May 6, 2012; New York, NY, USA; New York Knicks small forward Carmelo Anthony (7) drives to the basket between Miami Heat power forward Chris Bosh (1) and shooting guard Dwyane Wade (3) during the second half of game four in the Eastern Conference quarterfinals of the 2012 NBA Playoffs at Madison Square Garden. Knicks won 89-87. Mandatory Credit: Debby Wong-US PRESSWIRE

Heading into the first round of the 2012 NBA Playoffs, I heard countless people say the New York Knicks were the sleeper team in the Eastern Conference.

Everytime I heard this false statement whether it be from blogger and radio personality Susan Shan or friend Richard Green, I shock my head and held all curse words within to keep my circle of sports friends and colleagues nip-tuck. But deep down, I wanted to rip every single one of them a new one.

Let’s face it, Amar’e Stoudemire and Carmelo Anthony haven’t gelled since day one. Before Melo came to New York around last season’s trade deadline Stoudemire was a force to be reckoned with and was a mid-season MVP candidate. Not a bottom of the ballot nominee, but a top three hopeful.

Once Melo arrived, Stoudemire’s numbers and his attitude towards the game went away. It carried over to this season. The big guy did suffer some injuries and his brother pasted away, but at the end of the day he didn’t have a great season and looked like a shell of himself from just a year ago.

Not only was Stoudemire lost, but so was the New York offense because it relied on Melo to do everything. Melo is a scorer, not a distributor or the kind of guy a team should getleadership from. He was put into a position to fail. The same position he held with the Denver Nuggets that ended with the same result.

Apr 28, 2012; Miami, FL, USA; New York Knicks point guard Jeremy Lin (center) greets point guard Baron Davis (left) and guard Landry Fields (right) before game one in the Eastern Conference quarterfinals against the Miami Heat of the 2012 NBA Playoffs at the American Airlines Arena. Mandatory Credit: Steve Mitchell-US PRESSWIRE

The Knicks’ offense needed a distributor who could set up Stoudemire and Melo for easier baskets. Jeremy Lin had a great three week run but then broke down in both game play and physically. Veteran Baron Davis came in and did his thing (nowhere near his once All-Star level), but then he too got hit with the injury bug.

With all of these issues/problems surrounding their two best players and a point scoring scheme, how in the hell were the Knicks supposed to win four games in a seven game series against the Miami Heat?

My answer: they weren’t.

Basketball fans and commentators bought into the hype and the story lines of the Miami-New York series and daydreamed an unbelievable ending. ESPN and other nationwide sports media outlets have a love affair with huge market teams such as the Boston Celtics, the Los Angeles Lakers and the Knicks. Whenever they’re in the playoffs or have a superstar level player, these teams are NBA Finals hopefuls.

Sorry to bring the daydreamers back to reality, but the Knicks were out of the first round before it began.

Miami doesn’t only have one point guard who can run a team, but three in Mario Chalmers, Dwyane Wade and LeBron James.

The Heat don’t have a once dominant power forward who is now just okay (Stoudemire), but a still dominant power forward who has had a great season as a third option in Chris Bosh.

May 9, 2012; Miami, FL, USA; Miami Heat power forward Udonis Haslem (40) is fouled by New York Knicks power forward Amare Stoudemire (1) during the second half of game five in the Eastern Conference quarterfinals of the 2012 NBA Playoffs at the American Airlines Arena. Mandatory Credit: Steve Mitchell-US PRESSWIRE

If an observer looks past the big three, Udonis Haslem’s presence on both the boards and in the low post offense would be seen. Joel Anthony is probably the biggest offensive liability in professional basketball, however, he is a force on the other side of the ball.

The Miami Heat, unlike last season, are not the circus but an elite team that have the odds on their side to win this seasons’ NBA Championship. New York is now the former. They have the constant media chit chat surrounding them and a cameraman ready to film their self-destruct.

LeBron, Wade and company picked their spots and played their game while the Knicks were suffocated by their own demons.

In my opinion, a team with only one of its main players playing his A-game will never beat a full-functioning team with the talent of the Miami Heat.

New York found this out the hard way.

Game 4 had an identity of its own. Heat were atrocious offensively, missing 11 free throws and shooting 15.8% (3 of 19) from three point range. Miami also allowed New York to go on a 19-2 run in the 3rd, and were inconsistent throughout the game. Looking at the numbers it looks like Miami did a decent job defensively, but there were definitely some flaws.

May 6, 2012; New York, NY, USA; New York Knicks small forward Carmelo Anthony (7) drives to the basket between Miami Heat power forward Chris Bosh (1) and shooting guard Dwyane Wade (3) during the second half of game four in the Eastern Conference quarterfinals of the 2012 NBA Playoffs at Madison Square Garden. Knicks won 89-87. Mandatory Credit: Debby Wong-US PRESSWIRE

First of all, you can’t let Carmelo Anthony score 41. Yes he’s going to get his looks, but as an elite defensive team you cannot allow a volume shooter to connect on more than 50% of his shots. Apart from the big performance by ‘Melo, Amar’e Stoudemire scored 20 points and grabbed 10 rebounds with practically one hand. Having his hand wrapped in tons of layers, he couldn’t handle the ball properly with his left hand, but outworked all of Miami’s frontcourt. He scored points off offensive rebounds and had his way in the paint.

Miami simply can’t allow that kind of performance. This is the playoffs and just because a guy is banged up doesn’t mean you go easy on him. Miami have to be a lot more physical, and make sure Amar’e doesn’t settle into a nice rhythm. When you have a chance – whack on that left hand, push him around, do anything to upset him and make him lose his focus.

May 6, 2012; New York, NY, USA; New York Knicks small forward Carmelo Anthony (7) and Miami Heat small forward LeBron James (6) exchange words on the court during the first half of game four in the Eastern Conference quarterfinals of the 2012 NBA Playoffs at Madison Square Garden. Mandatory Credit: Debby Wong-US PRESSWIRE

The major problem was obviously Anthony. A lot of people emphasize the fact that Wade missed a game-winning shot. But if you watched the game you would know that Miami were lucky to even be in a one possession game. Shane Battier fouled Anthony on a 3-point attempt with 25 seconds left on the clock. If Anthony, who is the most clutch player in the league, had not missed 2 of his 3 free throws, Knicks would have had a 6 point lead, putting the game seemingly out of reach.

So what is the conclusion? Do not let Battier guard Anthony, especially in crunch time. Battier is still a capable defender, but you cannot argue the fact that he simply isn’t quick enough to shut down Anthony. For the first 3 games James and Battier took turns guarding Anthony, significantly reducing his productivity, but I cannot for the life of me understand why James wasn’t the one guarding Carmelo down the stretch.

May 6, 2012; New York, NY, USA; New York Knicks point guard Baron Davis (85) gestures to the crowd as he is carried off the court after an injury against the Miami Heat during the second half of game four in the Eastern Conference quarterfinals of the 2012 NBA Playoffs at Madison Square Garden. Knicks won 89-87. Mandatory Credit: Debby Wong-US PRESSWIRE

As if the Knicks didn’t face enough injury problems, Baron Davis was carried out of game 4 on a stretcher after the freaky accident. Davis suffered a dislocated kneecap, two torn ligaments as well as a torn tendon. The injury will keep Davis out for at least a year. Knicks will have to rely on Mike Bibby to play big minutes.

Heat have been amazing at home this season, tieing San Antonio for the best home record of the regular season, with a record of 28-5. I highly doubt the Knicks have another amazing performance in them, especially with all the injuries. Even so, the Heat will need to come out with a higher intensity and play a lot more physical, abusing the fact that the Knicks are banged up. They will also need to step up offensively, attack the basket, and shoot a higher percentage on open looks.