Allow me to reintroduce myself...

My name is HOV.  Not really though.  But HOV and I are very similar: we’re both gangsta-ass rappers from Brooklyn with a bootylicious wife and a daughter half named after a color and half named after a plant (my beautiful little bundle of joy, Orange Galax, just turned 6 months). 

However, HOV and I have two major differences.  First, I have 99 problems and bitches comprise about 63 of them.  Second, I am a die-hard fan of the true New York basketball team: The Knicks. 

Give the guy respect though. He’s a fan of a team that almost set the NBA record for losses in a single season a year ago, and, even worse, that team plays in New Jersey.  A couple months later, he’s bragging about that same team in the number one song of his new album.   Jay-Z’s ballin’ so hard that “the Nets could go 0 for 82 and he looks at you like your shit’s gravy.”

No HOV.  The Nets could go 0 for 82 and I look at you like your shit’s crazy. 


****This is a disclaimer to feedback that I've been getting from DJLR's older demographic of readers: HOV = Jay-Z****

Despite the fact that they suck, they are entertaining.  Deron Williams shoots the lights out on the court, Mikhail Prokhorov shoots the lights out of your next-door neighbor’s car because he wants his money, and Kris Humphries shoots his load into his hand… alone.  Too soon?  

In all honesty, the Nets are moving in the right direction.  They got a franchise point guard and are trying to make all the moves to put the pieces around him.  Williams is one of the leagues 2-3 best distributers in an era dominated by point guards.  He is always in the top 10 in the league in assists (averaging 8.2 per game this season) and knows how to score when he has to (leading the Nets in scoring with 16.9 PPG). 

But, most importantly, he makes the players around him better.  Williams gave life to an anemic New Jersey offense after he was acquired on February 23 last year, and his impact was apparent, as the Nets became one of the league’s highest scoring teams post-All-Star Break.  He is averaging over 10 assists per game since putting on a Nets uniform, although his team is in the bottom five of the league in PPG and FG percentage, and I forgot to mention that the team is a paltry 2-9. 

But can you blame them? Brook Lopez broke is out for more than half of the lockout-shortend season and Williams really has no one to pass the ball to.  I dare you to name one other player on the Nets besides Deron and Lopez (Humphries doesn’t count because he’s known for being a bitch, not for basketball).  Imagine if the Timberwolves lost Kevin Love: Rubio would be on a jet back to Spain before he could say “Hasta la vista putas.”  If the Nets can land Dwight Howard I know I’m not the only Knicks fan that’s going to be silently shitting himself with the thought that my team can become a sideshow to Lob City 2.0. 

Let’s move to the Knicks.  As much as it pains me to say it (because I was the one screaming for the deal to happen in the first place), Melo has slowed the progress of the Knicks as a team.  The Knicks gave up entirely too much to get him, and now their entire offense revolves around isolation plays off him.  Tyson has improved the Knicks’ defense, but that’s the equivalent to putting a Band-Aid over a leaky pipe: it’s just not enough.  Look at the NBA champions of the past 5 years: Mavs, Lakers, Lakers, Celtics, Spurs.  None of those teams allowed more than 90 PPG throughout the course of the season and they played great TEAM defense. 

When was the last time a run-and-gun team without a defense won a championship? That’s right, never.  Last year’s Heat team learned early on that defense does yield championships, and still couldn't get it done... and then Bosh started crying (this is the first of many unprovoked swings at the Heat and specifically Bosh, the most overrated long-necked reptile in the league).  When was the last time a D’Antoni coached team won a championship? Reached the Finals? Same answer.  But I’m not one of those guys that say that D’Antoni is a coaching idiot. I’d say he’s more of an offensive savant.  Defensively, his teams are little better than Ethan Albright in Madden, but boy can they score.  D'Antoni would be a great assistant coach with the right team with the right athleticism.

The Knicks are making progress, however, as they are now in the top half of the league in opponent PPG, a stat skewed by the fact that they really haven’t played a top team except for the Lakers in a game that they were thoroughly dismantled (unless you count a Pierce-less Celtics or a streaking 76ers team). 

But the main problem with the Knicks is that they have very little set offense.  When the Knicks need points late, their game plan consists of “give the ball to Melo and hope he makes it because I really don’t want the ball and can’t get an offensive rebound.”  Now, don’t get me wrong, this works about 40-60% of the time depending on what type of lead/deficit the Knicks have and who they're playing.  Yesterday against the Sixers, Melo took over the game and his 15 ft fourth quarter jumper right in the face of Andre Igoudala amounted to Melo saying, “Yo Andre, I had sex with your mom last night.”

What’s deflating is Melo and Amar’e don’t have the chemistry that everyone expected, but what can you do now? Their games are too similar.  They both want the ball and they both don't like to play D (although Amar'e has been improving his). You didn’t play these players the type of money they are getting to play of different rotations. 

The Knicks need two things:

1)                    A true point guard who can distribute the ball, create chemistry between Amar’e and Melo, and run a decent offensive set.  Shumpert and Douglas will do against the lower end teams, but in order to contend with the Heat and the Thunder, the Knicks need someone who can create opportunity, not just shoot. 

2)                    A desire to play defense.  D’Antoni can preach the importance of defense all he wants but until the Knicks adopt in into their image, they’ll be a middle of the pack team who will go out in the first round of the playoffs. 

So HOV, give us your point guard and we’ll accept you into the NYC community. Just don’t bring the stench of Jersey with you (or Prokhorov’s AK47).