New York Knicks Lose Game 5, Eliminated From Playoffs By Miami Heat

Earlier tonight, the New York Knicks were eliminated from the playoffs in 5 games by the Miami Heat. Carmelo Anthony and J.R. Smith combined to take 46 of the Knicks’ 76 field goal attempts in the 12-point loss in south Florida. Carmelo’s high field goal attempt numbers are a common theme in Knicks losses throughout this season, and it was apparent again tonight. Amare Stoudemire only took 7 shots for New York. Lebron James led the Heat with 29 points, 8 rebounds, and 7 assists. He showed up for all 4 quarters tonight and had an outstanding game.

As a Brooklyn Nets fan, I am happy to see the Knicks lose this series, even though I would have preferred a sweep. It is now crystal clear that the Knicks are just as far removed from an NBA championship as the Nets are, and this offseason will be vital to the direction of both franchises. The Knicks definitely need to add more pieces, especially defensively, if they even want to get to the second round of the playoffs. The Nets need to add good players just to make the playoffs, but we will see if Brooklyn will be able to attract free agents to get the Nets into the playoff picture.

One similarity between these two teams this year was that injuries were a major problem and effected both teams’ seasons. For the Nets, the injuries were obviously a major issue. They led the NBA in games missed due to injuries this season, and were 30 games ahead of the team with the second most games missed due to injury. In fact, 1 in 7 games missed due to injury in the NBA this year was by a Net. That is unbelievable. Injuries were also a problem for the Knicks this season, but to a much lesser extent. Amare Stoudemire missed many games towards the end of the season, and Jeremy Lin was unable to play in the playoffs. But anybody who thinks the Knicks would have beaten Miami had they been entirely healthy is delusional. Miami was clearly the better team all season long and Jeremy Lin is clearly one of the most overrated players in the NBA. The guy only played in 35 games this season and averaged under 15 points per game! Do you really think that would have made a difference against the Miami Heat? And in Lin’s only game against Miami this year (he missed the others because he was injured), he shot 1-11 from the field!

Nets fans should be very happy with how the playoffs have been going so far. The three teams who we wanted to lose, Dallas, Orlando, and New York, have all already been eliminated in the first round and they won a combined 2 games. The reasons we don’t like these teams are: Dallas-we want Deron Williams to think they are old and if he makes a “basketball decision” he won’t want to go there. Orlando-we want Dwight Howard to think that this team is very average and will never win a championship and therefore he will demand a trade (hopefully to Brooklyn). New York-our cross-town rivals, obviously we don’t want them to win for bragging rights. Even though the Nets are not in the playoffs, hopefully the 2012 playoffs will impact the Brooklyn Nets in a positive way next season.

Are you most happy that Dallas, Orlando, or New York has been eliminated from the playoffs? Post your answers in the comments section below.