The Sky is Closer In New York

"The sky's the limit...We're only going to get better as a team, and I can't wait for that...Some happy times are ahead of us"

These were the words spoken by Carmelo Anthony moments after his New York Knicks were swept out of the playoffs by the Boston Celtics. Anthony's co-stars, Amar'e Stoudemire and Chauncey Billups, were unable to play the majority of the series leaving Anthony as the only above average player on New York's roster. This was the first time postseason basketball was played at Madison Square Garden in seven years so it was a step in the right direction for the organization.

After an offseason that included signing Tyson Chandler as the third part of New York's own "Big 3", there was a lockout that shortened the season considerably.

Instead of NBA's opening night being around Halloween night, it was now on Christmas Day. The Knicks struggled to start the season and Anthony struggled to stay healthy dealing with multiple injuries. One day, Coach Mike D'Antoni decided to give the third-string point guard an opportunity. This man went by the name of Jeremy Lin.

Lin went on to play beautifully for New York, earning attention and respect around the world. "Linsanity" absolutely exploded and in the blink of an eye, NBA and Knicks fans were forgetting about Stoudemire and Anthony and focusing solely on Jeremy Lin and his incredible run. Forty points against the Los Angeles Lakers on national TV, buzzer beaters on Valentine's Day and just pure domination were what "Linsanity" was bringing to the NBA.

After Anthony returned, him and Lin did not mesh very well on the court making fans ask, "Do we want to continue with 'Melo as the face of our franchise or side with Lin?" The Knicks started playing bad enough to the point Mike D'Antoni resigned.

Assistant coach Mike Woodson took over interim head coach and brought the Knicks to the playoffs where they would win their first playoff game in twelve years. Confetti poured down from the famous ceiling of Madison Square Garden as the Knicks avoided being swept for the second straight postseason. The team's season would eventually end the next game to the eventual World Champion Miami Heat in Miami. This was a series that will always be remembered by the incident in where Amar'e cut his hand punching a fire extinguisher case after a loss.

In the summer of 2012, Jeremy Lin, a restricted free agent, signed an enormous contract with Houston that the Knicks did not match leaving them without a point guard. They wound up acquiring Jason Kidd and re-acquiring Raymond Felton, two players who played an important part in the upcoming season's success. The team would also sign Mike Woodson to a head coaching contract with Phil Jackson on the market.

Going into the first full season with Mike Woodson at the far end of the bench and Anthony on the roster, Knicks fans felt hopeful about the 2012-2013 season.

The Knicks were the last undefeated team in the NBA and would continue their stellar play throughout the season and finish second in the Eastern Conference behind the defending champion Miami Heat.

Forty years have come and gone since Walt Frazier led the Knicks to a championship in 1973 which was celebrated one night in the midst of New York's successful regular season. Besides the team's success, there were individuals who were recognized on the team as well. JR Smith won NBA's Sixth Man of the Year Award over the always-considered Jamal Crawford and Carmelo Anthony won the NBA's Scoring Champion, surprisingly only for the first time in his career. Anthony also received an MVP vote; the only player in the NBA receiving a first place vote who's jersey didn't print "JAMES" on the back.

New York was buzzing about basketball for the first time in over a decade. The Knicks went on to defeat the Boston Celtics in the first round of the playoffs where their season turned for the worse. While up three games to none on the Celtics, some Knicks decided to wear black for the opposing team's "funeral." New York ended up losing the next two games and barely hung on to win game six. During this series, JR Smith was suspended for a game by the NBA for elbowing Jason Terry in the face.

The Knicks opened the second round of the 2013 Playoffs at home vs. the Indiana Pacers. They would lose game one getting out rebounded and out coached by Indiana. After winning game two, they lost both games in Indiana coming back to the Garden down three games to one. With Anthony dealing with an ailing shoulder and JR Smith in a terrible shooting slump, Knicks fans were on their feet screaming for one of the two to get going. Anthony would end up willing his team to a game five win. The next game would be the end of the Knicks' playoff run highlighted by Roy Hibbert blocking Anthony in a critical moment of the game.

This was only Anthony's second time out of the first round of the playoffs in his career. However, he had not missed the playoffs during his tenure in the NBA, yet.

The Knicks and their fans had high hopes for the 2013-2014 season. They acquired Andrea Bargnani, a former number one pick that could stretch the floor and allow Anthony more room to operate near the basket. They also drafted Tim Hardaway Jr., sharpshooter and son of former NBA player, Tim Hardaway.

The 2013-2014 New York Knicks season could not have gotten any worse. After slumping to start the season, the common opinion was that they just need to find their chemistry. The slumping continued as "defensive coach" Mike Woodson could not figure out a way to improve the defensive schemes. Teams would just attack New York's point guards and break down the whole defense. There were times during the season that opposing teams would run pick and rolls for over five plays in a row against the Knicks, most of the time successfully.

The Knicks started to play better towards the conclusion of the season. JR Smith was scoring like the reigning sixth man of the year and the team was clicking on all cylinders. The hole they dug themselves ended up to be too deep as they missed the playoffs for the first time in four years.

Carmelo missed the playoffs for the first time in his career after an outstanding season which included a 62 point performance that made him the highest single game scorer in not only MSG history, but Knicks history. He was also the first player since NBA Legend Shaquille O'Neal to average over twenty points and over eight rebounds over the duration of a season.

New York made a big splash late in the season by adding one of the best basketball minds in NBA history and eleven time NBA Champion, Phil Jackson, as President of Basketball Operations. Knicks' owner James Dolan gave Phil Jackson his word that he would make all decisions regarding basketball operations which is something he hasn't necessarily stuck to in the past. Jackson said there were major changes coming this offseason and to this point, has stood corrected. He fired Mike Woodson as well as the entire coaching staff shortly after the season ended. He also traded Raymond Felton and Tyson Chandler, two starters, for a package of players that included point guard Jose Calderon, defensive specialist Samuel Dalembert, young point guard Shane Larkin and two second round picks in the 2014 NBA Draft.

Now that 'Melo now has opted out to test the free agency market and become a free agent for the first time in his career, he could potentially sign a max deal with New York or leave to a destination like Chicago where he can contend for a championship immediately. His family loves it in New York, he can make significantly more money in New York over any other city and some view him as the savior to their prized basketball team.

Some say "the sky's the limit" for what Anthony and Jackson could accomplish together. Some say "we're only going to get better" in reference to the horrific 2013-2014 Knicks season. Some say "happy times are ahead of us" because they believe in Phil Jackson and they believe in Carmelo Anthony. The similarities between how Knicks fans feel now and how 'Melo felt after his first postseason elimination as a Knick are very similar. The big question is does Carmelo feel this way? Does he still believe in what he said that day in New York?

Only time will reveal the answers to these questions just as time revealed how Anthony's tenure as a Knick has been so far. A roller coaster would explain his tenure perfectly as there was high points and low points, a lot of both. Is the ride over or are we about to start rising back up on the ride? Maybe one day Anthony will reach the top of the roller coaster in New York and be serenaded with "MELO"s in lower Manhattan by thousands of Knicks fans and finally being able to call himself an NBA Champion.

After all, the sky is closer in those Manhattan skyscrapers.

"The sky's the limit...We're only going to get better as a team, and I can't wait for that...Some happy times are ahead of us"

Knicks Fall to Charlotte

Kemba Walker pumped up

Once again, the Knicks got off to a slow start this time allowing 64 points in the first half to a team who is averaging about 85 points per game. Tyson Chandler left the game in the first half after his right knee was pushed inward by a falling Kemba Walker. The Knicks missed his inside presence and his communication on defense. There were multiple times tonight when there were wide open Bobcats due to miscommunication by New York. New York falls to 1-3 on the season but more importantly 1-2 at Madison Square Garden.
WHAT THEY'RE DOING WRONG ON DEFENSE: SWITCHING. The Knicks keep switching on screens which puts a guy like Kenyon Martin on someone like Kemba Walker at the three point line. Walker can either take advantage of Kenyon with his quickness or post up a big against a New York guard like Raymond Felton. The switching was something the Knicks did a lot in the beginning of the year last year but once they started fighting over screens or going under, their defense vastly improved. It's harder for an opposing team to drive when a player fights over a screen or hit a three when they go under as opposed to mismatches that screens cause the Knicks which give them nightmares. I can't stress it enough how much switching on screens has killed the Knicks and even gives the opposing team plenty of chances to get offense rebounds due to the facts that guys like Ray Felton can't outrebound forwards and centers. They need to either start fighting over screens or go under and let the opposition shoot threes all game.
WHAT THEY'RE DOING WRONG ON OFFENSE: HITTING SHOTS & GAIN CHEMISTRY. The Knicks had some good looks tonight but they're just not hitting their shots. This will come as the players play and get their shot better. I am not too concerned with guys like Melo and Bargnani shooting poorly because the return of J.R. Smith Sunday will help New York's offense tremendously. The core of the team is the same as last year but they have some key players like World Peace and Bargnani trying to fit in the offense which results in a stagnant offense. I've seen the Knicks try to run some plays and when it doesn't work (most of the time), they give the rock to Melo with a couple seconds left on the shot clock to chuck it up. That is why Anthony's shooting percentage is horrible, he's forced to put it up with guys in his face and can't get into a rhythm. Chemistry will come over time but Woodson needs to find the right lineups out there that click more offensively than defensively.
IMAN SHUMPERT + COACH WOODSON: SET IMAN UP FOR SUCCESS. With Woodson saying J.R. could start when he gets back and not setting Iman up for success, I'm sure Shumpert is getting a little aggravated. There are never any plays for Shumpert which is why he feels he has to take it upon himself to score, play good defense and rebound. Since he doesn't get the ball enough, Shumpert puts up bad shots. Since he is expected to play good defense, he is overly aggressive and gets into foul trouble by reaching in. The rebounding is one thing that Iman can do by himself and not hurt the team by doing it. He had some big rebounds tonight when there were multiple bigs in the paint that showed his dedication and hard work on the glass.
WHAT'S NEXT FOR NEW YORK: DEJA VU. The Knicks will have a couple days off before they go to Charlotte to take on these same Bobcats. Two of their best players, Al Jefferson and Ben Gordon, were out tonight and their status for Friday is uncertain but the Knicks better hope they don't play. The Knicks need to work on their communication on defense and find a rotation that clicks even though J.R., who will be a huge part of the rotation, is returning Sunday. Look for a Knicks team that comes out of the gates strong and look for Iman Shumpert to have a big game Friday. One other thing to look for depending on Tyson's Chandler injury is if Woodson still limits/rests Stoudemire & Martin without their starting center.