New York is a mess, or rather, the Knicks and Nets are. If you search “NBA Standings” on the old internet, you’ll find New York’s professional basketball clubs stuck near the bottom of the worst division in the league.
How bad is the Atlantic Conference, you say?
Well, as of late Saturday, the Raptors are leading the conference with an outstanding record of 12-15. 12 AND 15! What’s worse is that the team who sits just a game worse than the Knicks, the 76ers, was called a team of “six NBA players” and “a bunch of guys who are fighting for spots…” Was the quoted person in this situation a controversial analyst or former player? Nope, it was the Sixers’ own coach, Brett Brown.
That is how bad the division is.
What’s even worse, and slightly funny, is how the divisional standings are laid out.
- Toronto 12-15
- Boston 13-17
- Brooklyn 10-19
- New York 9-20
- Philadelphia 8-20
Yeah, it’s that bad, but the aforementioned funny thing is that Toronto and Boston are ahead of the two New York clubs. During the offseason both Toronto and Boston made significant trades, dealing major pieces for long-term salary relief and younger pieces.
The Raptors traded Andrea Bargnani for Steve Novak, the now departed Marcus Camby and Quentin Richardson, a future first-round draft pick and two future second-round draft picks.
Boston, going for a larger affect, traded franchise icons Paul Pierce, Kevin Garnett and Seattle native Jason Terry to Brooklyn for a cavalcade of cap holds and draft picks including Kris Humphries, Gerald Wallace, Kris Joseph, MarShon Brooks, Keith Bogans and future first-round picks in 2014, 2016 and 2018.
Toronto and Boston made those trades to restart, to let young players develop, gather draft picks and build for the future. The Knicks and Nets made those moves in an attempt to win now, at all costs.
In a normal world, the former two teams should be at the bottom of the division, not at the top and in contention for playoff places. But this isn’t a normal world. The east, specifically the Atlantic, and specifically the two New York teams, are really bad.
It would be strange to see the Celtics make the playoffs this season without Pierce and Garnett. What would be stranger would be seeing the two not make the playoffs with their new team. But that is the Atlantic Division, as it is.
