How will you spend your Thanksgiving break?
If Red Sox nation is a trendy bar, Knicks nation is a chat room. Both are filled to capacity and swarming with uninvited guests, but their crowds are distinctive. The Beantown socialites are happy where they are. Even in tumultuous times, they have each other. They have Ben Affleck. Meanwhile, the folks on the lonely message board called New York are so callous and condescending that you can't help but wonder why they frequent the chat room at all.
But can you blame them for their unrelenting grief? I think you can, with some discretion.
Scorning the Knicks is far from a senseless art or a mistake - if you're committed. The team has done some stupid, hurtful things this season, and to any fan who pulls his or her weight in the team-fan bargain, these things should not be ignored. From woeful free-throw shooting to Jared Jeffries serving as every opponent's best defense, stinging criticism is often warranted.
But that does not apply to everyone. If your weekly contribution to the world of sports is watching a highlight clip and spending the subsequent week making claims like "Even I could start for the Knicks," consider yourself part of the problem. You are projecting a myth. You could not start for the Knicks.
Here are a handful of other ubiquitous myths involving the team, dispelled by someone who cares:
1) The past month of Knicks basketball can only be described as a collapse. In fact, such a miserable team is lucky to have been in a playoff race.
False. Since early March, they have been playing, in my estimation, without three of their five best players. Their ability to keep games close and even win a few, without a legitimate late-game outside threat (Jamal Crawford), a proven defensive player at the hazardous small-forward position (Quentin Richardson) and their best superhuman rebounder (David Lee), has been borderline valiant. Maintaining a winning record under those circumstances is nearly impossible for any team to manage. Just ask the Wizards.
2) Eddy Curry is about as valuable as he is skinny.
False. Curry is much more valuable than he is skinny. Everyone's favorite punching bag actually ranks third in field-goal percentage among NBA centers who average at least 10 points per game, due in part to his remarkably soft hands around the basket. He is laden with imperfections (turnovers, anything involving defense), but if you watch the NBA, you know that perfect centers are like fundamentals - extinct if it weren't for Tim Duncan. Curry isn't nervous, and he isn't clumsy, and for that he should be lauded.
3) Stephon Marbury is a virus. Every sighting of this egomaniacal chump should be met with a scoff, even after he scores 40-plus.
Not all that exaggerated, but false. Despite scoring or being fouled almost every time he drives, and exhibiting some endearing leadership throughout an impossibly adverse second half of the season, Marbury is generally regarded as a clown. And when his public persona is taken into account, combating this perception is a very difficult task. But once you come to terms with who Marbury is not, embracing the player he is becomes easy. He is not a true point guard, a humble spirit or a good talk-show host, but he is an elite scorer, the likes of whom you would have a hard time finding anywhere else.
4) The managerial moves of Isiah Thomas will haunt the Knicks for years.
False, in part. I can offer no concession in regards to the free-agent acquisitions and trades that Thomas has overseen, but the future might cover his blunders. His proficiency in the NBA draft has been vastly unappreciated. Lee, Channing Frye and the highly caffeinated fan-favorite Nate Robinson are all products of the 2005 draft, and notorious 2006 first-round selection Renaldo Balkman has only been outplayed by one player who was drafted later than him - Utah's Paul Milsap. Balkman's gritty, active style of play has rendered Thomas less dumbfounding than he once was, and baby steps are better than executive calamities every time.
So let's take some baby steps, Knicks nation. Next time you're called on to weigh in with your opinion, and a mindless obscenity comes to mind, try this two-word zinger instead: Go Knicks.
