Wheel House: Greatest Knick

Ewing carried the team to a ridiculous number of playoff appearances and always kept the team in the hunt.

Sure Ewing wasn’t perfect (the finger roll against Indiana) but it wasn’t always his fault the team didn’t win a championship. If Starks has an average game 7 instead of the worst shooting night of his life against Houston I never would have to hear Rudy T talk about the heart of a champion. Ewing played a great series against Hakeem especially since Ewing had more weight to carry. Remember those Knicks teams were referred to as Patrick Ewing and the CBA All-Stars. Hakeem had Otis Thorpe, Kenny Smith, Vernon Maxwell, Mario Elie, Sam Cassell and Robert Horry.

I do beleive if Ewing had not been injured and could have played against the Spurs in 98-99 he would have gotten that elusive title. Watching LJ guard Duncan was painful as hard as LJ tried. With Ewing there Camby moves to the 4, LJ the 3, Houston the 2 with Spre bringing the ball up. San Antonio would have been hard pressed to match the size (especially LJ posting Elliot). What if’s, I know but interestingly enough Mario Elie was prominently involved in denying the Knicks again as he joined the Spurs roster after that season began.

The team failed to provide Ewing help year after year. By the time he did get help he was in the decline of his career and battling injuries. Help alsoarrived in the form of players past their prime (Blackman, Harper, Cumings, Buck Williams). Ewing is a champion no matter. Knicks management, as has been proven over and over again are the ones that always come up short.

The Knicks are the only franchise I can think of to have a Center as dominant as Ewing was and not give him enough help to win at least one Championship. Wilt, Russell, Shaq, David Robinson, Olajuwon, Kareem all had franchises that cared to get enough help. If Knicks management gets him that help all fans would have Patrick in that category.

I will give Reed this, he probaby had the greatest season of any player, in any sport ever in 69-70. The first championship.

Willis was the first player in NBA history to be named the NBA All-Star Game MVP, the NBA regular season MVP, and the NBA Playoff MVP in the same season.

That same year, he was named to the All-NBA first team and NBA All-Defensive first team, as well as being named as ABC’s Wide World of Sports Athlete of the Year, and the Sporting News NBA MVP.

Throw in the greatest Knick moment in the history of the franchise in game 7 against the Lakers and you have an amazingly impressive year.

I think if you swap Reed for Ewing in the 70′s the Knicks get 4 or 5 rings. If the Knicks never trade Bellamy for DeBusschere then Reed never moves into the 5 spot where he was comfortable playing. If that doesn’t happen we’re not having this discussion. It’s all about getting a big man a lil help. They did it for Reed and not Ewing. In his prime Reed had Walt Frazier, Dave DeBusschere and later on Earl “The Pearl” Monroe. Imagine Ewing playing with guys that talented in the 90′s.

The thing about ewing is that people were shocked that Ewing and the media were at odds. Well, they were the ones who dictated the “championship or bust” mentality from day one.

Again, you sign for patrick’s career stats on day one and expect that the organization gives you a little help.

Sorry to disappoint the younger folks, who only remember back a few years, but Patrick doesn’t deserve the title. He was never a guy who could carry the team on his back in the biggest games. he had good enough talent around him, but he did not dominate. I loved him as much as anyone, but it isn’t like he was playing with this year’s supporting cast. he had very good players around him and came up short. Walt, on the other hand, had 36 points and 19 (ye, that’s right 19) assists on the big night against the Lakers, which is why he ahs a ring and Patrick doesn’t. (This about that: he had a hand in 74 points that night).

As for the person who said that if Patrick played with that team, they could have moved Willis to the 4, that’s ignorant. The3 breakthrough came when Bellamy was dealt to Detroit for Dave DeBuschere (the Holy Man, Blessed Be He), which enable Willis to move from 4 to center, which was his natural position.

Patrick carried our hopes, but he wasn’t the greatest Knick of all time.

Oh by the way, just listened to that Bernard King interview – from yesterday obviously.

Eric Snow : “BK just ive us a couple players… that kind of remind you of yourself or just somebody you enjoy watching”

Bernard King : “I think the player that’s closest to the style of play that I had would be CARMELO ANTHONY”.

You know that I’d love to see Melo in a white, blue and orange jersey.

Again, both Willis and Clyde have said he is.

My point was that had ewing played on that team he would have won, and I find the “championship” argument to be a bit dismissive when his body of work over his career was far more impressive.

I know all about the 70s teams, every coach I ever played for preached how they played. It’s ingrained in my hoops psyche.

That one game separates Walt, but no one ever gives credit to Ewing for having a better finals than Hakeem and making that matchup a wash.

To say that ewing had the pieces around him to win is true, but they weren’t good enough to outplay Horry, Cassell, Thorpe and Kenny SMith over 7 games so what does that say?

To you it may say, “then patrick should have stepped his game like Walt” to which I would say,

“it’s more complicated than that.”

bernard king.

if jordan was a knick for three years, hed be the greatest knick ever… bking mightve been jordan before jordan if not for his knee… but king played statistically and in the clutch as jordan did.