The Mike D’Antoni Show begins tonight at the Garden vs. the Heat, with the Knicks new head coach promising a good show, but not necessarily victory.
Expectations are so low at the World’s Most Famous Arena that D’Antoni sounded yesterday like he’s more concerned the Knicks don’t embarrass themselves in the season opener against Miami, the league’s worst team last season. The Knicks spent all of the 2007-08 season embarrassing the city.
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“If we don’t come out, play hard, play smart and give them a good show, I’m going to be bummed,” D’Antoni said. “I know we have enough talent to do that. If we can’t do that, we’re going to do some soul-searching. Fans can expect a good chance to win every night.”
Actually, the sell-out crowd has reason to expect a victory against the Heat. Miami, coming off a 15-win season, is one of the league’s most improved teams, with healthy Dwyane Wade and rookie sensation Michael Beasley. But the Heat aren’t predicted to make the playoffs and have a young rookie coach in Erik Spoelstra.
“It would be nice to send a nice message to the fans that we’re serious,” Jamal Crawford said. “It’s the home opener, a sellout, a new era and that we’re going to win [this year].”
However, they haven’t gone from Team Titanic to Team Harmony. A bearded Eddy Curry is already ticked off at D’Antoni after losing his spot in the rotation. Stephon Marbury is still confused about his reserve role. Starter Chris Duhon has to prove himself to fans who consider themselves point-guard savants. And the cloud of former president/coach Isiah Thomas rolled in for the past several days.
Thomas, who built this team and still remains in the organization, has been stuck to the front page after police said he was rushed to a hospital on Friday after an accidental sleeping-pill overdose. D’Antoni had to cancel his “Late Show” appearance with David Letterman on Monday night out of sensitivity to the situation.
On the brighter side, the Knicks have a weak early schedule, with four of their first six games at the Garden, three against Eastern creampuffs – Miami, Milwaukee and Charlotte.
“Our schedule is pretty good,” Crawford said. “We feel we can win some games [early].”
D’Antoni was an assistant coach to Wade on Team USA during the Summer Games and hopes he doesn’t have to eat the words he said in China.
“I busted his chops a few times,” D’Antoni said. “He’ll come in and try to light us up. I didn’t do our guys any favors.”
D’Antoni’s “Seven Seconds or Less” attack was a success during a 3-4 preseason. The Knicks were second in the league in scoring at 106.9 ppg. Defensively, though, the Knicks were dead-last, allowing the same figure, 106.9 ppg.
“Our offensive production is up,” David Lee said. “It’s just a matter of shoring up our defense. I can tell you we’re never going to be out of a game.”
Garden crowds traditionally have taken pride in the Knicks’ defense. Knicks brass is pleased at early projections for attendance, considering the awful economy and seven straight losing seasons. Though about 15 percent of 2007-08 season-ticket holders didn’t renew, brass was comforted that it saw a 10-percent increase in new season-ticket subscribers.
The Garden will be full to the brim tonight, but that won’t last if the Knicks continue their trend of losing big.