Knicks season ends....finally!!

As I woke up on the morning of April 17, 2014 I realize one thing: My basketball team is finished. No playoff games, no May excitement, and certainly no championship. A team with a near $100 million dollar payroll, 3 perennial all stars, and a superstar player, could not seal the deal in a lost season. Many analysts and radio personalities have voiced their opinions about why the Knicks' season went to terribly wrong. Listed below are the top three reasons, in my opinion, that a 2nd seed potential team turned into a 9th seed over night: 

1. Mike Woodson- It's hard to put one man as the top reason for this disaster of a season. Having said that, Mike Woodson is the number 1 villain. From lack of rotation management, to players calling out his defensive system, Woodson had a lost year. It's not easy to forget about the great job he did in 2012-2013 when the team won 54 games and an Atlantic Division crown. As much credit as he deserves for the success of 2012-2013, is the same amount of blame he deserves for the season that was 2013-2014. Players were just not buying into his system and that's not acceptable. Clearly, Woodson knows he failed. I expect a firing to take place anyday now. 

2. The back court play-The combination of J.R. Smith, Iman Shumpert, Raymond Felton, and Tim Hardaway Jr. is very talented. A former 6th man of the year and a defensive wizard help make up the back court foursome. The thing is, each player, besides the rookie Hardaway, had their worst season to date. Felton had a career low in points and assists. J.R. Smith was so inconsistent for the first 60 games of the season. Shumpert was just lost. There is no better word to describe Iman's regression in 2013-2014 than the word "lost." While his defense was up to bar, his offense was non existent. Of course, Woodson did his usual terrible job of managing Shump's minutes, but still this is no excuse. A 3rd year player in th prime of his career should not have regressed this much. Hardaway was the rare exception in the group. And Felton, well we won't even go there. 

3. Tyson Chandler- The 2013-2014 Knicks season is going to be known as a defenseless one. This adjective solely falls on the shoulders of former defensive player of the year, Tyson Chandler. The Knicks 3rd member of their "big three" had one of his worst seasons since becoming a starter in the NBA. During just the fourth game of the season, the oft-injured Chandler bit the dust again and missed 20 games. During this span, the Knicks dug themselves a hole they would never climb out of. While he got himself into a groove later in the season, as did J.R. Smith, it was too little too late. With one year left on his contract, Phil Jackson will look to trade the big man in the off season.