The Knicks Are Actually Enjoyable To Watch

By Leslie Monteiro

The success of Jeremy Lin has made Carmelo Anthony and Amar’e Stoudemire yesterday’s news for the New York Knicks. The Harvard grad has even pushed back Henrik Lundqvist, Victor Cruz, and Tim Tebow.

With Lin playing as the Knicks point guard, New York is 6-0 following a 90-87 victory over the Raptors at Toronto last night. The Knicks new star engineered a comeback by making shots and hitting the game-winner with a three-pointer.

The story has been all about Lin, whether it’s newspapers, television or social media, but what should not be lost is the Knicks are playing a better brand of basketball. They are also winning in the process, and they have a chance to get back to .500 with a victory over the Kings tonight at Madison Square Garden.

This past weekend brought back memories from the Jeff Van Gundy years. The Knicks beat the Lakers and the Timberwolves by playing defense and taking charges, which in turn helps them get the ball on offense or get to the free throw line. They were playing physical by pushing other players around. It’s something that never happened previously during the Mike D’Antoni era.

This exhibit was a far cry from D’Antoni’s finesse teams. It is a reflection of the amount of work that Knicks assistant coach Mike Woodson has put with his players on defense, and it is an indication that the Knicks head coach is committed to the idea of playing on both ends of the court. Not surprisingly, it has worked out well.

For me, this has been the most fun I ever had watching the Knicks since 1999.  It was refreshing to watch a team that knew what to do on the court instead of watching a team that seemed confused on how to run an offense and how to play defense.  Let’s call this progress when the Knicks give a vibe that they are going to win games rather than finding way to lose.

The Knicks have given fans hope lately. They have gotten everyone excited with the quality of play and the wins that come with it. The buzz has finally grown. This is what the organization envisioned after years of losing.

This team should provide something good for the next few weeks. Folks will wonder whether or not the Knicks can keep winning, and they will want to see if Lin can keep up his success. They are going to find out whether or not Carmelo Anthony can keep a good thing going or ruin it.

Already, fans are starting to turn on Anthony. There have been calls on sports radio about how Melo may hinder Lin’s success when he comes back. This comes in light of his potential return, despite the simple fact that Lin and Melo only played in one game together, when Lin came off the bench against New Jersey.

It’s hard to blame them. Anthony demanding the ball has made the offense tough to watch, especially when he misses after he shoots. Fans booed the Knicks star for missing shots before he was out with an injury.

It is wise for the Knicks to not play Anthony while the team is winning and playing well, but sooner or later, they can’t pay him to sit on the bench. They need him out on the court, and they are going to have to figure out how to make all of this work.

It is clear Jared Jeffries, Landry Fields, Steven Novak and Tyson Chandler prospered with Anthony being out. They received opportunities to make shots thanks to Lin distributing the ball to them. Is that a result of Melo being on the bench? Or is it a result of having Lin on the court?

Only time will tell.

Having the offense cater to Anthony wasn’t exciting basketball, and it wasn’t winning basketball. Fans finally get it, and it is causing consternation. They love what’s going on and they don’t want to see this end.

People wonder how long Lin’s success last. The better question would be how long until this team’s success last. It’s easy to be cynical when one looks at the team’s track record. The Knicks have gone on good stretches at times over the years, but the wheels almost always inevitably come off.

Still, it’s hard not to enjoy what’s going on. Sports are about living in the moment and the Lin led Knicks are giving their fans some good moments right now. For the first time in a long while, it’s time to enjoy the Knicks.

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• Knicks Tyson Chandler Wins Defensive Player of the Year
• Amar’e Stoudemire Is Having A Bad Year
• Knicks vs. Heat – Does New York Have Any Chance At All?

Tags: Amar'e Stoudemire, Carmelo Anthony, Jeremy Lin, Linisms, new york knicks