The Knicks suffered their worse home defeat at Madison Square Garden in franchise history last evening. They were defeated in embarrassing fashion by 50 points thanks to Dirk Nowitzki, Mark Cuban, and the Mavericks! Give me a break. I remember when the Knicks were a contender every year in the 90s. Those Patrick Ewing led teams were tough, and nobody came into Madison Square Garden looking to set records (except Michael Jordan perhaps).
MSG used to be a hostile environment to go into. Now it has become a playground of sorts, where Kobe and Lebron look to out due each other under the bright lights. Where teams look to get back on track, or teams just come to lay a smack down. The Knicks were at least a 50 win team no matter what during the 90s. They even had a coach during part of the decade with great hair in Pat Riley (Van Gundy did not have good hair). Since the departure of Patrick Ewing in 2000, the Knicks have never been able to fill his big shoes both literally and hypothetically. It is as if the heart of the franchise was ripped out. They have never even made the playoffs in what has been the weaker conference the past 9 years. The post Ewing era has not been a fun one thus far for New Yorkers.
I mean the Dallas Mavericks are a good team led by one of the games best in Dirk Nowitzki. But those Knicks teams of the 90s were fiesty and tough. They had guys like Charles Oakley, John Starks, Charlie Ward, and Chris Childs. No team would ever be able to come into the Mecca a lay a whooping like the one that occurred last evening. Maybe the Knicks fans should have embraced Patrick Ewing during his time in New York?
Little did they know that with his departure, the days of being a force in the League were over. Sometimes you do not realize what you got until it is gone.
Please let LBJ head to the Big Apple this summer for the sake of New York..
Stay tuned for the next edition of Sportskraze.
-Kraze
TheSportsKraze 