I must admit, as a diehard Knicks fan going back to the days of Patrick Ewing, that headline was painful to write.

During the 90s, the Knicks teams of Ewing, John Starks, Charles Oakley, Anthony Mason and Derek Harper, and later, Allan Houston, Latrell Spreewell and Larry Johnson, gave New York basketball fans a reason to hope, to believe year after year that maybe—just maybe—this would be there year. The odds were stacked against them and the landscape of the NBA was treacherous with Jordan's Bulls, Hakeem's Rockets, Tim Hardaway's Miami Heat and Reggie Miller's Indiana Pacers, but the Knicks teams of old were deep enough in talent, heart and grit that fans could at least have a reason to watch and believe. And the two times they came closest, a heartbreaking seven-game loss in the '94 Finals to the Rockets and an injury-marred five-game '99 Finals exit to Tim Duncan's Spurs, Knicks fans could even dare to dream.

Sadly, dream is all that Knicks fans can do these days, especially in the state the Knicks are in right now. True, the season is only 8 games old for the Knicks, but prospects are not looking all that great, and they have the 3-5 record to show for it.

Amar'e Stoudemire is playing again, but with limited minutes and, let's face it, little to no chance of ever becoming the Stoudemire of old thanks to the effects of the reoccurring knee injuries that have seriously limited his abilities on the court. Carmelo Anthony is still Carmelo Anthony, but the Knicks are still revolving around a Melo-centric offense that lives and dies with him depending upon the night. New acquisition Andrea Bargnani showed some impressive signs on defense—normally a weak point for him—Thursday against the monstrous Dwight Howard, but unless he continues to remain constant with that, he's not a player that's scaring anyone. And with the Knicks being slammed in the salary cap for the next two seasons—Bargnani, Stoudemire and Chandler eat up a combined $50 million-plus each of those seasons—the Knicks are out of the running for a 2014 free agent class that includes Kobe Bryant, LeBron James, Dirk Nowitzki, Zach Randolph, Rudy Gay and more.

And that's just for starters.

Here's five key reasons why the Knicks won't be holding a championship parade down the Canyon of Heroes in Manhattan anytime soon:

5. Point Guard Spot is Weak

It was very difficult to see how one man could have provided so much direction for a team, but future NBA Hall of Famer Jason Kidd really did make a world of difference in his one season in New York. It was evident over the course of the season how much of a difference he made in the way the Knicks played. They passed the ball until they found the right shot. They were balanced. They were inclusive. And they maximized all the pieces they had, which manifested itself into the first Atlantic Division title for the Knicks in nearly 20 years. Now, Kidd is gone, retired from playing to coach the Nets, leaving the Knicks with Raymond Felton, who is struggling mightily from the field with a subpar 37.6 percent shooting average while putting up only 11.6 points with 5.3 assists, as opposed to the dependable 15.7 points, 6.9 assists and 43.8 percent shooting he started out with in his first 10 games last season. Pablo Prigioni is a decent role player, but at 36 years old, he's running on borrowed time and Beno Udrih and Chris Smith aren't going to be much better. Bottom line: the Knicks need a high-caliber point guard to get things going on offense. The name Rajon Rondo comes to mind, but the Knicks would have to wait until he comes off the books in 2015, and even then, there's no guarantee that Rondo will be available.

4. Front Line is Aging, Ailing

It's one of the saddest sights in the world: a great player starting to break down. That's the sight Knicks fans have had to endure with Amar'e Stoudemire since near the end of his first season in New York—the one where just a summer earlier, he proclaimed "The Knicks are back." Knee issues, freak injuries, and an inability to mesh with Melo on the floor on offense have hampered Stoudemire, who was playing at an MVP-like level in the first half of 2010-11. Tyson Chandler has won big accolades, including the Defensive Player of the Year trophy and an NBA All-Star appearance since arriving on the Knicks while bringing a defensive discipline that was sorely needed. He's the heart and soul of the Knicks at the moment, but injuries at the end of last season and the start of this season, in part thanks to his physical style of play, could be a harbinger of bad things to come. The Knicks' frontline experiment has never really had a chance to get off the ground thanks to bad injuries and a lack of chemistry, so blowing it up and starting over—Kevin Love, anyone?—sounds more realistic than expecting a title with this current frontline staff.

3. Live By The Three, Die By The Three

Last season, the Knicks were tied with Western Conference Champion San Antonio for team three-point percentage, New York draining 37.6 percent of their downtown bombs. Those daggers helped them beat many opponents en route to the semifinals. But the defensive-minded Pacers took that weapon away from them, and the Knicks struggled in their six-game series loss to Indiana. This season, the Knicks are ranked a mere 19th out of 30 among team three-point percentage (33.7 percent), a situation not helped by losing sharpshooting Steve Novak to Toronto in the trade that brought Bargnani to New York. The Knicks have to focus on a better way of creating shots, distributing the ball better and finding the best shot, as they did last season.

2. No Help In Sight From Free Agency

Former Knicks GM Donnie Walsh did a spectacular job helping the Knicks escape out of salary cap hell, the legacy left behind by a decade of bad deals and poor decisions by ex-GMs Scott Layden and Isaiah Thomas. The result was a Knicks team free to pursue big names including Stoudemire, Anthony and Chandler, who transformed New York from a laughingstock back into a serious name. However, with that trio taking up $57.2 million this season and $61.5 million in 2014-15, they've also eaten away a lot of the salary cap and taken away the Knicks' chances of signing any premier stars available on the market next summer—a class that happens to include LeBron James, Chris Bosh and Rudy Gay. Add that to Bargnani's contract and there isn't any help coming for at least two seasons.

1. Carmelo Can't Be The Whole Show

One man can't power a whole team by himself. Even one as great as Carmelo. Last season, Anthony had an MVP-caliber year by capturing the NBA scoring title-the first for the Knicks since Bernard King in 1985—with 28.7 points per game. However, relying on one scorer to be the entire offense isn't going to get the Knicks anywhere. It didn't work for Michael Jordan until he got help in Scottie Pippin and a host of other strong role players. It didn't work for LeBron in Cleveland, so he took his talents to South Beach with Wade and Bosh, and now they're two-time world champions. Stoudemire was supposed to be the scoring partner Anthony desperately needed, but he may never get healthy enough to be that guy. Chandler is a great defender and rebounder, but he's never been an offensive threat. Felton has struggled as of late, his shooting way off the mark, and J.R. Smith's streaky play and off-the-court antics make him unreliable. Without help, and fast, Anthony could decide to take his talents elsewhere next summer, as well.