Fansided

Hardwood Paroxysm’s favorite historical NBA teams

By HP Basketball Network

Apr 8, 2014; Los Angeles, CA, USA; TNT broadcaster Chris Webber during the NBA game between the Houston Rockets and the Los Angeles Lakers at Staples Center. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports
Apr 8, 2014; Los Angeles, CA, USA; TNT broadcaster Chris Webber during the NBA game between the Houston Rockets and the Los Angeles Lakers at Staples Center. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports /
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Long Live the pre-Melo 2010-11 New York Knicks

By David Vertsberger (@_Verts)

When the Knicks finally let go of Isiah Thomas – thus ending one of the worst team eras in professional basketball history – New York’s fanbase was ready to bring back the stability and smart rebuilding they had been missing. This didn’t happen of course, as despite the improvement in talent from the top down, the Knicks succumbed to the same lingering issues (impatience, improper valuing of assets, ego) that sent their plan astray. A young run-and-gun team based around a superstar with Mike D’Antoni at the helm somehow turned into a historically old team that played at a snail-like pace based around a different superstar. It only took about a year and a half for this change to occur, and it killed the original vision of the rebuild. But for a short while, Knicks fans lived what Donnie Walsh and co. had sought to do from the beginning, and although it wasn’t perfect, it was incredibly fun.

Before the Knicks traded for Carmelo Anthony in February of 2011, they stood at 28-26 with one of the league’s highest tempos and most blistering offenses. This offense was made up of Amar’e Stoudemire, Danilo Gallinari, Wilson Chandler, Landry Fields and Raymond Felton. If you didn’t watch this team, you’d be shocked as to how those names could run D’Antoni’s seven-seconds-or-less offense effectively. But in those 54 games, Felton was thriving in the pick and roll and on the break, Fields was a legitimate NBA wing and Stoudemire was in his prime, making a strong bid for the MVP award. Years later, these three names are either comical or depressing to NBA fans, yet it wasn’t so long ago that they were successful as the latest iteration of D’Antoni’s high tempo attack. Starting off poorly to the tune of a 3-8 record, this squad hit its top gear when they won 13 out of 14 contests, thanks in part to Stoudemire’s franchise-record 30-point game streak.

These Knicks just ran and ran, put up threes to no end, even in defeat were a blast to watch. D’Antoni’s image of a Knicks team he wanted lasted but 54 games, but they live forever in my heart.

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