A tortured fan looks back on the lost season
Chris Thelin
Equinox Staff
The 2010-11 New York Knicks seasons started way before the first tip this year. The season started in way back in 2008.
The point in time where everyone figured out that the summer of 2010 would have the best free agency class of all time. Knicks fans had their hearts set on one player, LeBron James.
For the previous seasons to 2010, Knicks fans treated James as our own.
When he toasted our poor excuse for a team with outstanding performances, fans gave him a standing ovation.
You could see it on his face, “Gee, it would be really great to play here 41 games a season.”
Fast forward to the summer of 2010. One of the first days of free agency Amare Stoudemire signed with the Knicks along with gaining Raymond Felton. The pieces were started to falling into place.
July 8 was the day. Our team would have two superstars and some great role players around them. Knicks fans didn’t believe Chris Boussard reports that Miami would make run out of nowhere.
Unfortunately, he declared he was taking his talents to South Beach. Coincidently, this was the same day I broke my cell phone as I received an abundance of texts and calls as my friends took the advantage to kick me while I was down.
Despite the disappointment of the free agency sweepstakes, the Knicks did something they hadn’t done in a long time as they finally had a winning record.
The Garden was back and rocking. The game I went to was rocking and didn’t have the feeling that the Knicks were going to lose by 50 like previous seasons.
They were an extremely streaky team, winning five then losing seven it was either fantastic or frustrating to watch.
The lack of consistency drove me up a tree. They could beat Miami but couldn’t beat the lowly Pacers. I just didn’t get it.
The season took a completely different turn midway through the season. Superstar Carmelo Anthony wanted out of Denver. The Melo-Drama, as it was nicknamed went back and forth for days. Finally, on my birthday I received a text from ESPN saying that Anthony only wanted to be traded to the Knicks, which just added to my awesome birthday celebration.
Shortly after the All-Star break “Melo was officially a Knick, essentially replacing” Bron. I quickly embraced him as my favorite player by trading for him in my “NBA 2K11” franchise and promptly changing his number from 15 to seven.
I watched the “I’m Coming Home” MSG commercial about 50 times as I gave myself goosebumps before his debut and even risked a virus on my computer by watching it on a bootleg website with massive lag.
Honestly, I had not cared about basketball this much since game six of the 1998 Finals.
One of the biggest surprises of the Knicks’ season was rookie Landry Fields. Fields was picked was picked in the second round. Although the pick sounds high, second round picks are somewhat useless.
They are sometimes just thrown into trades just because. Fields was different though. He worked his butt off and finally found his way into the starting line up.
He was able to hit the three ball and worked perfectly into D’Antoni’s seven second or less offense. He was so good during this season, he was able to win over Knicks super fan, Spike Lee, as Spike seemed to wear Field’s jersey to most games.
Although the Knicks struggled at times, struggled with ‘Melo and Chauncey Billups added to the team, they made my dream come true, the Knicks finally made the playoffs.
However, it did not go to plan as the Knicks lost four straight to the Celtics, a team I hate so much I had to spit on the ground while thinking about them.
While all my Boston friends are talking and talking about how they swept the Knicks.
Fair enough, you did what you were supposed to do and game three was the only one where the Knicks were embarrassed. Have fun losing to the Heat in six. There were some sad moments in the season though.
Saying goodbye to Felton was tough to do, who was snubbed from the All-Star team, and having my favorite Knick Danillio Gallinari get traded but this season was also full of surprises; Stoudemire’s 30 plus point streak, acquiring ‘Melo, the rise of rookie Fields.
Most of all, I turned from a hopeless pessimist to an optimistic and excited fan.
It really rejuvenated my love for basketball. The best part is that this is just the beginning of something great.
This season may be lost, but there is always another one right around the corner. For the first time in a great while now, the Knicks seem to be on to something.
Hopefully those CP3 and Dwight Howard rumors have some truth for to them. With their own big three, the Knicks should be a competitive force in the east.
Here’s hoping that the breakthrough Knicks fans have been waiting years for is only a season away.
Chris Thelin can be contacted at cthelin@keeneequinox.com
