In 1982-83, Bernard King’s first season with the Knicks, the team lost its first seven games.
So, the Brooklyn native has no problem relating to the slow start of this Knicks team, which is 7-11 heading into tonight’s game with the Heat.
“But the difference is the expectations for this team from the outset this season,” said King, who is working several games as a guest analyst for MSG Network, including tonight in Miami.
“If you look at the fact that the Knicks are trying to integrate [Tyson] Chandler and Iman Shumpert into their starting rotation and develop a chemistry between Amar’e [Stoudemire] and Carmelo [Anthony] that takes a little time in an abbreviated season where you had a shortened training camp.”
The Knicks hoped Chandler’s defensive prowess and rebounding would be the missing piece for a team that boasts two scoring talents in Anthony and Stoudemire. That has not been the case so far. The Knicks have lost seven of their last eight games, including home losses to the Suns and Bucks. Anthony and Stoudemire also have failed to mesh offensively.
But King has faith the Knicks will turn the season around, much the way his team did 29 years ago when it finished with the second-best record in the second half of the season and lost in the playoffs to the 76ers, the eventual NBA champions.
“When you take a dynamic player like Carmelo, who’s obviously a great scorer, but he’s also the leading assist man on that ballclub,” King said. “So at least I think he does a really good job of distributing, and when you look at Amar’e he’s still finding his place. He’s a veteran and once he really gets going, you’ll start seeing more out of Amar’e offensively. … I think once they develop that chemistry and cut back on some of those turnovers that this team will be one to be reckoned with.”
The frustrations the Knicks’ Big 3 are dealing with are not unlike what the Heat went through last year when it signed LeBron James and Chris Bosh to join forces with Dwyane Wade. Under mind-numbing expectations and scrutiny, Miami started 9-8 and the three stars’ ability to team together was questioned nightly.
“I definitely see a parallel between the two teams,” King said. “Every one was calling those three guys coming together a failure, and that failure worked all the way to the NBA Finals. Obviously, they fell short of their main goal, but they were able to regroup.”
Which means Knicks fans will need to be a little more patient, something coach Mike D’Antoni desperately needs with some calling for his firing.
“D’Antoni has not lost this team,” King said. “If he did, you would see it with their play on the court. Not in terms of wins and losses, but in terms of their hustle and intensity. These guys come to play every night. It’s just not happening at this moment. I am sure D’Antoni is spending every waking moment that he can to try and figure this out. I think ultimately that they will.”