Hop Aboard the New York Knicks Time Machine

Walk with me into the happy past of Metropolis basketball. The year was 2003. A prodigal point guard blew into the city with the Sound and Fury everyone knew would signify nothing. Mt. Mutombo had been reduced to a towel-waving bench fixture, the rebirth of Penny Hardaway got stuck somewhere on Canal St., Kurt Thomas had not proven to be the antidote to the Anthony Mason blues, and Keith Van Horn was just discovering the Italian Job that is life as a versatile white player in the NBA.