Cosmetic Changes Not Enough

Although it wasn't my first trip to the newly partially-renovated Madison Square Garden (I was there for Duke versus Washington last month), last night's Knicks game versus Charlotte was my first chance to really take in the various changes made to the venue.  Having arrived about an hour before tip-off, I got to walk around the newly remodeled 100-level concourses and take in the various upgrades - new marble floors, modern bathrooms, varied concessions and new seats now adorn the lower level of the world's most famous arena.  Look closer, though, and you'll quickly notice that all of the cosmetic changes can't really mask what's still the same old MSG.  The upgraded concession stands serve mostly the same old food, the new seats are already run down (it took us about 15 minutes to break one of our cup-holders), and the floors throughout the arena are still sticky from spilled beer.  While the arena might look a little different, it'll be a while before it's transformed into something truly great.

The same can be said of the New York Knicks right now.  While much has been made about the team's additions - including star center Tyson Chandler, veteran Mike Bibby and rookie Iman Shumpert - they're still the same old Mike D'Antoni-led, no-defense Knicks.  The game, which New York lost 118-110, wasn't nearly as close as the still-lopsided score indicates, as the star-studded Knicks were out-classed, out-hustled and out-played by a more aggressive Bobcats squad.  Boos rang from throughout the arena as the home team continually failed to get back on defense, contest open jump shots or challenge drives to the hoop.  It was as depressing an atmosphere as I've ever seen at the Garden, as if fans were for the first time realizing that, despite the team's cosmetic changes, they're still the same old Knicks.

MSG and the Knicks have a ways to go before any real changes are made.

As I periodically remind the readers of Caught Looking, the point of this blog is not to critique players, coaches or management for on-court performance - that's the job of the mainstream sports media.  That being said, I do feel a duty to call for coach Mike D'Antoni's head on the grounds that he's a terrible fit for New York's basketball culture.  Aside from the fact that I don't think D'Antoni's Seven Seconds or Less strategy can ever bring a team an NBA Championship (though what do I know?), I also don't think Knicks fans in particular will ever fully embrace a style of play that encourages rushed threes, lazy defense and limited rebounding.  Ask the average young to middle-aged Knicks fan who his favorite player is, and he's almost sure to name a player known for his defense and / our toughness.  Patrick Ewing, Charles Oakley and Anthony Mason are true modern Knicks heroes; I don't know if Mike D'Antoni's crew of shoot-first "superstars" will ever be viewed in the same positive light.

A professional basketball coach has two main jobs - to win basketball games and to please the home crowd while doing it.  Since he came to New York, Mike D'Antoni hasn't done much or the former and is currently doing an even worse job at the latter.  Just like the "new" MSG that I got to explore last night, the 2011-12 New York Knicks have made a bunch of cosmetic changes that, in reality, haven't changed anything.  What's more disappointing, though, is that the Knicks brass is hoping that the team, and their fans, will buy into a strategy that's simultaneously unreliable and un-New York.  If Mike D'Antoni wants to keep his job, he might want to think about embracing defense, both to win basketball games and win over the MSG crowd.