The Knicks fantastic opening to this 2012-2013 season has prompted people to ask "are the Knicks BACK?!". Can the Knicks continue being this good or is this merely a fluke? After 2 straight winning seasons and playoff appearances(though only 1 win in 9 games), I believe this question deserves to be a rhetorical one now. It is understandable though, after a decade of ineptitude, that fans from everywhere would be apprehensive about believing in this team. The organization was after all, a joke in the NBA, with few playoff appearances and more losses than wins succeeding the great teams fielded in the 90s. Over the years in the 00's under gm's such as Scott Layden and Isaiah Thomas, the problem was always that there was always an attempt at a quick fix through either coaching or through acquisition of talent. Often, these players and coaches did not mesh well with each other or the potential of the players was never that of one of the upper echelon in the league. Players like Stephon Marbury, Jamal Crawford, Eddy Curry and Zach Randolph all had great talent but never found a way to translate that into wins when they were here in New York. Coaches, like Mike D'Antoni for example, never had all the players to fit his system and recapture the magic he achieved in Phoenix.
The thing about a lot of the players acquired in New York is that they all have achieved levels of success once leaving New York. Marbury went on to be a champion and legend in China, Crawford has been a 6th man on a winning team in Atlanta and Zach Randolph, he's been one of the best players on the Memphis Grizzlies leading them to the playoffs multiple seasons after a career full of questions about his character and ability to lead a team. The past few years for the Knicks have been a changing of philosophy. The drafting of players in the past few years(not trading them away for whatever) and the signing of a legitimate superstar(well, at the time..) in Amare lead to a winning season, and the eventual acquisition of another established top 10 player in Carmelo Anthony. The resignation of Mike D'Antoni also lead to the promotion of Mike Woodson who has turned out to be a blessing for the Knicks. The last 2 seasons with Carmelo and Amare here were rough due to injuries and lack of cohesion, but the improvement was noticed. The pickups of Steve Novak and J.R. Smith helped a good amount as well as Linsanity helped the Knicks to weather the storm in the 2011-2012 season, as did the incredible draft pick of Iman Shumpert.
A win against the Heat in the 2012 playoffs, though to some may have been marginal, to others this was seen as a definite step in the right direction. And in the offseason, the Knicks finally were able to get full time to practice and got established talent in the league(Jason Kidd, Raymond Felton, Rasheed Wallace, Marcus Camby) to solidify the team. The narrative of Carmelo Anthony has changed! He is now being seen as more of a team player and a star willing to give the effort that he may have previously shirked on. Not only has the narrative of the team changed, but so has the identity. The identity of the New York Knicks is no longer that as laughingstock of the NBA, but of a very good team that has made the right decisions to transform themselves into one of the best, as they were in the 90s. As they were way, way back in the day when they won their first NBA Championships.
