Don't sell them short.. Knicks can take the #1 seed

[Dantares]

18-6 under woodson. If we sustain anywhere close to that then yeah 1st should be ours.

[Bill Bradley]

Indy went from 8 to 3 from 2011 to 2012 without any major roster changes.

Indy is a young up and coming team. Knicks are literally the oldest team in the league. Big difference.

oh, you! lmao. that is such a misleading and agenda driven statement it's ridiculous.

you guys....

Actually it's not. Indy has guys like George and Hibbert who can develop further into stars. We have older vets who aren't going to dramatically improve, unless you believe the most optimistic on this board. I mean, just read the "if" statements for any post that claims we can contend: IF Felton gets in shape, IF Carmelo learns to share the ball AND be more of a leader, IF Amare puts more effort in on defense, IF Carmelo and Amare learn to play together, IF we stay injury free, etc. etc. The chances of all of these things happening are astronomically less than Indiana's young core to improve from last season.

[ORANGEandBLUE]

Ok but the fact that two of our non-rotation players are 35 and 39 (prigs and KT) has nothing to do with why we won't finish #1.

[bandwagonKnick]

18-6 under woodson. If we sustain anywhere close to that then yeah 1st should be ours.

It's not only the record, we truly showed flashes of a top seed team last year. At times, the defense was solid, stifling even. We had a lot of offensive weapons.. I wouldnt be surprised at all to be a two seed or three seed team this year. IMHO, this was gonna be our year. I wish, personally, that we still had Lin. That magic he had would have pushed us over into contention. I'm still bullish, though

[nykballa2k4]

I am trying not to sound like an a.ss but this is silly. You seriously see the Knicks going from a barely 7th seed to a 1 seed in one season? Come on. It sounds absurd when u say it out loud. Miami has an easier schedule than us & there division is not as strong as ours is. We have a pg coming off a career worst year, another pg who has lost a step & another pg that nobody knew at all before & is a 34 year old rookie. & sure Miami coasted in teh reg season but they did it all the way to a 2 seed. way to delusional.

Indy went from 8 to 3 from 2011 to 2012 without any major roster changes.

Indy is a young up and coming team. Knicks are literally the oldest team in the league. Big difference.

I hated this offseason as much as anyone, but to say Knicks don't have a legit shot at any top 3 seed is laughable. Our regular season record under Woodson shows us that we were no 7th seed. The tank job by Melo under D'Antoni was legendary. If Felton plays at his capable level and we run an offense through Melo we will have a potent defense and score enough to win more than we lose. We have a chance at #1, but I would not say that even if we got #1 that we would be favorites to win the conference

[Pharmcat]

i think #1 seed is a no go b/c 1) it will take time for every1 to gel and 2) I expect mike to rest guys as the season draws near

but this team is a east contender no doubt barring freak injury

[CrazyKnicks]

Best case scenario for this team is the 3rd seed.

Bos and Mia are better...

[Bill Bradley]

Indy went from 8 to 3 from 2011 to 2012 without any major roster changes.

Indy is a young up and coming team. Knicks are literally the oldest team in the league. Big difference.

I hated this offseason as much as anyone, but to say Knicks don't have a legit shot at any top 3 seed is laughable. Our regular season record under Woodson shows us that we were no 7th seed. The tank job by Melo under D'Antoni was legendary. If Felton plays at his capable level and we run an offense through Melo we will have a potent defense and score enough to win more than we lose. We have a chance at #1, but I would not say that even if we got #1 that we would be favorites to win the conference

I think best case scenario is the 3 seed but the OP was arguing that we had a chance at a #1 seed, which is impossible IMO.

I also think people are hanging their hat too much on a brief stretch under Woodson, especially when one of the Knicks' best players during that stretch is no longer with the team. Ironically, the same posters who constantly say that Lin had a small sample size during Linsanity are touting this brief stretch under Woodson.

[DRoberstonNYY]

i think #1 seed is a no go b/c 1) it will take time for every1 to gel and 2) I expect mike to rest guys as the season draws near

but this team is a east contender no doubt barring freak injury

unless marcus camby hurts his pinky toe in training camp

then its "well the whole team never had a full training camp together" after we struggle to be a top 4 seed

[ORANGEandBLUE]

i think #1 seed is a no go b/c 1) it will take time for every1 to gel and 2) I expect mike to rest guys as the season draws near

but this team is a east contender no doubt barring freak injury

unless marcus camby hurts his pinky toe in training camp

then its "well the whole team never had a full training camp together" after we struggle to be a top 4 seed

please... as if the melo trade and signing Tyson are comparable to adding a backup C.

The desperation in these arguments just kills me.

[blumatic]

Actually it's not. Indy has guys like George and Hibbert who can develop further into stars. We have older vets who aren't going to dramatically improve, unless you believe the most optimistic on this board. I mean, just read the "if" statements for any post that claims we can contend: IF Felton gets in shape, IF Carmelo learns to share the ball AND be more of a leader, IF Amare puts more effort in on defense, IF Carmelo and Amare learn to play together, IF we stay injury free, etc. etc. The chances of all of these things happening are astronomically less than Indiana's young core to improve from last season.

Hibbert maybe simply because he's a center. But not George Hill. Why the Spurs let him go.

The Pacers have no stars. They dont even have guys that are close to anyone on the 2004 Pistons except for maybe Tayshaun Prince.

We all call those Pistons a team without Superstars. But their defense was an all-time defense and they had players that rose to the occasion. I dont see a Billups and Ril Hamilton on that team. I dont see a Rasheed Wallace.

The Pacers play at one gear. Thats why they rack up so many wins. But they have no playoff players. They got lucky that they went up against 2 compromised teams in the playoffs.

The Pacers are just a less knuckle headed version of the Hawks. Its a team that will trouble finding an answer for an unstoppable scorer. And answer to that is to have one yourself or an all-time defense. Pacers have none.

[omerome]

Actually it's not. Indy has guys like George and Hibbert who can develop further into stars. We have older vets who aren't going to dramatically improve, unless you believe the most optimistic on this board. I mean, just read the "if" statements for any post that claims we can contend: IF Felton gets in shape, IF Carmelo learns to share the ball AND be more of a leader, IF Amare puts more effort in on defense, IF Carmelo and Amare learn to play together, IF we stay injury free, etc. etc. The chances of all of these things happening are astronomically less than Indiana's young core to improve from last season.

Hibbert maybe simply because he's a center. But not George Hill. Why the Spurs let him go.

The Pacers have no stars. They dont even have guys that are close to anyone on the 2004 Pistons except for maybe Tayshaun Prince.

We all call those Pistons a team without Superstars. But their defense was an all-time defense and they had players that rose to the occasion. I dont see a Billups and Ril Hamilton on that team. I dont see a Rasheed Wallace.

The Pacers play at one gear. Thats why they rack up so many wins. But they have no playoff players. They got lucky that they went up against 2 compromised teams in the playoffs.

The Pacers are just a less knuckle headed version of the Hawks. Its a team that will trouble finding an answer for an unstoppable scorer. And answer to that is to have one yourself or an all-time defense. Pacers have none.

I think he means Paul George.

But what I don't get is this: if the Pacers players have the chance at becoming stars, why can't our team have the chance at being a top seed? Both are not guarantees but simply optimism from both sides.

[blumatic]

Actually it's not. Indy has guys like George and Hibbert who can develop further into stars. We have older vets who aren't going to dramatically improve, unless you believe the most optimistic on this board. I mean, just read the "if" statements for any post that claims we can contend: IF Felton gets in shape, IF Carmelo learns to share the ball AND be more of a leader, IF Amare puts more effort in on defense, IF Carmelo and Amare learn to play together, IF we stay injury free, etc. etc. The chances of all of these things happening are astronomically less than Indiana's young core to improve from last season.

Hibbert maybe simply because he's a center. But not George Hill. Why the Spurs let him go.

The Pacers have no stars. They dont even have guys that are close to anyone on the 2004 Pistons except for maybe Tayshaun Prince.

We all call those Pistons a team without Superstars. But their defense was an all-time defense and they had players that rose to the occasion. I dont see a Billups and Ril Hamilton on that team. I dont see a Rasheed Wallace.

The Pacers play at one gear. Thats why they rack up so many wins. But they have no playoff players. They got lucky that they went up against 2 compromised teams in the playoffs.

The Pacers are just a less knuckle headed version of the Hawks. Its a team that will trouble finding an answer for an unstoppable scorer. And answer to that is to have one yourself or an all-time defense. Pacers have none.

I think he means Paul George.

But what I don't get is this: if the Pacers players have the chance at becoming stars, why can't our team have the chance at being a top seed? Both are not guarantees but simply optimism from both sides.

Paul George is another Wilson Chandler or Igudola. Doesnt change anything.

This board loves their youth. They love to predict big things from the young, and predict doom for the experienced vets surrounding multiple all-stars.

Again everyone on that has the same talent level, and thats really good in the regular season. Come playoff time they will lose alot games and the end when stars start to open up that lead.

[knicksnyk]

Ok, well if you want to prove that Lin is a better defender than Felton, let's see career ppg allowed in different situations. Showing me Felton's numbers from last year doesn't do much because the whole premise of this argument is that Felton has a bounce-back year.

i don't have feltons numbers sorry. and i am too lazy to search no worries. i would guess that felton is better at iso & spot ups & lin is likely better at defending the pnr. there both okay defenders imo. i dont think either is spectacular at it. i think feltons defensive rep comes from the whole "bulldog meme". anywho this convo shall end. we will agree to disagree.

[Dr. Detfink]

Amen. You'll have to excuse me, where I am from that is a prayer.

[Ursusamericanus]

I have generally found that people on the General Board seem to underrate this team as a whole.

But having said that...

I'd be happy with a top 4 seed. Anything from 1-4 would be (at the very least) the sign of a successful regular season in my eyes - and ultimately - our best record in a long time. I just want home court advantage in the first round at season's end, and I think that is a realistic goal considering our RS record under Woodson. So no, unfortunately, I really doubt this team can take the first seed overall - but I do expect to be 3rd or 4th. We all know Miami will be in another gear come playoff time which is what makes me nervous.

[Quick Kick]

This board loves their youth. They love to predict big things from the young, and predict doom for the experienced vets surrounding multiple all-stars.

+1

Gallo was the second coming of Dirk, Wilson was gonna be Pippen lite, people were reluctant to trade Channing Frye for KG, Lavor Postell was the future, etc. Things never change around here.

[Denny Crane]

the easiest road to a competitive 2nd round is by securing a 1st or 2nd seed. in the rs that means not playing down to the opponent's level, which is a sign of complacency by team leaders and poor coaching. the other thing is defense on the road. they have to show they can win on the road against sub-.500 teams. the knicks are a weird team on paper. instability and turmoil have been all fans have known for years now. it is not a given that the team can finally settle on a rotation and actually gel. and woodson has not proven he can win in the second round. it'll be fascinating in a good or a bad way.

[blueNorange]

[Illuminatos]

For a second I thought this was gonna be a NYK Mentality thread.