Last night was a disgrace. The Knicks got crushed by the Mavs, despite making some small comebacks. The closest we came was a deficit of 11 points, and that was such an exhausting achievement that we had no energy to continue the streak. We HAVE to play defense, or we WILL NOT WIN GAMES AGAINST TOP TEAMS. We will always be able to beat the Pacers, for example, because we can just destroy their defenses. But what happens when we play some teams with savvy veterans and defensive minded players like the Mavs and Spurs? The Mavs are for real this year. They’ve been good every year, but this year is different because they play D. Corey Brewer, DeShawn Stevenson, Tyson Chandler, Brendan Haywood are all lock down defensive players in their own rights. Dirk Nowitzki is still a maestro on the offensive end, playing inside-out. He will post you up, and if you push him out of the paint, the seven-footer will hit threes right in your face. The Knicks were remarkably effective against him. However, the same cannot be said for the oft-forgotten Jason Terry, an underrated guard who can just light it up on both ends of the floor. I always knew he was good, but every time I see him I appreciate him even more.

I was thinking about guys who would be back next year for my Knicks. Kevin McHale (who has a terrible TV voice, as seen last night on TNT), said that the Knicks would not go far this year but had a great foundation. Fair enough, but who do I have to watch leave after the season; I love every Knick in some capacity. I’ve decided that our proper of starting 5 of Chauncey Billups, Landry Fields, Carmelo Anthony, Amar’e Stoudemire, and Ronny Turiaf will remain intact. On the bench, only Toney Douglas and Shawne Williams will remain. GM Donnie Walsh has said he will definitely resign Williams, and Douglas has the potential to be a very good PG/SG in the NBA, there is no reason why we would trade him away. Derrick Brown, Sheldon Williams, Bill Walker, Jared Jeffries, Roger Mason, Anthony Carter, Renaldo Balkman and Andy Rautins will all be gone, whether due to an expired contract or trade. 

• Most valuble is Walker, who will undoubtedly get a solid contract with another team. It’s just that he is yet another small forward on a team full of undersized bigs. I like his three point shot, his athleticism, and his defense/rebounding. He could average 20 points per game if he was given the minutes. He did, actually, at the end of last season when he was getting big minutes following his arrival from Boston.
• Jeffries is an overrated defensive player. He often gets caught in mismatches against smaller, quicker guards that he can’t keep up with in isolations. 
• Roger Mason is a wonderful shooter and a good defensive player, but we have Shawne Williams, who might just be the best three point shooter in the league, no exaggeration. Therefore Mason is an unnecessary contract. I just think it’s disgraceful how under-used he was this year, he could have been a great option all season. He may have been struggling, but he would have gotten it back if given some decent minutes. D’Antoni is so stubborn and rarely tries new things. Our rotation is too short already for Mason to be sitting at the end of the bench all season long.
• Carter is a durable veteran who I’ve always liked, but again, an unnecessary contract. Douglas and Billups are plenty.
• Balkman is an expendable hustle player.  I have a bit of an emotional attachment because he was a Knicks during the days of the struggle, but then again, every player I loved has been traded away, how much could one more hurt? We should try to package him with Brown, Sheldon Williams, Jeffries in a trade for a legitimate center. That reminds me, why do we have all of these useless “bigs” in the first place? Denver: all of those guys for Nene? Fat chance.
• Love Andy Rautins’s shot, but we have Shawne Williams and Andy’s minuscule amount of playing time this year makes me think he’ll never get a shot.

Next year will be great, we’ll have a true identity unlike now. Now we are a bunch of 6’5″-6’10” guys who can’t guard Dwight Howard but can’t keep up with Jameer Nelson (can you tell that I fear the Magic?). Next year, we will have that clear cut shooter in Williams that every championship teams needs (like Boston with Eddie House in ’08), the Big Three, a dirty worker in Landry Fields, and some decent size. That’s without mention of the continued growth of Toney Douglas. It’s funny, Douglas shows some true potential, but there’s something annoying about him. He’s damn selfish for a point guard, not sure if he’ll every be a playmaker. Plus, I hate his weird side burns and smile. Still, I’m psyched about the Knicks this year, as long as we learn to play some semblance of defense. My feeling is that we will.

GO KNICKS!