Amar'e Stoudemire says Atlantic Division is still wide open

Ever the optimist, New York Knicks power forward Amar'e Stoudemire scans the flaming wreckage of his team's first 21 games of 2014-15 - the worst such start in franchise history - and sees not despair, but opportunity.  

"With Toronto and (DeMar) DeRozan being hurt now, you never know how that team is going to end up. Brooklyn’s not playing great. The division is still open," Stoudemire said, according to ESPN New York's Ian Begley. "We've just got to turn this thing around." 

Turning "this thing" around might be a whole lot easier said than done. The Knicks have been a disaster on both sides of the ball, ranking 21st in the league in offensive rating and 27th on defense. They're 4-17 and have lost seven games in a row, their most recent defeat coming at the hands of a miserable Charlotte Hornets team on a 10-game skid of its own.  

Of course, there's still a ton of basketball to be played this season, and, as Brooklyn Nets point guard Deron Williams reminded us Friday, things can turn around in a hurry, especially in the Eastern Conference.

"That’s the thing about the East," said Williams, whose 8-10 Nets hold the eighth seed in the conference. "You win four or five in a row and your season changes." 

But if the Knicks have their sights set on an Atlantic Division crown, they'll have to dig themselves out of a serious hole, as they've already fallen 11.5 games behind the first-place Raptors.