Knicks' Stars Aligned

Forget about the glitz and glamour that is "Hollywood-East" down in Miami. There are new sheriffs on the eastern seaboard and they play hosts in Madison Square Garden. Or as us sports buffs like to call it: "The Mecca". The New York Knick's drama-filled acquisitions of Carmelo Anthony and Chauncey Billups, just to name a few, have proved to be quite the pieces to the puzzle it would seem. Since the newest personnel additions on February 22nd, the Knicks have gone 2-1 in the 3 games they have played. They took down the Bucks at home, lost to the worst team in the NBA in the Cavs on the road (not sure what happened here), then turned around and beat one of the best teams in the league in the Heat on the road. Kind of a roller coaster ride, I know, but that is to be expected after exchanging 3 of 5 positions in the starting lineup.

But the point to be made here lies within statistics. We all know that Knicks coach Mike D'Antoni executes a run-and-gun style of play that focuses none whatsoever on defense. New York had a mediocre scoring team before the blockbuster trade of the franchise's history. But after "out with the old and in with the new" in the Big Apple, Billups, Melo and Amare are scoring at will while spreading the wealth.

After their first three games in a Knick uniform, Carmelo Anthony has averaged 27.7 ppg and 9.0 rebounds. This is more than his current season averages of 25.3 ppg and 7.7 rebounds. It is also more than his career averages of 24.8 ppg and 6.3 rebounds. Making the leap with Melo from the mile high land of the Rockies in Denver to the city that never sleeps in New York was veteran Chauncey Billups who is also seeing increases in production over his last 3 games as a Knickerbocker. He has averaged 21.0 ppg and 6.0 assists during this span. These numbers are also up from his season averages of 16.7 ppg and 5.4 assists, and up from his career stats of 15.5 ppg and 5.6 assists.

Great nights on the basketball court can only be spread around so much, and someone's numbers will eventually have to suffer. That someone has been Amare Stoudemire. Mr. Specs, or Numero Uno, as I like to call him, has seen his points and rebounds value drop since February 22nd. But in the world of the NBA, this isn't entirely a bad situation. With the scoring production increased at the point guard position (Billups) and on the wing (Anthony), Stoudemire has now had the opportunity to showcase a sliver of his defensive skills. Shhh, don't tell coach D'Antoni I said that. In the past 3 contests for the Knicks, Amare has had the luxury of being more aggresive defensively. He fouled out against the Bucks. But without Anthony and Billups, this would have been an absolute tragedy in the fourth quarter and chalked up as a come-from-behind victory for Milwaukee. With more scoring options at his back, Stoudemire has become a flexible option and can be a risk taker when it comes to rebounding and blocking shots. And speaking of blocks, he logged only one versus the Miami Heat on Sunday night, but it was one of the most important blocks of the game if not the season. His rejection of LeBron James with only a few seconds remaining proved to be the winning factor for the orange and blue.

I applaud the Knicks' organization for finally taking a leap of faith and pulling off the type of star-studed trade that they so desperately needed. It has been over 10 years since New York made the NBA Finals, and they could now be poised to set their sights on this goal once again. Gone are the days of drafting over-seas athletic talent from Europe who never rose to the stature of the league's best players and would develop into trade-bait. The glory days are here and here to stay. And the potential thought of grabbing Chris Paul or Deron Williams to run the show in 2011-12 would make for an electrifying dream team.