New York Nightmare

The Artist Formerly Known as Ron Artest - Courtesy of USAToday.com

I've waited as long as I possibly could to write this blog.

I am not a Knicks fan, but I know how important this franchise is to the league. If the Knicks don't do well, it is just as bad for the league as when the Boston Celtics or the Los Angeles Lakers aren't all that successful. But what the Knicks are the ones we're focusing on today.

Earlier, I blogged about the Brooklyn Nets and how bad the Eastern Conference is. Well, the East is bad. Let's face it. Aside from Miami and Indiana, the East is in dire need of something to put them on the same level as the Western Conference. But while the East is slowly and surely improving, the Knicks...well, the Knicks just aren't.

J.R. Smith - Photo Courtesy of Bleacher Report

Take their game on Christmas against the Oklahoma City Thunder for example. Without Carmelo Anthony in uniform, the Knicks lost that game by 29 points providing them with their fifth loss by 15 points or more. To make matters worse, the Knicks are 2-12 when an opponent scores 100. As a fan of the game, it's just hard to see the Knicks play like a D-League team at times.

This is a problem. Part of the reason this is a problem is because the Knicks give up 98 points per game. The other part? The Knicks are averaging 94 points per game. I'm no math quiz, but 98 is greater than 94. Even though there have been games where New York has blown out their competition, the Knicks have not played consistently enough to really pose a threat offensively to anyone. Carmelo may be the league's second-leading scorer, but he doesn't really have any help. Bargnani averages 14 a game and J.R. Smith is third on the team with 11.

Carmelo Anthony - Photo Courtesy of NYDailyNews.com

Obviously, Carmelo didn't see playing in New York turning out like this. I'd venture to guess that he would have been better off had he stayed in Denver with the Nuggets. Yeah, he could make the playoffs a whole heck of a lot easier in the East, but he's gotten just about the same amount of help playing in royal blue and orange that he had playing in powder blue and gold.

Nobody on the team is more frustrated than Carmelo. Here's a guy who couldn't get out of the first round in Denver and finally gets that proverbial monkey off his back last year only to lose to the Pacers (who have been really good within this last calendar year). To make matters worse, the Knicks have played like a NCAA Division II team at times. They're better than that, but the fans aren't seeing it. lAnd if the fans aren't seeing, the fans aren't coming...and if they are coming, they're coming to watch what will probably be described as a train wreck (because you know something bad is about to happen and you just can't turn away).

So how does the front office fix this? Two words...Fire. Sale. The Knicks aren't going to the playoffs. The turnaround of all turnarounds has to happen if they do. I don't see Mike Woodson being the guy to make that happen. Woodson may very well be a lame duck. He may get fired after the All-Star Break or definitely after the season.

Mike Woodson - Photo Courtesy of ESPN.com

Regardless of what happens in the remainder of the season, the Knicks are in need of major change and the league would welcome said major change if it would help one of their marquee teams return to prominence and be the contender that they once were. Until then, there's going to be some tough sledding ahead.