WASHINGTON — Beyond President Obama and Vice President Joe Biden, a more significant guest to Knicks fans appeared at yesterday’s Duke-Georgetown game at Verizon Center.
Attending the preliminary event to last night’s Knicks-Wizards battle was Tracy McGrady.
The Rockets superstar-in-exile has been training in Chicago and waiting for Rockets general manager Daryl Morey to deal him by the Feb. 18 deadline.
McGrady did not meet with Mike D’Antoni before yesterday’s awful 106-96 loss, but certainly the Knicks coach wished he had T-Mac’s athleticism on the court last night against the Wizards.
If the Knicks’ goal is truly to make the playoffs to set the right vibe for July’s free agency, they are going to have to do something to get T-Mac. Morey claims the Knicks, unless they make either rookies Jordan Hill or Toney Douglas available in a package with Larry Hughes, will not get McGrady.
The Knicks always can hope Morey strikes out and somehow negotiates a buyout after the Feb. 18 trade deadline, making McGrady a free agent. But Houston sources say the Rockets owner won’t do any favors for T-Mac.
If the Knicks don’t get McGrady, the Jazz can start making reservations in May for a hotel in Secaucus for the NBA Draft Lottery.
Let’s be real. The current Knicks, 10 games under .500, aren’t making the playoffs without a big upgrade. How cool would it be if the Jazz, which own the Knicks’ first-round pick, had a sense of humor and put assistant coach Scott Layden on the Secaucus dais — a familiar spot during his woeful Knicks presidential term.
The Knicks bounced back from 1-9 to at least make the early part of winter interesting. But the second tier of the Eastern Conference is strengthening and the Knicks are fading, hitting a wall. Early projections a 36-to-37 win season can sneak in as the eighth seed no longer holds.
“We may want to rethink that,” D’Antoni said.
The Bulls and Bobcats are pulling away with the seventh and eighth seeds, both are playing excellent ball and both teams are featuring more reliable pieces than the Knicks.
The Knicks, on the other hand, are 3-8 in their last 11 games — a time when a burst was needed. After yesterday’s road loss, the Knicks still have played four more home games than away games. They have gone through the season relatively free of a major injury.
They’re 18-28, and with the Bulls and Larry Brown’s Bobcats looking legitimate, the Knicks will need 40 wins to get in. A 40-42 record is inconceivable with this roster makeup.
That’s why they need McGrady as soon as possible, before March’s brutal schedule — 10 of 16 games on the road. Is he still the superstar who can rack up 30 a night? No, but he should be better than anything they got now.
This is not a playoff team as constructed. Other than McGrady’s expiring pact, there is nothing they can do to upgrade the team significantly while sticking to their goal of preserving 2010 cap space.
The Knicks still are relying on players who have never played a major role for a full season in Danilo Gallinari and Wilson Chandler, and relying too much on a starting point guard who has shown to be more of a backup and habitually wears down deep in a season — Chris Duhon.
In late December, do you think D’Antoni ever thought he would be relying on Nate Robinson — the player once banished for 14 straight games — as their go-to guy in the final seconds?
In Thursday’s last-minute defeat to the Raptors, D’Antoni called the final play for Robinson off the inbounds with 7 seconds left. He couldn’t get open and never got the ball. That’s the risk in relying on a 5-foot-7 ½ guard for the final shot. That’s where McGrady comes in.
The Knicks’ problem is the same problem as last season. Still no clutch, go-to guy in the final seconds. That guy will not come until July unless team president Donnie Walsh acts.
There’s been some good in 2009-10. The Knicks’ loyal fan base has stepped up — fifth in the league in attendance. Gallinari has shown a lot more versatility in his game than ever imagined. Chandler keeps giving us flashing that he can be really, really fine.
And Lee, well, he’s proving Walsh made a major mistake in not locking him up last summer.
But for the Knicks, the frailty shows through now. Not enough good point-guard play. Not enough interior defense. Not enough experience. Not enough conviction from the coaching staff in keeping a set rotation. And not enough talent.
Unless they act swiftly, the Knicks will fall well out of the race by late March. It’s T-Mac or bust.