Linball

You're not wrong about most of what you are saying.

But here is what I am trying to say, and probably didn't say well.

The Knicks are the Knicks. They will always carry New York.

Sure, if the Knicks suck eggs, the Garden turns into a funeral parlor. But I suspect they'll be just good enough to get a 6 or 7 seed in the playoffs.

If the Nets are really good, of course it will bring in fans.

But at the end of the day, the Nets are never going to take the Knicks place for the heart of NYC, because the Knicks are the Knicks. The Nets as an organization have never captured anyone's imagination, whether it was on Long Island or in various places in NJ. Brooklyn is a whole different game, because the borough is thriving more than any in NYC, but the kinds of people relocating there are of two types: 1) hipsters who are all Brooklyn and are never going to care much about basketball, 2) People with the money to buy tickets to sporting events, but who still think of Manhattan as the place to do anything fun.

There will be lots of interest in the Nets this season. They will sell a lot of tickets. But that arena cost a ton. And I don't think culturally Brooklyn is going to have its attention span on the Nets for more than a few season at the most. If the Nets are really competitive, yeah, people will show up. But I suspect really strongly that if the Nets are mediocre a few years down the line, that arena is going to be half full. Anything less than a killer, championship caliber team, and a few years down the line, I wonder how many people are going to be showing up.

And the Knicks won't suffer for it either way, because if the Knicks put a decent team on the floor, people automatically come.

 

I don't think the Knicks can win in the playoffs with the oldest team in the league (with all of these crap moves), Carmelo hogging the ball and Amare totally out of the offense. But they do have enough talent to do what they did last year, which was feast on the bad teams, lose to the good teams, and make the playoffs (and then lose to a better team in the first round). Carmelo can go one on one with bad teams, Amare will have his moments and Tyson Chandler (the only guy to really love on this team) is a great defensive player. Their bit pieces aren't that bad, particularly with the resigning of Steve Novak. They aren't a great team. But they are good enough to make the playoffs.