NBA Betting: How the Knicks wish Patrick Ewing was still around...
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Nick Shiambouros of Betfair looks at the sorry current state of the once-mighty New York Knicks where star players are out of favour and the fans have turned aginst their own team. It's a far cry from the days of the great Patrick Ewing...
Plenty of people will be glad to see the back of 2008 and you can certainly add the New York Knicks to that long list. This historic team is currently on a six game losing streak and is fourth from the bottom in the Eastern Conference.
To say that failure is unacceptable for this franchise is a huge understatement to say the least. At this year's draft fans actually booed rookie signing Danilo Gallinari because they felt he did not have the heart to play for this team. This kind of behaviour is not uncommon amongst some New York fans.
This franchise has only reached the playoffs twice in the last eight seasons and since the departure of the great Patrick Ewing they have been in a downward spiral. Isiah Thomas was appointed president at the end of 2003 but after a string of disasters and embarrassments on and off the court he was fired at the end of last season.
Donnie Walsh is the new team president and he appointed Mike D'Antoni as head coach in May on a four year deal.
I think this team has somehow turned itself in to a east coast version of the Los Angeles Clippers and are in a constant rebuilding mode. The problem for New York is that they are expected to win championships and failure is not an option. I have been to Madison Square Garden a couple of times in recent years and the fans are vocal with their frustration, to say the least. New York fan Spike Lee and friends are clearly not happy at all and even the celebrities are fed up with this situation.
Point Guard Stephon Marbury is currently earning $21m per year and is in the middle of a bitter dispute with this New York team and new coach Mike D'Antoni.He has not played a single minute for them as he does not figure in the future plan of the new head coach.
Marbury is a quality point guard and realistically if New York did not want him, they should have bought him out of his contract and let him go. Paying someone $21m a year for not playing is a jaw-dropping amount of money by anyone's standards and this is another reason why this team is in a complete mess. I believe they will eventually buy him out but this on-going situation has hurt this franchise immensely.
New York are definitely a team to oppose going forward and because of their perceived stature they will represent poor value. I really can't see that this current rotation can turn things around for them and I will be opposing them with the handicap over the next 10 games.
On Sunday they host bitter rivals Boston who thrashed them 104-59 last year after some Knick players taunted the Celtics before the game. I somehow don't see that happening again anytime soon.
The rest of the 10 game schedule includes a trip to Oklahoma who have the worst record in basketball with only three wins to date but against New York in the midst of this slump, anything
is possible.
When the famous ball drops at midnight on New Year's Eve in Times Square to bring in the new year some Knick fans will hope it lands on the Garden by mistake so they can end this dismal season a little early.
Have a happy and prosperous New Year.
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By
Betfair.com
Click here to view market
Nick Shiambouros of Betfair looks at the sorry current state of the once-mighty New York Knicks where star players are out of favour and the fans have turned aginst their own team. It's a far cry from the days of the great Patrick Ewing...
Plenty of people will be glad to see the back of 2008 and you can certainly add the New York Knicks to that long list. This historic team is currently on a six game losing streak and is fourth from the bottom in the Eastern Conference.
To say that failure is unacceptable for this franchise is a huge understatement to say the least. At this year's draft fans actually booed rookie signing Danilo Gallinari because they felt he did not have the heart to play for this team. This kind of behaviour is not uncommon amongst some New York fans.
This franchise has only reached the playoffs twice in the last eight seasons and since the departure of the great Patrick Ewing they have been in a downward spiral. Isiah Thomas was appointed president at the end of 2003 but after a string of disasters and embarrassments on and off the court he was fired at the end of last season.
Donnie Walsh is the new team president and he appointed Mike D'Antoni as head coach in May on a four year deal.
I think this team has somehow turned itself in to a east coast version of the Los Angeles Clippers and are in a constant rebuilding mode. The problem for New York is that they are expected to win championships and failure is not an option. I have been to Madison Square Garden a couple of times in recent years and the fans are vocal with their frustration, to say the least. New York fan Spike Lee and friends are clearly not happy at all and even the celebrities are fed up with this situation.
Point Guard Stephon Marbury is currently earning $21m per year and is in the middle of a bitter dispute with this New York team and new coach Mike D'Antoni.He has not played a single minute for them as he does not figure in the future plan of the new head coach.
Marbury is a quality point guard and realistically if New York did not want him, they should have bought him out of his contract and let him go. Paying someone $21m a year for not playing is a jaw-dropping amount of money by anyone's standards and this is another reason why this team is in a complete mess. I believe they will eventually buy him out but this on-going situation has hurt this franchise immensely.
New York are definitely a team to oppose going forward and because of their perceived stature they will represent poor value. I really can't see that this current rotation can turn things around for them and I will be opposing them with the handicap over the next 10 games.
On Sunday they host bitter rivals Boston who thrashed them 104-59 last year after some Knick players taunted the Celtics before the game. I somehow don't see that happening again anytime soon.
The rest of the 10 game schedule includes a trip to Oklahoma who have the worst record in basketball with only three wins to date but against New York in the midst of this slump, anything
is possible.
When the famous ball drops at midnight on New Year's Eve in Times Square to bring in the new year some Knick fans will hope it lands on the Garden by mistake so they can end this dismal season a little early.
Have a happy and prosperous New Year.
Account Help is available 24/7.
By Email: info@betfair.com ('Canada' in the Subject Line)
By Phone: 1-866-381-7119 (Free from Canadian landlines)
Click here to find out about Canadian Payment Methods
More Betting Tips on the Betfair Canada Blog
