Published: March 13, 2009
I hate to compare them to a children’s story, but the New York Knicks are starting to resemble that little toy train that could.
Yes, you read that correctly, the Knicks are now The Little Engine that Could. Head coach Mike D’Antoni has shortened his rotation and the results have been coming – back-to-back road wins over the Milwaukee Bucks and Detroit Pistons.
The starting lineup has been set for this – gasp – playoff push. David Lee, Wilson Chandler, Al Harrington, Chris Duhon and Larry Hughes. Getting minutes off the bench are Nate Robinson, Danilo Gallinari and Chris Wilcox.
Sure, Duhon has seemed tired lately, but there isn’t much he can do about it now. Plus, Robinson has been playing like an All-Star the past few games.
In early November, the idea of playoff basketball was in sight, but then came the trades that sent away Zach Randolph and Jamal Crawford. And then the Stephon Marbury-saga. And then…well, there tends to always be something with the Knicks.
Now? We’re talking about the playoffs – Jim Mora-style.
They currently sit in the 13th spot, but are only 1.5 games out of the coveted eighth spot. And who holds that spot? The Bucks. A team that has went 3-7 in their last 10 and things don’t look to be getting any better.
The teams ahead of them – Chicago, New Jersey, Charlotte and Indiana – also are trying to get into the playoffs, but the Knicks’ schedule still includes games against New Jersey (twice), Charlotte and Chicago. Their playoff hopes, somewhat, rest in their own hands.
Especially when you consider the following:
- Go look at New Jersey’s schedule…I’ll wait.
Yeah, that’s rough.
- Charlotte? Six of their last eight are on the road.
- Check out Indiana’s schedule in April. Sure, they’re home for the majority of it, but the Spurs, Hawks, Pistons and Cavaliers.
- The Bulls, well, they actually have a very favorable schedule. For a second, though, let us pretend that they don’t as it will greatly help my argument.
The Knicks? While they have games against the teams in front of them, they also have home games against the Clippers and Kings.
If I can do everyone’s favorite game for a second, “Raise your hand if you thought…” Well raise your hand if you thought the Knicks were going to be in the playoff push after constructing a rotation that featured guys that no one else really wanted. Duhon? People weren’t exactly knocking down his door to sign him. Harrington? Don Nelson wouldn’t even let him in the game. Hughes? Six teams in 10 seasons.
Donnie Walsh’s hand might be the only one raised. And even then he sort of looked around the room like he was in grade school and was unsure of himself.
But, yet here we are in mid-March and the Knicks are approaching a playoff berth. Kudos to you Walsh and D’Antoni.
And this all brings me to my last point – why am I rambling so incoherently so much? Because the Knicks are in the mix. They’re so close to making the playoffs in a year when it looked like they were packing it in and trying to find a way to fast forward to 2010.
Choo-choo.
