What If...? | NYK 1999-2000: We Still Believe

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QUICK INTRO.

• No Dolan, ever. Ewing a Knick for life. New York a force for seasons to come. That should be enough.

ASSOCIATION SETTINGS

• | :: Season Length ♦ 82 Games
  | :: Team Chemistry ♦ On
  | :: Player Roles ♦ Off
  | :: Progressive Fatigue ♦ On
  | :: Trade Deadline ♦ On
  | :: Trade Override ♦ On (will undo any crazy trades the CPU do)
  | :: Allow CPU Trades ♦ On
  | :: Preseason Games ♦ On
  | :: Injuries ♦ On
  | :: Fantasy Draft ♦ None
  | :: Playoffs ♦ 7-7-7-7
  | :: Quarter Length ♦ 12 Minutes
  | :: Sim Quarter Length ♦ 12 Minutes
  
  | :: Lineup Management ♦ Off
  | :: Simulation Strategy ♦ On
  | :: Prospect Scouting ♦ On
  | :: Player Trading ♦ Off
  
  | :: Staff Contracts ♦ Off
  | :: Player Contracts ♦ Off
  | :: Pre-Draft Workouts ♦ On
  | :: NBA Draft ♦ Off
  | :: Training Camps ♦ On

IN-GAME SETTINGS

• | :: Skill Level ♦ Superstar
  | :: Roster ♦ UBR

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• It all began on June 6, 1946, when Madison Square Garden was granted a charter franchise in the newlyformed Basketball Association of America. The legendary Ned Irish, who would eventually be enshrined in the Basketball Hall of Fame in Springfield in 1964, was the Knicks’ founding father and one of the infant circuit’s pioneers. The newly-christened Knickerbockers debuted on November 1, edging the Toronto Huskies, 68-66, at famed Maple Leaf Gardens. Former Manhattan College mentor Neil Cohalan was the Knicks’ first head coach, while Ossie Schectman, Stan Stutz, Jake Weber, Ralph Kaplowitz and Leo Gottlieb made up the inaugural starting lineup.
  
  The Knicks were playoff-bound in each of their first 10 seasons -- nine of those under the leadership of Joe Lapchick -- making three consecutive trips to the NBA Finals in 1951, 1952 and 1953, but they would be denied the summit all three times. Carl Braun was the club’s premier scorer during those early days, averaging 14.1 points over a career that spanned 12 seasons and five All-Star selections. Braun’s teammates included Harry Gallatin, the ferocious rebounder who still holds the club record of 610 consecutive games played; the great Dick McGuire, who set a playmaking standard by leading the club in assists for seven straight seasons (1950-56), popular Ernie Vandeweghe and pioneer pro Nat “Sweetwater” Clifton. But New York would then make the playoffs only once in a 10-year span from the late ‘50s into the ‘60s -- Richie Guerin, Willie Naulls, Ray Felix, Jumpin’ Johnny Green and Ken Sears were major Knick heroes in those days. The head coaching assignments during that era were handled by Vince Boryla, Fuzzy Levane, Braun, Eddie Donovan, Gallatin and McGuire.

• Following a decade in the doldrums, the Knicks franchise would ultimately reach its zenith in 1969-70 under William “Red” Holzman, the Hall of Fame coach who took over the reins in late 1967, just prior to the team’s move from the venerable Old Garden on 49th Street to the gleaming New Garden above Penn Station. As Holzman assumed the helm, the team’s “Golden Era” -- which would include four 50-plus win seasons, three Eastern Conference Championships and, of course, two NBA titles -- was launched. Riding a club record 18-game winning streak and a 60-22 regular season mark, the franchise earned its first NBA World Championship: with captain Willis Reed scoring the Knicks’ first two baskets and Walt Frazier adding 36 points and 19 assists, New York nailed down its first NBA title with a 113-99 Game 7 win, forever stamping May 8, 1970 as the ultimate red-letter day in team history. Reed, the League’s MVP, will forever be remembered for stepping onto the Garden court in spite of his severely injured leg, to the deafening roar of a capacity crowd.
  
  Along with Reed’s contributions, the unprecedented success was keyed by fabled teammates such as Frazier, Bill Bradley, Dave DeBusschere and Dick Barnett, along with “Minutemen” Mike Riordan, Cazzie Russell and Dave Stallworth. Smart drafting and shrewd trades -- especially the acquisitions of DeBusschere from Detroit -- laid the foundation for success. Holzman’s club led the NBA in team defense five times over a six-year span from 1968-69 to 1973-74 and captured the citizenry of the world’s greatest basketball city, selling out the New Garden 26 times in 1969-70 after recording just six regular season sellouts in 22 seasons at the Old Garden. Earl “The Pearl” Monroe, a Knicks nemesis during his days with the Baltimore Bullets, joined the squad in 1971-72 and teamed with Frazier to form one of the greatest backcourts in NBA history -- also acquired to shore up the frontline was perennial All-Star Jerry Lucas.
  
  In 1971-72, despite the season-long absence of Reed due to injury, the Knicks won the Eastern Conference title with Playoff wins over Baltimore and Boston. In 1972-73, Reed returned and a veteran Knick squad gutted its way to its second NBA Championship. They outlasted Boston in a classic Eastern Final series and then beat the Lakers in the Finals, becoming the first team in NBA history to defeat two 60-win teams en route to a title. In tribute to the championship heroes, the retired numbers of Reed, Bradley, Frazier, Barnett, DeBusschere and Monroe hang from the Garden rafters. Reed, Bradley, Frazier, DeBusschere, Monroe and Lucas have all joined Holzman in the Springfield Hall of Fame.

• New York was a playoff force for nine straight seasons (1966-67 through 1974-75), but then a period of lean times befell the club as the ‘80s dawned, despite headline performances by Bob McAdoo, Spencer Haywood, Ray Williams and Micheal Ray Richardson -- the Knicks made the Playoffs only twice in a seven-year span from 1976 to 1982. Two dynamic and unforgettable personalities played the central roles as the Knicks’ fortunes turned in the early ‘80s: head coach Hubie Brown and scorer extraordinaire Bernard King, as Brown guided the Knicks to a memorable first-round playoff victory over Detroit in 1984. King developed into perhaps the greatest offensive force in club history, leading the NBA in scoring with a 32.9 average in 1984-85, becoming the Knicks’ only scoring champion.

• On Mother’s Day 1985, the Knicks won the rights to Georgetown superstar Patrick Ewing in the first-ever NBA Draft Lottery -- it would prove to be a major turning point in the club’s history. Ewing has authored 14 years (and counting) in New York and is on his way to become the all-time club leader in virtually every category, and arguably, the greatest player to ever wear the orange and blue -- a headline performer whose No. 33 will certainly be hoisted to the Garden rafters when it is all said and done.
  
  A crippling knee injury to King in 1985 set off a three-year dry spell in which the Knicks would miss the Playoffs all three years as Garden attendance plummeted, but a decade-plus period in which the Knicks would again reign as one of the game’s elite began in 1987-88: general manager Al Bianchi, head coach Rick Pitino and Rookie of the Year Mark Jackson would lead the franchise to a playoff spot in the season’s final contest. With Charles Oakley and Kiki VanDeWeghe on board the next season, the Knicks won 52 games (including 26 straight at home) and the Atlantic Division title.
  
  In 1991, club president Dave Checketts and general manager Ernie Grunfeld guided the organization into an unforgettable era by hiring coach Pat Riley and adding names like Xavier McDaniel, Anthony Mason, Charles Smith and Derek Harper. The Riley Era -- 1991-92 through 1994-95 -- resulted in an unprecedented four consecutive 50-plus-win seasons, two Atlantic Division titles and two trips to the Eastern Conference Finals. In 1992-93, the Knicks rewrote the club record book with a franchise-record-tying 60 wins and a club record 37 home victories. Keyed by one of the greatest defensive units in NBA history (91.5 points allowed) and All-Star seasons from Ewing, Oakley and John Starks, the 1993-94 Knicks ended the three-year championship reign of the Chicago Bulls with an emotional playoff triumph, then bested Indiana to earn their first Eastern Conference Championship in 21 years, only to be denied the ultimate prize in a seven-game nailbiter series against Houston. A 55-win season in 1994-95 and a heartbreaking seven-game Playoff loss to Indiana were followed soon after by Riley’s resignation.
  
  After seven years as an assistant coach, youthful Jeff Van Gundy succeeded Don Nelson as head coach on March 8, 1996. Grunfeld engineered an extensive off-season facelift, putting Larry Johnson, Allan Houston, Chris Childs and Buck Williams in Knicks uniforms. The results were a 57-win season in 1996-97, followed by an emotional first-round Playoff triumph over Miami in 1997-98, a season marred by a wrist fracture suffered by Ewing. Electrifying Latrell Sprewell and youthful Marcus Camby came aboard in 1998-99 to help write one of the most memorable chapters in the club’s annals: following a 27-23 regular season, the Knicks stormed from the East’s eighth seed to win the Eastern Conference title with thrilling Playoff triumphs over arch-rivals Miami and Indiana and a four-game sweep of Atlanta, before the ultimate heartbreak of a five-game Finals loss to San Antonio.

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[Jordigriffin]

As a knick fan, will be following.

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Quote: Originally Posted by Jordigriffin

As a knick fan, will be following.

Thanks a lot! Hopefully I can give Ewing a ring before he says goodbye.

History and roster edited! Will try to start this soon!

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• • HEAD COACH: Jeff Van Gundy, 5th season, 140-97 in four years
  
  • 1998-99: 27-23 (.540%), 4th in Atlantic Division, lost to San Antonio in NBA Finals
  
  • STARTING FIVE: Charlie Ward, Allan Houston, Latrell Sprewell, Larry Johnson, Patrick Ewing
  
  • ADDITIONS: Andrew Lang (C, free agent, Chicago), John Wallace (SF, free agent, Toronto)
  
  • SUBSTRACTIONS: Herb Williams (C-F, retired)
  
  Without aging center Patrick Ewing, the Knicks reached the NBA Finals by relying on the offensive arsenal of Latrell Sprewell and Allan Houston and there's no reason to break that 1-2 punch, with Larry Johnson providing a third scoring presence. They are once again expected to receive help from reserves Marcus Camby, who flourished in the playoffs, and Kurt Thomas, who should help on both ends of the floor; both are a year wiser and offseason signee Andrew Lang can be consistent on the boards.
  
  What drags New York today is Ewing, perhaps the greatest Knick of all time, who turned 37 in August and may not be so accommodating on offense as he once was. He has played just 26 and 38 regular season games the past two seasons, and his backups Lang and Chris Dudley are not viable alternatives, providing hardly any scoring. "We have basically gotten comfortable with what it takes to win without Patrick. Father time is undefeated," said coach Jeff Van Gundy, who agreed a two-year extension on his contract in July. "We need to figure out if we can be anything more than a .500 team without him, because that is what we have been the last two years without him."
  
  There's also concerns with their backcourt rotations -- point guards Charlie Ward and Chris Childs both return and are little more than backups, often hurting the team's offensive flow. The team could also do by adding a swingman in free agency; if Sprewell and/or Houston suffer injuries, David Wingate (36 years old) and offseason addition John Wallace (in his fourth season in the league) will not suffice as starters on an extended basis. At the same time, much will depend on the unstable relationship between the volatile Sprewell and his coach. We don't know how long the honeymoon is going to last -- the player won the first battle of the season when Van Gundy gave up and decided, perhaps against his better judgment, to start him at small forward instead of bringing him off the bench.
  
  With the squad's big names intact and chemistry among them now built, there is little question that the team will exceed their win percentage from last season, but it's hard to imagine Madison Square Garden rockin' for the first time since 1973 unless the front office is able to add some pieces via trades.
  
  • BEST SCENARIO: 58-24, Eastern Conference Finals
  
  • WORST SCENARIO: 43-39, Eastern Conference Quarterfinals

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• The Los Angeles Clippers needed two newcomers to stop last year's finalists on their tracks.
  
  Rookie Lamar Odom wasted no time making a mark in the NBA, posting 18 of his 24 points after halftime as the Clippers recovered from a 9-point deficit to defeat the New York Knicks at Madison Square Garden, 97-89, in the season opener for both teams. "Lamar is a heck of a player. He did a superb job to get us back, and our defense behind him did a great job too," Clippers head coach Chris Ford said of his rookie, who also had 11 boards and six dimes. "I'm just an athletic, extremely high-energy guy,'' Odom said. "I'm willing to do anything to help my group win." Acquired from the Cleveland Cavaliers, Derek Anderson had 19, six rebounds and eight assists as Los Angeles tries to bounce back from last year's 9-41 record.
  
  The setback remarked New York's need for a bigger inside presence. The Knicks were outrebounded, 49-30, with Patrick Ewing and Larry Johnson combining for 12 points in 5-of-18 shooting. "They just outplayed us in the second half,'' said Allan Houston, who paced the hosts with a game-best 29 points. "In front of our fans, it felt embarrassing.'' With a 49-45 lead at intermission, an alley-oop from Jeff McInnis to Michael Olowokandi ignited a 10-1 run, as the Clippers cranked up their defensive intensity and never looked back again -- Maurice Taylor had six of his 13 points in the burst. "That second half... I am not pleased," Knicks head coach Jeff Van Gundy said. "I just think we didn't compete. They stepped up and I don't know what would have happened tonight without our backcourt." Latrell Sprewell kept the Knicks on board with 20 points as Marcus Camby, off the bench, posted 10, making just three Knicks in double figures.
  
  Olowokandi had nine points and 11 rebounds of his own, focusing on stoping Ewing -- a work he did to perfection. The big man from Georgetown had just six points and five rebounds in 30 minutes. "We got hammered down the stretch," said Ewing, in his first game back after missing most of last season's playoffs with a torn Achilles tendon. "Give me some time to get back on track." Sprewell said that the Knicks just need to find their tune again. "We played some pretty good defense in the first half, and I think that will carry over for us, but there's definitely a lot of work to do if we want to fulfill something special." Charlie Ward scored just four points but had four assists and five steals for the Knicks, closing a back-to-back tomorrow at Golden State (0-0), as LA hosts the same Warriors on Thursday.