The New York Knicks: 72 Years of What Exactly?

New York, the "Mecca of Basketball." Last season was the 72nd season of the storied franchise, New York Knicks. What exactly is within that story though? Is it failure, mediocrity, or success? The stage is bigger in New York (specifically Madison Square Garden), and in the "city that never sleeps," there isn't room for failure. The goal here is to see what has kept the Knicks from winning a title since 1973 and why they are in the state that they are now.

The Knicks have made 8 Finals appearances, 42 playoff appearances (42 playoff seasons of 72 gives them a .580-win percentage), and two championships (1970 and 1973). The Knicks all-time record has them sitting at a .490 winning percentage (16th rank of 30). They also have 36 seasons with a record of .500 or better. Some notable players of the franchise are Patrick Ewing, Walt Frazier, Willis Reed, Earl Monroe, John Starks, Charles Oakley, Bernard King, Jerry Lucas, and Carmelo Anthony.

(Anyone triggered, because I didn't include Jeremy Lin?)

(Who got you more excited in a short time, Lin or Amar'e?)

Let's start with the Championships!

The Knicks of the 70's led by Holzman (coach), Frazier, Reed, Lucas, Phil Jackson (Go ahead, roll your eyes!), Monroe, and Barnett. The year is 1970 one year after Bill Russell of the Boston Celtics won his 11th ring, beating their rival Lakers (Jerry West won MVP in a losing effort), and finally it was the Knicks turn to come out of the East. The Lakers once again would make the Finals and this time face the Knicks. LA was favored as they had their Big 3 of Wilt, West, and Baylor. Knicks won though in 7 games. Reed only played 27 minutes of Game 7, because of an injury to his leg (Reed's famous entrance from the tunnel). I've read before on a different article that put it this way, "The Lakers lost to a man on one leg." In 1971 the Bullets would beat the Knicks in the ECF and lose to Kareem and Oscar's Bucks. In the offseason they acquired Earl "The Pearl" Monroe. The following year they would once again face the Lakers. Only this time they lost in 5.

The Knicks in 1973 had assembled what many have called the smartest and most unselfish team ever put together. Hard to argue against Lucas, Frazier, Monroe, Reed, Barnett, Debusschere, and Jackson. In the ECF they faced the 1st place Boston Celtics (68-14). The Knicks finished 11 games behind for the 2nd seed (Boston clearly was in their own tier). This Celtics team included John Havlicek (Hondo), Jo Jo White, Dave Cowens, Paul Silas, and Don Chaney. The Knicks took a 3-1 series lead on this team after taking one in Game 2 on the road, and their great comeback in Game 4 at home (Hondo DNP: shoulder injury). Boston would win the next two games to force a Game 7. The Celtics had won eight straight Game 7's on their floor. Not this time though, as New York beat them with a tremendous defensive performance in the second half. Frazier finished the game with 25 points, 10 rebounds, and 7 assists. They would go on and beat the Lakers (in five games) a second time in 3 years for their 2nd championship. Unfortunately, this has been the only championship since that season for the Knicks.

Knicks in the 80's

The Knicks in the 80's made the playoffs 5 times while securing the 1st seed once, the 3rd seed three times, and the 4th seed once. They had some great teams in the 80's and more notably an MVP caliber player in Bernard King. Unfortunately, the 80's were owned by the Lakers and Celtics. Not much you can do about that!

Ewing and the 90's

The 90's as we know where dominated by the Bulls and Michael Jordan. Many believe Jordan would have won 8 straight Finals if he hadn't retired (Maybe, but I don't know). The 90's Knicks were tough, mean, and had heart. We're talking about guys like Ewing, Starks, Oakley, Johnson, Mason, and later when they traded for Sprewell and Camby. The 90's Knicks all had a chip on their shoulder. One thing that fueled it was Pat Riley leaving to the rival Miami Heat, who quit via fax! true story! don't believe me? click here.

In 1994 the Knicks made the NBA finals while facing the Houston Rockets led by Hakeem and what was arguably one of the best seasons by a player in NBA history. Hakeem led the Rockets to 58 wins in a season which he won regular season MVP and DPOY (also the Finals MVP). So, what happened here? Were the Rockets just THE team that year, or could the Knicks have won? If you think they could've won, then I ask, did Ewing choke in that Finals (10/16 in Game 1, 7/19 in Game 2, 9/29 in Game 3, 8/28 in Game 4, 6/20 in Game 6, and 7/17 in Game 7)? People will immediately mention Starks's Game 7 choke job, but he was ballin' all Finals, not to mention almost eliminating the Rockets in Game 6 all on his own.

The 1999 NBA season: Lockout Edition. The season started in February and was composed of 50 games. Some new acquisitions (Sprewell and Camby) and a 4-day training camp led to a slow season for the Knicks. All season they just couldn't figure it out. The Knicks won 6 of the 8 final regular season games to clinch the 8th seed. Jeff Van Gundy, the coach at the time has said, "We would have been a 50-win team, if it had been a regular season of 82 games...We were probably the 3rd best team in the Eastern Conference." The Knicks in '98 beat Riley's Heat in the 1st round. In '99 the number one seeded Heat lost to the 8th seeded Knicks in the first round once again ("Screw you Riley!"-probably Allan Houston). Knicks then swept the Hawks and beat the Pacers in 6.

Patrick Ewing unfortunately suffered an achilles injury in Game 2 of the ECF, and Larry Johnson also suffered in injury in the close-out Game 6 limiting his contributions in the Finals. The Knicks were up against the Spurs (Pop, Robinson, and baby Timmy D) without Ewing and with a beat-up Johnson. Duncan and Robinson took advantage of the size mismatches and the Spurs suffocated the Knicks with their great defense. Spurs won in 5 (probably should've been a sweep, if it weren't for silly 1st half turnovers in Game 3). In hindsight, it's easy to say there was simply no way of stopping Pop and the Spurs from creating their dynasty. (Interesting how the winning team of this series went on to have the next best 20 years of a franchise, while the losing team went on to have its worst 20-year run). The Knicks were tough that series...the Spurs were tougher. Overall, the Knicks never missed the Playoff's in the 90's (Including a run from 1988 to 2001!).

(Warning!) …

(Are you ready?) ...

JAMES DOLAN

I'll make this short! I won't say his name again! I think. David Stern might have said it best, "they're not a model of intelligent management.''

Notables under his reign not mentioned already:

1. Signed Allan Houston to a 6-year, $100 million contract in 2001.

2. Isiah Thomas is hired as President of Operations and GM in 2003 [Traded Tim Thomas and two 1st round picks (would become Aldridge and Noah) for Eddy Curry, Antonio Davis, and a 1st round pick (would become Wilson Chandler)] … [Traded Penny and Ariza for Seve Francis, made himself coach in '06, signed Jared Jeffries, drafted Renaldo Balkman (a pick before Rondoooooo!), and traded Francis and Frye for Z-Bo before being fired in '08 after 5 years of Hell!!!].

3. In the 2005 offseason, they hired Larry Brown! Great Move! Oh wait! fired after one season???

4. Gave Isiah an extension?

5. All fired coaches were owed money.

6. Replaced Isiah with Donnie Walsh (Walsh fired Isiah as coach in 2008).

7. 2008 offseason, Mike D' Antoni is hired.

8. 2010 offseason, Amar'e signs!

9. Melo traded for in 2nd half of '10-'11.

10. LINSANITY

11. Mike quits in 2012.

12. 2013, Woodson is new head coach.

13. 2014, Phil Jackson is hired. [Fired Woodson (Only coach to lead them to 50+ wins since JVG), Hired Fisher (because Triangle), Lucked into Drafting "PORZINGOD" and drafted Frank Ntilikina] … [Traded for Derrick Rose and signed Joakim Noah! (What's that? Past their prime you say? Please...)].

14. 2015, controversy with Knicks fan (Who was trying to help, GEEZ!).

15. 2016, Fisher is fired and Rambis becomes coach (Again, because Triangle).

16. 2017, Jeff Hornacek is hired, and Scott Perry is the new GM, and Steve Mills is new President of Operations (Also, feud with Oak, and Phil is fired).

17. Melo is traded.

18. 2018 offseason, Hornacek is fired, Knox is drafted (Stud) and David Fizdale hired as new coach (Bigger Stud).

"Concrete jungle where dreams are made of"

Well, coming to the end here, if you're still reading this It's Too Late, no just kidding. If you are, thanks for sticking around. I ran a poll on the Hardwood Amino app asking, "Who is to blame for the Knicks lack of success." Poll options were as follows: Dolan, GM's, Coaches, Players, and Good teams but wrong time. Dolan got around 48% of the blame, GM's 29%, and about 22% made up the rest. Basically, the players are a result of the GM's. The coaches and GM's are a result of the front office. The front office is fault of ownership. This little trail of results is valid for the last 20 years. I think the Knick teams before that were victims of good teams but wrong time i.e. 50's, 80's, and 90's Knicks (maybe the 2013 Knicks fall here too). The Knicks haven't had a winning season since 2013, but the future in New York seems optimistic. There are good pieces to build around in KP, Knox, and Ntilikina. Hiring Fizdale was a great move, he's someone who's been in a winning culture, dealt with egos, and is respected around the league. That last part goes a long way. This franchise hasn't been respected by anyone in recent years. Let Fizdale be Fizdale and stay out of his way (Justice League suffered from studio heads interfering with the director's vision). If Fizdale can create a respectable culture, then it might be hard to imagine talent like Kyrie, KD, Klay, Kawhi, or Butler not wanting to play for the Knicks. For fans who want D-O-L-A-N gone, just understand he isn't going anywhere if he isn't selling. In the beginning, I mentioned how the Knicks all-time W/L percentage is .490 sitting at average. They should have been great. The last 20 years have affected that. A team like the Knicks in New York City doesn't deserve what has happened to them. Those 70's Knicks (includes: management, staff, and players) got it. It was more than basketball, it was about your brother next to you, team success over individual success, and more importantly it was about New York.