The cornerstone of Knicks history, its very foundation, is the product of a single transaction that occurred on December 19, 1968. The Knicks traded perennial All-Star Walt Bellamy and pivotal backcourt star Butch Komives to the Detroit Pistons.
Detroit traded Dave DeBusschere to the Knicks.
The Knicks won eight of their first nine games with DeBusschere wearing No. 22 in orange and blue, and fourteen of their first fifteen. The long-term consequences were much greater: two championships in the following five years and a team that inspired more literature, some exquisite and some not, than even Shakespeare’s most skilled muse.
Yet as spectacular as what transpired later was, it was what transpired immediately that both spawned and immortalized the mythology of the greatest trade in Knicks history, a transaction that is second only to Babe Ruth for a bucket of cash as the best in New York sports history.
Ten games into DeBusschere’s time with the Knicks, Red Holzman told The Post’s Leonard Lewin, “His influence has been immediate and undeniable.”
Clyde Frazier stated, “We are now a complete team.”
The following should in NO WAY be regarded as evidence that Josh Hart is Dave DeBusschere. Josh Hart IS NOT Dave DeBusschere.) (Let’s get this out of the way and emphasize it once more: Josh Hart IS NOT Dave DeBusschere.)
The Knicks’ trade for Dave DeBusschere is one of the best in the history of New York sports.
Getty Pictures
OK.
Thus far?
The influence of Josh Hart on the 2022-23 Knicks has been immediate and undeniable.
Nevertheless, the most significant aspect of this is that it serves as a reminder that chemistry, which is so often forgotten or ignored while assembling the elements of a good basketball team, is still real, still relevant, and still a crucial element in the transformation of an organization.
Tom Thibodeau stated the other day, “These guys like each other, and they enjoy playing together tremendously.”
A coach will persist on this despite contradictory information, like how Steve Nash used to channel Kevin Bacon: “Remain cool! All is well!” — whenever it was apparent that Kevin Durant, Kyrie Irving, and/or James Harden would rather have a tooth pulled than play basketball together.
In the case of the Knicks, this is true. It’s not that he’s done anything spectacular; he’s merely taken approximately 25 seconds to fit in, accept his role, and begin contributing to the team’s success. It helps that players such as Quentin Grimes, whose minutes have been decreased, and Deuce McBride, whose minutes have been eliminated, have gleefully agreed that what’s best for the team is better for everyone. It also helps that Jalen Brunson, the Knicks’ head chemist, is having his best season.
Even though it feels like the worst possible time for the Knicks to have a nine-day break, the Knicks are playing as well as they have in years, including two years ago, and are a season-high six games over.500 at the All-Star break, sitting percentage points ahead of Miami in the No. 6 spot in the East.
The Knicks’.512 strength-of-schedule opponents’ winning % is the seventh-toughest in the NBA. Thirteen of the Knicks’ next 22 games are against teams currently in playoff position, and their opponents’ winning percentage is the seventh-toughest in the NBA. The Hart trade does not allow the Knicks to reach the deep end of the pool like the DeBusschere trade did almost 55 years ago.
Before the deal, though, the Knicks appeared throughout the entire season to be a.
500 team. Regardless of whether they were four over. 500 or five under, you glanced at them every night, unable to shake two digits.
Forty-one. And 41.
Now? In reality, with the Nets being a complete mystery, fifth is also a possibility (though the Nets are still three up in the loss column). Toronto, last year’s No. 5 seed, won 48 games. Can the Knicks finish the season 15-7, which would be their highest victory total in ten years?
Perhaps even this is a reach. But if what we’ve seen in the previous three games against Utah, Brooklyn, and Atlanta is true — and it feels real — why shouldn’t the Knicks believe they can reach 48? They are now playing and looking like an entirely different team.
They are now a complete team. Flawed, certainly. Outside the realm of competition? Sure.
But intact. When was the last time you were able to say that?
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