The New York Knicks and Brooklyn Nets were both expected to contend for the NBA championship this season. However, dismal records have forced both teams into the cellar of the Eastern conference. Many factors, such as poor leadership and injuries, can be attributed to the poor play of both teams. As a result, they find themselves in the bottom half of the league and struggling for playoff contention.

The Knicks, the second best team in the East last year, planned to achieve the same feat going into the current season. However, the Knicks have achieved the third worst record in the NBA this year. Some Knicks players have fallen victim to injuries, the most significant one being center Tyson Chandler’s knee sprain. Chandler has led the team in blocks per game. Since his absence, the Knicks have had to play Andrea Bargnani at center, leaving the power forward position weak. The Knick’s two backup power forwards, Amar’e Stoudemire and Kenyon Martin, are both playing a limited amount of minutes, as a result of their rehabilitation plan. The lack of height has allowed opponents to drive in the paint, forcing the Knicks to give up a great deal of points per game.

The Nets faced similar dilemmas to the Knicks in the first month of the NBA season. Deron Williams suffered from a sprained ankle injury and Paul Peirce broke his hand. All eyes are on rookie head coach Jason Kidd, who seems to carry most of the blame for the poor start to the season. This isn’t surprising since his coaching skills have always been in question, due to his transition from player to coach, which took place over the course of a week. The team has enough talent and can improve their winning percentage if Kidd can develop solid leadership skills and guides his team to through the rough NBA season ahead.

The Knicks and Nets have both had their setbacks in the early part of the season, due to injuries and lack of effective coaching. If both team’s players can stay healthy and manage to win games consistently, then both teams should be right on track to compete for a playoff spot at the end of the season. In the short term, hopes of a New York team winning an NBA title this season seems bleak.