The Knicks Could Use a Ticking Time Bomb

As the NBA All-Star break finally comes to an end, most of the pre-game talk has been about Carmelo Anthony and his underacheving New York Knicks.

Anthony can be a free agent at the end of the year and keeps saying he'll come back for less money if the Knicks make the right moves.

Frankly, the right move would be to let him go and start over, because really, whoever said New York was good? And what have they done since their 1973 championship except get to the Finals twice and lose both times?

Everyone taks about the Garden, the great fans, and how hard it is to win there. The Knicks are a pitiful 12-18 at home this season and finished the first half of the schedule with a home loss to Sacramento. Last season, when the Knicks talked and talked about how they were going to challenge the Heat for the championship, they lost their two most important games at home. Up three games to one, they needed to close out the Celtics in the playoffs to get some rest before facing Indiana, but it didn't happen.

Even though they ultimately closed out Boston, they had only a day-and-a-half to prepare for Game 1 of the Pacer series. They lost that one at home, too. New York never recovered, and it was the Pacers who advanced to the Eastern Conference finals.

The Knicks still have a chance to make the playoffs in the very weak Eastern Conference. If they do, it'll be an easy out for Indiana, Miami, or even Brooklyn or Atlanta. New York may bully some weak teams at home, but overall, they're an embarrasment; six games under .500 at home is unacceptable for any team that thinks it's good.

If Carmelo comes back, who will the Knicks have to put around him? JR Smith's talent has eroded; he's a fizzled fuse. Tyson Chandler did win a title with Dallas, but he's nowhere near the player he was. His best shot is an uncontested dunk. Iman Shumpert is a bust, and Amaré Stoudemire is another injured player who's a shell of his old self. Then there's Raymond Felton, who should just go back to obscurity in Portland.

So what should the Knicks do?

For one, stop thinking that the Garden is such a tough place to play. That was years ago. Secondly, blow the team up and sign some free agents who care about winning and not themselves.

New York is not a team. It's a bunch of individuals, and Mike Woodson is going to take the brunt of the blame.

The Knicks are No 2 in New York right now. They thought they'd be No 1 in the East at least by now, but they can't even make that claim in their own city.

It's time to start over.