Since Andrea Bargnani tore the ulnar nerve in his left elbow ending his season, the New York Knicks have gone 18-18 — not great, but that would make the playoffs in the East at least. This season the Knicks offense is a whopping 6.5 points per 100 possessions better when Bargnani is out of the game, while the defense remains almost flat (+.2 per 100 without him). When Bargnani is in street clothes the Knicks outscore opponents by +.5 per 100 (close to even, fitting their .500 record without him), with him they are -6.2 per 100.
Yet like Will Ferrell with a cowbell, Knicks coach Mike Woodson thinks the Knicks needed more of him.
Sorry Knicks fans, I wish I were making this up, but Woodson’s love of a tall lineup — which pushed Carmelo Anthony to the three when both statistics and the eye test tell you his is better at the four — has not gone away. Chris Herring of the Wall Street Journal posted this tweet about Bargnani that frustrated Knicks fans all over twitter Friday:
Woodson suggests things could've been different this yr had Bargnani stayed healthy. Used the oft-referenced "big piece of the puzzle" line
— Chris Herring (@Herring_NBA) April 11, 2014
The good news Knicks fans is that Woodson is gone soon. Whatever changes Phil Jackson has in store, Woodson is not part of the future.
Woodson loved Bargnani’s size — a seven footer who shoots threes — and the Italian averaged 13.3 points a game for the Knicks. However, Bargnani has an aversion to rebounding and his help defense is non-existent, which led to all kinds of issues. All that for just $11.9 million this season! What a deal!
Woodson seemed to love the idea of Bargnani, Anthony and Tyson Chandler together and injuries limited that trio to just 189 minutes together this season — but in those minutes the Knicks were outscored by 11.2 points per 100 possessions. The offense stumbled and the defense allowed 114.9 points per 100, 8 more than the team average this season.
Bargnani is Phil Jackson’s problem now. Bargnani is owed $11.5 million next season and while Jackson may want to try to trade him (or Amar’e Stoudemire) expiring contracts are not worth as much in the new CBA as they were before. There will be little to no market for Bargnani (who is represented by CAA, by the way).
