Sean B. Fitzgerald It doesn’t go something like this, it goes exactly like this.

NBA Playoffs (New York style)

I've made my loyalties very clear, I believe. In terms of my rooting interests, the Yankees dominate all else. Which is why I pay so much attention to baseball in general. I like to know who's playing well, who isn't, and who is likely to compete favorably against the Yankees. When in comes to generic viewing, football takes center stage. Personally, I'd rather watch a week 15 game between the Browns and Raiders than watch mostly anything else.

And then there is basketball. I love basketball. I've been playing it all my life and know all levels of the game very well. Especially college. But love isn't a word I would attribute to the NBA playoffs. Maybe it's because the Knicks haven't had the opportunity to join in the festivities in quite some time, but I feel it's something else.

Perhaps it's the length. Wait no, not perhaps, definitely. It's definitely the length. In case you were wondering, the Knicks ended their season on April 14th. Free agency doesn't start until July 1st. That's two and a half months of playoff basketball in between.

Does there really need to be FOUR best of SEVEN series to determine a champion? There must be a more efficient way. Now, this is the part of the post where I transition into a proposal for just such a playoff system.

Not here. I'll just continue to bitch and moan until the playoffs end and July 1st arrives. The day basketball will matter again here in New York. And it doesn't really matter who we get in free agency. The point of the past 3 years was eventual flexibility with cap room. The Knicks were so saddles with bad contracts (i.e. Francis, James, Curry), that there seemed to be no light at the end of the tunnel. But thanks to Donnie Walsh, New York has some wiggle room. Sure, two max-contract guy would be ideal, but is it reasonable to expect it?

Hopefully, Knick fans ARE more reasonable and won't get soured when James decides to take his one-man show elsewhere.