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At least the Cavs didnt mortgage the future to land Carmelo Anthony. At least they didnt tie themselves to big contracts in Amare Stoudemire and Tyson Chandler.
And at least they dont have a coach who can feel the noose around his neck slowly getting tighter and tighter.
That would be none other than Knicks coach Mike DAntoni, who greeted the media wearing an exasperated look following Wednesdays 91-81 loss to the Cavs.
DAntoni sported bloodshot eyes and messy hair. He looked as if he had spent the previous two hours tumbling in a clothes dryer -- and considering the state of his team, that might be preferable.
The Knicks have lost seven of eight, with their lone win during that stretch coming over the lowly Bobcats. Heck, even the Wizards beat the Bobcats.
The Knicks seem to be hoping Baron Davis can return from injury and make everything good again, but at this point, you have to wonder if even Iron Man could save them.
Our offense is anemic, DAntoni said.
The Knicks shot just 42 percent from the floor, went a miserable 3-for-20 on 3-pointers and committed a whopping 22 turnovers.
And this is why they went out and got Anthony and Stoudemire?
Granted, everyone has an off night, but this has become the norm for the Knicks. Perhaps they should try revisiting things with Denver, Anthonys old team, and seeing what the Nuggets would be willing to give up in return. Since the Nuggets have been just as successful without Anthony as they were with (if not better), it likely wouldnt be much.
This isnt intended to rip on Anthony or Stoudemire, or downplay the fact that its still early in this scrunched-together season.
But maybe theres a lesson here. Maybe just taking a bunch of big names and throwing them on the floor together doesnt necessarily make them a team. Maybe chemistry still counts for something.
On Wednesday, it was the Cavaliers who displayed that solidarity -- staying low and helping on defense, and not getting rattled by their once-in-a-while struggles on offense.
I thought everybody was really in tune with what we needed to do on the defensive end, said Cavs coach Byron Scott. Thats good because we couldnt throw it in the ocean.
The Cavs improved to 7-10, a half-game ahead of the Knicks (7-11) for the Easts eighth-best record. They also snapped a four-game losing streak, and won on the second night of a back-to-back for the first time this season.
More importantly, they followed up two real stinkers over the weekend with an impressive showing Tuesday in Miami and a win on Wednesday.
There will be no 26-game losing streak this year, kids.
For the Cavs, even when rookie standout Kyrie Irving is off (seven points, 1-for-7 shooting), they still have a chance. Irving did a nice job creating, and a better job defensively, and everyone else benefited.
Omri Casspi (13 points) and Anderson Varejao (10 points, 16 rebounds) each had monster dunks. Antawn Jamison (15 points) rediscovered his rhythm, and his aggressiveness. And Anthony Parker added some offense (13 points) to go with his heady floor play and veteran leadership.
On this night, Cavs fans should feel good about their team again. Well, they should have felt good about it already -- as the Cavs are a mostly young team that, while certainly will take its lumps, is progressing.
And, hey, at least theyre not the Knicks right now.
Source: http://network.yardbarker.com/nba/article_external/knicks_everything_cavs_hope_not_to_become/9591803
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