VANTAGE POINT
Knicks’ guard history hasn’t been great of late
HE POSITION of point guard for the New York Knicks ought to carry the same weight, the same gravitas, and the same roster of excellence that center field for the Yankees always has.
New York, after all, long fancied itself as the cradle of point guards, and even if there are plenty who will line up and tell you that always has been an overblown bit of self praise, this has been a fertile training ground for point guards, going all the way back to Bob Cousy and Dick McGuire.
Derrick Rose’s arrival only underlines how up-and-down the Knicks’ search for a New Clyde has been going back to the Old Clyde, the real Clyde, Walt Frazier, the greatest point guard the Knicks ever have had. But we’re coming up on 50 years since his arrival — and 40 since his departure — and the intervening years haven’t been kind.
CLYDE (1967-77) — He set the standard, on the court and off. He is the only point guard to lead a championship Knicks team, and in 1970 he made that happen, in essence, by himself with a Game 7 for the ages. Nobody was — is — cooler than Clyde. And for a portion of that time, his backup was Rice High’s own Dean “The Dream” Meminger. Arrow points: Way, way, way, WAY up. BUTCH BEARD/JIM CLEAMONS (1978) — Lets just say this is like watching Lin Manuel Miranda perform “Hamilton” one day, and Tony Clifton the next. Arrow: Straight down. MICHEAL RAY RICHARDSON (1979-82) — Oh, what could have been. Sugar’s best days were ahead, in Jersey, but he showed enough with the Knicks that he could electrify the Garden at a time when the power was mostly off. For “ship-be-sinkin’” alone, he is an immortal. And he did bring Bernard King in a trade. Arrow: Solidly up. RORY SPARROW (1983-87) — In memory, it seems like Sparrow played 6,000 games for the Knicks. He did engineer a brief renaissance in 1983 and ’84, mostly by doing the smart thing and getting the ball to Bernard. A lot. Darrell Walker was an able backup, though he was mostly a defensive artist. Arrow: Evenly across. MARK JACKSON I (19881992) — Looking back, it is depressing (and, really, inexplicable) that this didn’t work out better. He was fantastic in winning Rookie of the Year, and perfect for Pat Riley’s maiden voyage in 1993. In be- tween he somehow lost his job to 70-year-old Mo Cheeks. And there should have been no greater dream pairing than Jackson and fellow city native Rod Strickland. There are a lot of depressing things about watching the Knicks. This was up there. Arrow: on balance, slightly up.
DOC RIVERS (1993) — This essentially comprised one year, but he is the only Knicks point guard other than Clyde to win 60 games, and he was a perfect ele- ment on what was probably the second-best Knicks team ever, 1992-93. Then he hurt his knee. And he became a ghost. Arrow: slightly higher up.
DEREK HARPER (1994-97) — He was an able replacement for Rivers and he made some huge shots in the Finals run of ’94, and he memorably almost took out David Stern during a wild brawl in Chicago. His best years were behind him in Dallas, but he was capable. Arrow: exactly as up as Rivers.
CHRIS CHILDS/CHARLIE WARD (1998-2001) — This tandem led the Knicks to the Finals in 1999, but Childs was supposed to be a major impact free agent and he was only so-so. Ward was a solid presence for a decade. Arrow: Even.
JACKSON II (2002) — He actually averaged a respectable 7.2 assists. But the magic was gone. And the Knicks’ endless descent was at hand. Arrow: Slightly down.
HOWARD EISLEY (2003) — Let the freefall begin. Arrow: steeply down.
STEPHON MARBURY (2004-08) — Given he was Brooklyn born, and imported by Isiah Thomas, and that he always had all the gifts to be a transcendent star … well. This was probably the nadir. Arrow: straight down.
CHRIS DUHON (2009-10) — From whom little is expected … Arrow: down
RAY FELTON I/CHAUNCEY BILLUPS (2011) — Felton was a folk hero the first time around, and Billups showed why he was such a consistent winner before he got hurt. Arrow: Up.
IMAN SHUMPERT/BARON DAVIS/MIKE BIBBY (2012) — In a word: Ugh. Arrow: down.
FELTON II/JASON KIDD (2013) — A dynamic pairing, with Kidd giving his last spasms of greatness to a 54-win cause and Felton picking up where he left off. Arrow: Way up.
FELTON III (2014) — Without Kidd, Felton on his own became, overnight, one of the least popular Knicks in history. Arrow: Way down.
JOSE CALDERON (2015-16) — The record speaks for itself. Arrow: Way down.