The obligatory Knicks post

Let me just preface this post by saying this will be the ONE and ONLY time I post on this blog about the Knicks.

As you probably know by now, or if you don't, the New York Knicks are my religion and passion. If I could, I would blog about the Knickerbockers every day of my life. I haven't missed a game since the 2002 season, and I plan on sticking it out until LeBron comes to town in '10. Might as well right?

Now that you've been informed my rather unfortunate situation, let's proceed with this post.

Chris Duhon. Not gonna lie, when Walsh and company announced way back in July that they were bringing in Chris Duhon to run the point for D'Antoni's system, I was less than ecstatic to put it lightly.

First off, even though he had been in the league for three years already, I still saw him in that satanic blue and white jersey, pounding the floor, and egging on the Cameron Crazies. That's the thing about Duke players. With the exception of Elton Brand and Corey Maggette, (Yes, Corey Maggette went to Duke)I have a really tough time erasing their Blue Devil status from my brain. In my mind, Carlos Boozer, Shane Battier, J.J Redick, and Grant Hill are all still enrolled at Durham, and take daily instruction from Coach K. (Hell, if I'm even going to attempt to spell out his last name)

Like most self-respecting Americans, I loathe Duke and everything they stand for. I should probably mention that I attended the University of Maryland for my freshman year. This probably has something to do with my Duke hate too. Just maybe.

Not only was Duhon a Dukie, but he hadn't exactly helped Bulls fans forget about Michael Jordan during his tenure in Chicago. Duhon came to the Knicks boasting career averages of 6.9 points and 4.5 points per game. Not to mention the fact that New York didn't exactly face any serious competition for his services. The only other team that was even in the mix for Duhon at the time was Orlando, who entertained the thought of him as their backup at the 1.

So just to recap, not only were the Knicks were dishing out money for a relatively unwanted backup point guard, but they were planning on making this guy their STARTER?

For any of the other 29 teams in the National Basketball League, this would be considered a questionable move. But not New York. Not the franchise that made Allan Houston the highest paid player in the NBA in 2001, after essentially bidding against themselves. Not the franchise that gave multi-year deals to Jerome James and Jared Jefferies. Since the Ewing era, the Knicks have made a habit of severely overpaying for other team's garbage. I could go on and on here, but I won't.

Fast forward to the beginning of this season now. The Knicks were playing well above expectations and their MVP was none other than Duhon. Through the season's first three months, Duhon more than surpassed expectations, posting numbers of 13 points, 8 assists, and only 3 turnovers per game. Duhon wasn't just good, he was outstanding. This included a truly historic performance at the Garden on November 29, when Duhon recorded a Knicks' franchise-record 22 assists, in an emphatic victory over Golden State.

The Knicks were rolling and all was good in New York, with Duhon as the forefront. Then, unbeknownst to anyone, Duhon slipped into a deep slump. In the past weeks, Duhon has seen his production fall off drastically. It is no coincidence that in the same time frame, the Knicks have recorded their worst stretch of the season, losing 12 of their last 16.

During this slide, Duhon has been, for lack of a better term, awful. He has turned the ball over 36 times in his past eight games, and is shooting a dreadful 39 percent from the field.

So far in the month of March, Duhon's production has slipped to 6.4 points and 4.6 assists per game.

As a longtime basketball fan, I have never seen an NBA player go through a slump of this magnitude. From November to now, Duhon has fallen off harder than Milli Vanilli and Limp Bizkit combined.

I find it hard to believe that Chris Duhon just suddenly lost all his basketball skill and athletic ability, as if he were in Space Jam.

The logical explanation is that Duhon has hit "the wall". "The wall" is usually a term synonymous with rookies, not fourth year veterans.
Duhon has averaged roughly 38 minutes per game for Mike D'Antoni this season, about 11 minutes more than his career average in Chicago. Duhon is simply out of gas, and you can see it in his play.

It is overly evident that he just doesn't have the legs that he had earlier this season. Not only playing 38 minutes a night, but playing 38 minutes a night in D'Antoni's frantic, run and gun system, is a dramatic contrast from the slowed down, lethargic pace Duhon played in Chicago under Scott Skiles, at less minutes every night.

Duhon has certainly drawn the ire of Knick fans as of late, with his less than impressive play. Many fans have called for the team to bring in a new point guard this summer. Duhon deserves another chance, not a replacement.