Go ahead, Knicks fans, enjoy it — because we all know it won’t last.
Before the Manhattan Knicks take on the Brooklyn Nets in the first game of what is sure to become a heated cross-river rivalry on Nov. 26, this column offers its sincere congratulations to a Knicks squad that came out of the gate red hot and won its first six games.
Kudos.
But don’t think for a minute that a single winning streak will be enough to keep Brooklyn’s hoops fans clad in blue and orange forever.
Manhattan big man Amare Stoudemire will come back from knee surgery and get back to his old ways — meaning he’ll command more shots and throw off the nice chemistry the Knicks established early this season. Then the old guys will start playing like old guys (we’re talking about you, Rasheed Wallace), and the Knicks will revert back to that team you all know and loathe.
Brooklynites, this is your opportunity to take your fandom out of incompetent grasp of the Isiah Thomases and James Dolans of the world and anchor it to the Nets team right in your backyard.
We understand the names Brook Lopez, Kris Humphries, Andre Blatche, and Reggie Evans don’t elicit the level of excitement that makes it easy to convert — but these guys can ball.
Put the days of Amare’s knees (and back) and Eddy Curry’s contract in your rearview mirror for good. Never mind that the Knicks haven’t had a competent front court since the days of Patrick Ewing. It can all be forgotten.
Lopez, the Nets center, is one of the best low-post threats in the game and could match Stoudemire bucket for bucket on any given night.
Knicks fans can point to reigning Defensive Player of the Year Tyson Chandler all they want — but there’s no way around the fact Nets forward Kris Humphries averaged more points and rebounds per game last year.
Best not wait until the Nets have hung a championship banner from the rafters of the Barclays Center before lining up with a winner.
Tom Lafe is a 6-foot-5 sports world insider with a middling high school basketball career who believes the Nets will be driven by the success of the team’s big men.
