#10-#6: Manhattan Avenue
10. Tyson Chandler.
The Knicks weren’t good before Tyson Chandler got hurt, but you knew things were going to take a turn for the worse when he did. Chandler is the anchor for a defensive ship that wants nothing more than to drift away aimlessly, and the smorgasbord of Kenyon Martin, Amar’e Stoudemire, and Andrea Bargnani predictably is not doing a terrific job protecting the rim in his stead.
Plus, none of them can shoot lasers.
He was also the team’s best pick-and-roll finisher, which means isolations abound, which means … not good. Especially when JR Smith is shooting a blistering 33 percent on what is possibly a bum knee. -D.S. (Previous: 9)
9. Carmelo Anthony.
I hedged hard on my prediction before the season that this city wasn’t Carmelo Anthony’s. Turns out the city is flailing, and sure enough, Melo is right at the center of the storm. He’s shooting a career-worst 42.3 percent from the field and under 28 percent on three-pointers. He’s the anchor of one of the league’s worst offenses and recently said that he thought the Knicks appeared to be playing to lose.
Maybe he misses Jason Kidd’s advice more than we thought, and if true, Kidd’s departure from the Knicks might earn him COY votes alone. -D.K. (Previous: 3)
8. Andrea Bargnani.
My defense for putting Andrea Bargnani here is simple: he’s been kinda good. And kinda good is enough to get you a max contract in New York City these days. He’s shooting at his best clip since 2009-2010 and tends to actually attack the rim. I think he’s come a long way from being a total laughingstock. He’s now a marginal laughingstock, which happens to be the most flattering category that anyone in this rivalry can qualify for.
Sure, there have been the gaffes:
But any time you give up a first-round pick for a player who can’t control his own body, you’ve won. Because tell me: which is rarer? A first-round pick or a player who can’t control his own body? Argue with that! -D.S. (Previous: 37)
7. Steve Mills.
I pushed for Steve Mills at #7, because his astounding lack of notoriety with regard to this Knicks team is growing more and more impressive. Not that he deserves to take any flack for the shanty town of which he became mayor, but the fact that no one is pointing a finger at Mills is flabbergasting to me. New York is great at pointing fingers, and the GM tends to be on the losing end of that fight.
Don’t do anything, Steve. It will probably save you your job. -D.S. (Previous: 26)
6. Pablo Prigioni.
The one consistent verse coming from the camp of Knicks fans and pundits is that Pablo Prigioni needs to play more.
Good thing Pablo came out, otherwise the Knicks might have won or something.
— Jared Dubin (@JADubin5) December 2, 2013
His numbers are nondescript, but he gets the offense going and interrupts the Melo-JR isolation show. And hasn’t yet woken up in the Hudson River. So that’s impressive. -D.S. (Previous: 24)
