Wednesday, October 31, 2012; 11:25:11 AM Eastern
The worst NY player
Harvey Araton in the Times writes today that the worst deal in NY sports is Amare Stoudemire of the Knicks. Hard to disagree. Except maybe Carmelo Anthony. - As a Mets fan since 1962, let me tell you -- it is not about winning. It's about love, and philosophy. The Knicks have two leading players that play from fear and have no philosophy. I think Carmelo could play on a team lead by someone with philosophy, as he showed in the Olympics this year, but even then, under pressure, he's the first to choke. I was watching the last great game in the Olympics against Spain, hoping that Anthony would rally, but instead he was benched -- and with the usual Baby Huey smile on his face, that seemed (to me at least) to spell relief.
- The core problem of the Knicks is they chose a Number Two to be their Number One.
- Neither Anthony or Stoudemire plays with heart. They are not competitors. Neither is a leader, or a winner. That's what's so fucked up about the Knicks.
- They had a great team for a few weeks last year, sparked by a coach and a point guard who played with love and great philosophy. Chandler was happy to play along. Novak, Fields, Schumpert -- all young and looking for a chance to play -- flourished. Sure, given a chance this combination might not have won, but as I said -- as a Mets fan, and I'm sure as die-hard Knicks fans can agree -- it's not really about winning. It's about having a spirit that we can get behind.
