It was more of the same at the Garden Saturday night, which means it wasn’t very good viewing. For the fifth straight game, the Knicks were losers on their home court with no signs of things getting better anytime soon.
Every time the Knicks take the floor these days, major issues are evident. Their defense is nowhere as consistent as it needs to be, the effort is lukewarm and the offense has been reduced to just one reliable option: Carmelo Anthony.
It gets worse. J.R. Smith has been a non-factor, the play at point guard is atrocious, and did we mention how bad Amar’e Stoudemire looks?
The Hawks came into the Garden and looked as if they owned the place, soundly beating the Knicks 110-90 before a crowd that is growing frustrated at watching losing basketball. Coach Mike Woodson used the most condemning word that can be used to describe a team. He used the word “soft.”
“We didn’t play with a purpose,” he said.
If the coach isn’t happy with his players, some fans aren’t happy with the coach. There were chants of “Fire Woodson” throughout the game. Another fan blamed the orange uniforms. “They’re bad luck,” he yelled.
If only it were as simple as changing clothes.
“Right now, I don’t know who we are,” Woodson said, summing up the state of his team.
You’re also starting to see the first cracks within a fragile locker room. Iman Shumpert isn’t happy about being on the trading block. Stoudemire isn’t happy with his restricted minutes. Kenyon Martin wants more playing time, and Smith (seven points on 3-of-18 shooting) shows more emotion on Twitter than he does on the basketball court.
In short, the Knicks (3-6) are becoming an embarrassment. They look nothing like a team that was supposed to contend for a high seed in the Eastern Conference. If it weren’t for Anthony, they would be headed for the lottery.
It’s as if all the Knicks — except for Anthony, who had 23 points — are trying to work themselves into some kind of rhythm. It’s as if they didn’t get the memo the season started weeks ago.
“Right now we’re not playing well as a basketball team,” Woodson said, stating the obvious.
There’s plenty of blame to go around. Raymond Felton (seven points) was outplayed by Hawks point guard Jeff Teague (16 points), and the Knicks got only flashes from Shumpert (11 points).
Stoudemire (five points) actually played 14 minutes, which was above the planned 10-minute limit. But he continues to look rusty and disconnected. His best moment came early in the third quarter when he did a spin move in the post and dunked. Otherwise, he looked frustrated at both ends of the court, especially when he came out with 6:54 left in the game and the Knicks trailing, 90-81.
It didn’t get any better. After Woodson took a timeout with 5:51 to play in the game, Felton threw a pass well beyond the outstretched arm of Anthony for an ugly turnover. That was followed on the next two possessions by a missed 23-footer by Smith and a three-second violation. The Knicks trailed 96-81 at the time.
The awful play is especially troubling considering the Knicks are getting a decent performance from Andrea Bargnani, who was one of the big question marks coming into the season. The concern was whether he could become an impact player and hold his own in the post, especially in the absence of an injured Tyson Chandler.
Bargnani has done his part, scoring 24 points against the Rockets Thursday and 16 points Saturday night against the Hawks. But the rest of the Knicks look as if they’re going through the motions.
“We’re not getting it done from an effort standpoint,” Anthony said.
Yes, it’s early. But right now the Knicks are playing as hideous as their orange uniforms look.