The American state of Indiana is acknowledged as the homeland of basketball, but in the streets of New York City, basketball is king.
From the legendary street courts of Rucker Park and the West 4th Street courts known affectionately as “The Cage,” it is basketball which rules the roost in NYC.
Basketball’s shadow in the Big Apple will always loom large, but it is the professional teams from New York that are coming up short.
The 2013/14 NBA season is roughly a fifth of the way through and the good teams are starting to separate themselves from the bunch.
Two teams that were supposedly in the championship mix are the New York Knicks and Brooklyn Nets.
Problem is, Indiana possesses the league’s best record at 16-2, whilst the Knicks (3-13) and Nets (5-12) languish in the Eastern conference cellar.
The Knicks — who haven’t achieved much in quite a while — managed a successful season in 2012/13 when they won 56 games and marched toward the playoffs.
Carmelo Anthony led the Knicks to a first-round victory over the Boston Celtics and into the second round against the rising Pacers.
Indiana were far too good for the Knicks with emerging star Paul George matching Anthony and big men David West and Roy Hibbert dominating the paint.
Following a 50-plus win season and some playoff victories, much was expected of the Knicks, but one look at the roster would have you thinking otherwise.
Jason Kidd hung up the kicks and headed for cross-town rivals Brooklyn as head coach. He left a gaping hole at point guard which is yet to be successfully filled.
J.R. Smith was a revelation last year, winning best sixth man, but his performances this season following his early suspension have been underwhelming.
Raymond Felton has missed games already with injury, and $100 million superstar Amar’e Stoudemire is unable to play any more than 10 minutes per game with his ailing knees.
Surprisingly, Metta World Peace (formerly Ron Artest) is one shining light on a bleak Knicks outlook.
The Knicks also traded for seven-foot Italian Andrea Bargnani (a former No. 1 overall draft pick with Toronto).
While a gifted scorer and long-range shooter, Bargnani’s defensive contributions are laughable on a team not known for good defence.
Speaking of defence, the Knicks’ only real defensive presence in Tyson Chandler has missed a solid chunk of basketball after fracturing his fibula in an innocuous incident against Charlotte. Getting him back is imperative to any form turnaround.
Roster management has also been an issue in New York, with quality basketball players either walking through free agency or being traded out of town.
Golden State All-Star David Lee was sent packing, as was Denver sharpshooter Danilo Gallinari and role players Landry Fields and Jeremy Lin departed via restricted free agency.
The Knicks had the option of retaining both Fields and Lin, but let them walk to Toronto and Houston respectively.
Anthony — the superstar of the squad — has performed to his usual level.
He scores the ball at will but is highly inefficient, especially in comparison to other studs in his position like LeBron James, Kevin Durant and George.
Melo is still getting almost 27 points per game, but he is shooting only 43 percent from the field, and his assists are well down on his career average.
Anthony loves the isolation game, and despite his world-class talent he may be more suited to the asphalt in the streets at Rucker Park instead of playing team ball at Madison Square Garden.
J.R. Smith likewise is deadly one-on-one, but in a team environment he is unproven.
At the moment, Chandler’s return is the great white hope.
Much was made of his Kevin Garnett-esque ability to make the team focus on defending in Dallas when they won a championship. (Kidd also played on that team.)
I’m just not sure Chandler can cover for the lapses that Anthony, Smith and especially Bargnani have on defence, especially when it counts in playoff time.
Down the road in Brooklyn, they have star power.
All-Stars, championships, high profile coaches and a rich, overspending Russian owner.
Minority owner and music legend Jay Z promised to turn around the fortunes of his beloved New Jersey Nets.
So he moved them to Brooklyn, brought in the cash of Mikhail Prokhorov and lured some of the game’s biggest stars — albeit in their latter years.
The Nets acquired Kevin Garnett, Paul Pierce and Jason Terry from Boston as well as honest role players in ex-Raptor Alan Anderson and Prokhorov compatriot Andrei Kirilenko.
The season before, six-time All-Star Joe Johnson was brought in from Atlanta, and before that, elite point guard Deron Williams flew in from Utah.
So, coming into this season, the crew was set.
Kidd as first year super coach, Garnett and Pierce as veterans who had been there and done that and talent at every other position.
Which makes Brooklyn’s losing record incredibly strange.
Garnett is no longer the best power forward in the game, but what he is supposed to be is a team leader, an font of energy who will make his team mates fight until the death.
That is certainly not happening.
The Nets have been blown out this season and have looked all at sea against the good NBA teams.
Currently, only Brook Lopez and Andray Blatche can claim that they are performing up to their potentials, and one of those two is out injured.
As is Williams, Terry, Kirilenko and Reggie Evans.
Injuries are definitely part of the problem in Brooklyn, but even when key pieces such as Williams and Lopez were healthy, things were still heading south.
Eight Nets are shooting below their career percentages while Garnett, Williams and Terry aren’t even managing double-figures points per game.
So is there a bright side in Brooklyn?
At best Williams is a top three point guard, Lopez was an All-Star in 2012/13 and Johnson, Pierce and Garnett at their best are still quality players.
Williams and Lopez are the keys, but it is up to big name acquisitions Pierce and Garnett to right this leaky ship as rookie coach Kidd looks unlikely to have too many magic solutions so early into his coaching career.
And if you think the on-court problems in Brooklyn are a headache for Prokhorov, think about the $89 million in luxury tax that he owes the NBA on top of his $100 million roster.
Things could get very nasty in New York, but the rosters were put together to win playoff series and possibly NBA titles.
The talent is there but — and it’s a big “but” — can anyone turn it around in NYC pro hoops?
Build your own ultimate team! Pick your key players and take a shot at big cash prizes every day with Draftstars. For great odds on NBA games every day head on over to PlayUp. Imagine what you could be buying instead. Set a deposit limit.
A Serbian, a Canadian, a Slovenian and a Greek fellow walked into a bar … Well, they’ve actually walked into the NBA and now…
Nikola Jokic has scored 32 points and grabbed 12 rebounds to lead defending NBA champions Denver past LeBron James and the Los Angeles Lakers…
There will undoubtedly be upset results here and there in the NBA playoffs but there’s an overwhelming sense of fait accompli that Boston will…
LeBron James is going back to the Olympics for the first time in 12 years. Steph Curry is headed to the games for the…
The only realistic threat to Boston’s chances of strolling through the Eastern Conference is a team that could still end up in the play-in…
Australian guards Dante Exum and Josh Giddey have both come up big for their NBA clubs in crucial wins in the lead-in to the…
