Houston appreciates importance of playoffs
Allan Houston during the team's workout in preparation for the upcoming playoff series opener against the Boston Celtics. (April 15, 2011) Credit: Patrick E. McCarthy
GREENBURGH, N.Y. -- Allan Houston initially brushed it off, never giving it much thought.
Sure, the Knicks are in the playoffs for the first time in seven seasons, and they're a decade removed from their last postseason victory. But the magnitude of it all didn't become clearer until recently, when someone closing in on his 10th birthday next week -- Houston's son, Allan III -- mentioned how excited he is to finally catch a glimpse of Knicks postseason action.
"He said, 'Dad, I can't wait to see the Knicks in the playoffs,' '' Houston told Newsday on Friday. "And I was like, 'Yeah, yeah.' Then I was like, 'Wait a minute. You have never seen the Knicks in the playoffs.' So for me, that's really when it hit home, how big this is."
Technically, the Knicks have punched a playoff ticket once previously in Allan III's lifetime, when they were swept by the Nets in 2004. However, Houston doesn't "even consider 2004 personally because I wasn't playing." He missed 36 games with a knee injury, leading to his eventual retirement.
So Houston, now a special assistant to Knicks president Donnie Walsh, knows just how starved Knicks fans are for some playoff hoops at the Garden.
"For so long, it was a given, it was a standard," Houston said. "I think a lot of fans miss that expectation. It's New York; the Knicks should be in the playoffs, they should be making a run. People are so hungry, so thirsty. It's like a drought and you smell rain, and you see some raindrops hit the ground and people are like, 'Oooh, water.' "
In fact, some already are trying to take that water and make a pitcher of Kool-Aid.
"I get the feeling a lot of New York fans feel like we are not just in the playoffs -- it wouldn't shock people if we advanced," Houston said. "And I think that's what adds a whole 'nother level of excitement to the dynamic."
As does having playoff-tested veterans such as Chauncey Billups, Carmelo Anthony and Amar'e Stoudemire in the mix,
"The three guys that everybody is talking about that have been there, they are not satisfied," Houston said. "When a team gets to the playoffs after so long, we may not admit it, but we are just kind of happy to be there. Those guys aren't just going to be happy to be in the playoffs. They've been there, done that.
"Now they are like, 'I don't care what team we are on, how new we are. Our goal isn't just to make the playoffs.' "
