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stephon marbury

For Knicks fans, the dream of enjoyment

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