Should the Knicks break up their roster?

With the unfortunate passing of New York Knicks PF Amar’e Stoudemire’s brother Hazell, the New York Knicks were without their best player.

Tack on an injury to New York Knicks SF Carmelo Anthony, and suddenly the dynamic front court in Madison Square Garden is reduced to rubble. Even though PF Amar’e Stoudemire is in fact the most valuable player to the New York Knicks, losing Carmelo Anthony might have been a blessing in disguise, as the black hole was shut and a new found ability to move the ball with a patchwork lineup led the New York Knicks to a huge win at home against the upstart Utah Jazz.

Even a casual fan who has never held a basketball in his life could explain that the core of the New York Knicks is a chemistry disaster. Nothing about the trio of SF Carmelo Anthony, PF Amar’e Stoudemire, and C Tyson Chandler has clicked so far.

No offense to young PG Jeremy Lin, but Lin cannot be the hero every night. G/F Bill Walker will not hit five threes, and F Jared Jeffries will not drop 20 every night. In a majestic, bombastic, and cultural city like New York, there needs to be star power. Unfortunately, the three core players the Knicks have in place have no way of complementing each other.

Last season the Knicks showed glimpses of a winning tradition, but like most Mark D’Antoni teams, the defense is made porous in the wake of a prolific and high flying offense. After the great run by the Dallas Mavericks, Tyson Chandler saw greener pastures. Green, being the fork-loads of money at his dinner table. While Chandler is certainly an excellent player, his offensive threat level is low in the paint, and he has absolutely no jump shot whatsoever. While Amar’e Stoudemire can shoot the ball, he prefers to work in the paint. Having the paint clogged by the defensive Chandler leaves his opposing center free to gravitate towards Stoudemire. It seems like half of Chandler’s points are scored on alley-oops, leaving a lot of fun but not a lot of substance to his offensive game.

Furthermore, Carmelo Anthony has absolutely no business as an All-Star starter, as quoted yesterday. He is taking far too many shots for his point totals, and his absence for much of last night’s games exposed the ability the Knicks have to win with their third choice point guard and a whip-stitched front-court.

Last night’s lineup won’t win in the playoffs, but it is a clear indication that their so called “Big 3″ will not and will never work, and that the lineup needs to be shaken to its core after a scorched Earth campaign to land Carmelo Anthony.

Tags: Amare Stoudemire, Bill Walker, Carmelo Anthony, Jared Jeffries, Jeremy Lin, Mark D'Antoni, Tyson Chandler