The NBA All-Star break is upon us and the New York Knicks are in 2nd place in the Eastern Conference, just 3.5 games behind the great Miami Heat. However, things are not going well for the Knicks at the moment. Their superstar scorer Carmelo Anthony has been slowed down of late and has injured his hand. Amare Stoudemire, the $100 million man, has cooled off after a fast start to his comeback.

The Knicks looked like world beaters through the first quarter of the season, but it is completely obvious they need a change. The ball-movement on offense is now non existant.  Jason Kidd and Iman Shumpert have not been hitting open shots as of late. It is painfully obvious that Coach Mike Woodson needs to make a change in the starting lineup, if they want to make a run at Miami in the East.

Stoudemire has cooled off from the tear he was on, but if the Knicks want to be playing in June, he needs to become the STAT of old. This includes starting and playing 35 minutes a game. Contrary to popular belief, he has played well alongside Anthony this year and the team has been plagued by slow starts as of late. Jason Kidd will run with the 2nd unit from now on. Ronnie Brewer, who was playing inspired ball at the beginning of the season, has been mired in Coach Woodson’s doghouse for the past month. His hounding defense, and clutch shooting was a big key to the Knicks success early on. He has done some well documented work on his shot during his benching and I think his intensity is what this team is missing.

Dougie