If there is one thing that has remained constant over the years in the NBA, it is the labels that certain teams are awarded at the start of the season or that are carried over from years prior.
Since Lebron took his talents to South Beach, the Heat have been ‘favored to win’. Since Kobe got back on track with Pau Gasol, the Lakers have always been ‘a team you should never count out’. The Spurs have been ‘old reliable’ for the last 5 years and the Nuggets are ‘a team on the rise.’ Last, but not least, we cannot forget new additions such as the ‘likely to come out of the West’ Thunder and the Derrick Rose led ‘Heat killer’ Chicago Bulls.
With all eyes on the 2012 Championship Heat and The Avengers, also known as the Lakers, little else has been talked about. Shame on all of us.
The only team that has been historically bombarded with attention whether expected to do well or not with no label ever sticking, are the New York Knicks.
We all know the stories that the Knicks and Madison Square Garden can conjure up even during a terrible season. We also know what types of headlines they can create with a successful one. To be fair, Carmelo Anthony and Amar’e Stoudamire are regulars on the All-Star Ballot; add to that last year’s Linsanity and everyone and their grandparents were talking about the Knicks. With a 2012 1st round playoff loss to the Heat, an injured Amar’e Stoudamire and a trade that sent Jeremy Lin to Houston, this season started with little hype outside the matchup with the NBA’s new darlings the Brooklyn Nets. Still, no label.
The number one story that we as basketball fans should be talking about to start this 2012-13 NBA season is the undefeated 6-0 New York Knicks. Beating the Heat by 20 points barely registered on the NBA Richter Scale. That win was followed up with a 16 and 22 point win in back to back games versus the 76ers. Again, not a blip on the radar. The Knicks didn’t mind one bit. They went on to beat the 2011 NBA Champions Dallas Mavericks by 10 points, took 3 days off and then did the same to the Orlando Magic. As if all that was not enough, they defeated the ‘old reliable’ San Antonio Spurs 104-100 last night in an impressive comeback victory.
With point averages like Carmelo’s 26, J.R. Smith’s 18, Raymond Felton’s 14 and Tyson Chandler’s 10, scoring has not been a problem. Throw in about 20 assists per game and 42% 3-point shooting, you have your answer as to why they are so good offensively. On the other hand, 30 of their 39 total rebounds per game are coming from the defensive end. Add to that an average of 9 steals and it paints a clear picture as to why only 1 team has come within 5 points when the buzzer goes off.
So what label should the Knicks get for starting the season so well and having the best record in the league? How about the ‘team with the best record in the NBA’ and leave it at that. I hate labels.
(Photo from streetball.com)
