Well, it has been an unsurprisingly tough month for the Knicks. They are currently on a six game skid with

two very winnable games coming up this week. The Bobcats and Pacers are two of the three Eastern Conference teams with worse records than the lowly Knicks. A week and a half ago I would have been fairly confident that the Knicks would win both these games, but after that pathetic loss to Minnesota on Friday (not to mention they are now 0-3 against the Milwaukee Bucks?!), the Knicks are looking more like their depressingly terrible old selves, as opposed to the bright, new future that D’Antoni was supposed to usher in.

It all goes back to the inconsistency of this team. They lose to terrible teams like Minnesota and Milwaukee but give good teams like the Lakers and Nuggets tough games. This has its roots in the Knicks lack of any remnants of a defense. The T’Wolves average 95 points per game, that’s good enough for seventh lowest in the NBA. But they walk into the Garden on Friday night and put up 120. That’s pathetic to the point of impotence. The Timberwolves have two players that average more than ten points per game, they had six go for 11 or more against the Knicks.

The problem is that when you don’t play defense you have to rely on your offense to win games. And the Knicks offense is far from reliable. Coach D’Antoni’s offensive system relies heavily on pushing the ball and outside shooting. The Knicks’ players are well suited to push the ball but don’t have any dependable shooters. They don’t have one player who shoots better than 40% from beyond the arc (Duhon shoots the highest percentage at 39%) and are ranked 26th in the NBA in field goal percentage. As long as the Knicks lack reliable shooters, they will continue to struggle under Mike D’Antoni.

That being said, I’m not even close to giving up on this team. They had a very tough schedule this month – as I pointed out – and their record reflects that. But from one perspective, it’s almost like Knicks fans can’t lose this season. The Knicks were not expected to make the playoffs this year and, if they don’t, will be in the lottery again. With another high draft pick, the Knicks can continue to prepare for the 2010 season. At

the same time, the Knicks could just as easily sneak into the playoffs this season. Even with their current six game losing streak, the Knickerbockers find themselves only two games removed from that eight seed in the East.

Even though it’s more beneficial over the long term for the Knicks to end up in the lottery, it would be so sweet to see them in the playoffs. Knick fans have gone four long, dreadful, playoffless seasons and waiting two more years for the Knicks to become relevant again is too painful to think about.