SPORTS: Defense Please!

By Eddie Castro
As the first month of the NBA season is in the bag, the New York Knicks have come out the gates very slow once again. The team doesn’t seem to have chemistry on the court which is a concern for the Knicks front office as well as Spike Lee and fans. There were many games that were winnable the Knicks could have won, but the turnover ratio is what has been killing the Knicks. The Knicks are currently in 2nd place in what many sources say is the “weakest” division in the NBA. Coach Mike D’Antoni has already been criticized about his “Uptempo” system. It appears throughout the coaching years of D’Antoni’s career, his teams lack defense. The upside about the Knicks is that even though they are ranked 3rd in the league scoring 107 points per game, the flip side of it is their defense allows 108 points per game which is one of the worst in the NBA.
 To make matters worse, power forward A’mare Stoudemire seems to be struggling often in his transition to the “Big Apple.” Stoudemire is putting up career low numbers in field goal percentage (.457) and is turning the ball over more than usual. It goes without saying that maybe Stoudemire [Batman) is missing his Robin, having played with Suns point guard Steve Nash. Stoudemire was used to being fed “alley oops” from Nash like kids running for the ice cream truck on a summer day. Now it is well-known that A’mare is in charge of carrying the team most nights as well as creating his own offense. When asked in an interview during a recent 4-game losing streak, Stoudemire said ” I don’t understand why we don’t seem to be playing with a sense of urgency and lack of effort, I’m used to winning and having confidence towards winning.” Even though the media tries to speculate up a deal that would bring Steve Nash or Carmelo Anthony right in the heart of Madison Square Garden, the fact is to keep “superstars” or to lure in a superstar like an A’mare Stoudemire or Carmelo Anthony, you must build a winning atmosphere around your stars, such as the Miami Heat did for Dwyane Wade this past summer.
 Lately, the Knickerbockers have shown signs of life now currently in a three-game winning streak, scoring 103 points per game, meaning the defense has picked it up a notch, however, consistency plays a big part of their success. It is clear that the Eastern Conference is much stronger than last year with the Heat, Celtics, and Bulls making key additions to their teams. In order for the Knicks to sneak in the playoffs, perhaps as an 7th or 8th seed, the Knicks may pull the trigger in bringing in a big body as they lack size up front. In the NBA, averaging 7 rebounds a game is not good enough to be a starting power forward. So for now, maybe the Knicks are able to turn around their season, and shock a few eyes in the city of New York. So lets sit back this week, have some turkey and sip on sparkling cider and watch another entertaining week of New York Knick basketball.
Sports Notes : (Basketball) The Knicks start their week on Tuesday and play Wednesday in back-to back games against the Charlotte Bobcats Nov 23rd at home, Nov 24th at Charlotte, then come back home on the 27th to play the Atlanta Hawks and finish up the week Nov 28th against the Detroit Pistons.
[Football] After another heroic “nail biting” win against the Texans, the Jets play a traditional Thanksgiving Day game at home vs, Chad Ochocinco and the Cincinnati Bengals Thursday night at 8:00pm (pix CH.11) Happy Thanksgiving!!!!!