Jazzfan1971 and FloppyMoose's Offseason Preview - The Knicks

[hands11]

You think they'll be worse than last season? They have a major upgrade at PG from 31 mpg of the worst starting PG in the NBA to Calderon, and THJ and Shump should be better this season, too.

The frontcourt situation is bad, but I think they'll still be better than last season based on the improvement in the backcourt and at Head Coach (I think Fisher will be pretty good at maximizing talent). I expect much more effort this season, too. If they stay healthy, I can see 40-42 wins in the East. Maybe get to the second round.

A sleeper team for sure. They could well be in the battle for the last playoff spots.

Amere's last two months showed promise.

http://espn.go.com/nba/player/gamelog/_ ... stoudemire

And lets not forget the beat TOR twice and CHI down the stretch. Also they ran off 8-0 in March be it mostly against weak teams. They did beat IND in that run and MIN. They also beat GSW last March.

New Coach. New GM. New PG. Slim Melo. Amare returning to form.

They might surprise some people.

[hands11]

Nice flash back video.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jqhiTafdOmk#t=11[/youtube]

[hands11]

Can anybody do these? I'm gonna make my own nba preview threads

Of COURSE anyone can do them. All it takes is an opinion and a keyboard. (isn't that obvious? )

Not sure thats a good idea.

Now we will have all kind of these threads.

[floppymoose]

I do plan to make a contest thread for predicting the records (and order of finish) for all 30 nba teams. But that will come later.

[NoLayupRule]

the rebuild the knicks are employing is not the typical one but it is a proven one

some destinations demand rebuilding through the draft, as stated the knicks are a top destination and have deepest pockets. Now with Phil and Melo they hold some legitimacy too.

Building through the draft is a challenge. In todays league the player you hope to get in the draft doesn't usually develop until that player is ready for full free agency. Unless you get very lucky as with Durant, Lillard, etc you are looking at a 4 year build with a good player. Look at Clev getting 3 #1 overalls in 4 years and still being garbage before LeBron returned and they could trade for love.


Back to the knicks - young talent like Hardaway, Early and Shumpert show some prospect but the team will be built on this coming summer or the trade deadline in 2014 - unless Phil sees the cap significantly jumping as rumored and is able to hold off for 2016.

If at the deadline massive expirings and young guys like the ones listed above are enticing enough to land another all star player Phil may go in. Otherwise I expect the cap space - be it 15mil without moves or more with - will be spread to 2 quality pieces to augment Melo's game

Phil's championship teams have always had at least one superstar, one near superstar and many quality role players. Obviously an argument could be made that the #2s were also superstars but I think Pippen, Gasol and young Kobe were made superstars by their playing with true superstars in MJ, prime Kobe and Shaq respectively.

Not sure what the deep pockets can do in the cap NBA but I know Dolan will keep spending and Jackson will keep swapping out for talented players.

thanks for the preview

we shall see!

[BodyCount]

Stat's a mystery man, as well. He played very well toward the end of the season and has not had any setbacks since. It has been a few years now since he's had this kind of good health entering a season, and if he is healthy he will start and play well. But that's always a big, big if with him.

yeah, he really isn't mentioned a lot this days is he?
I think if he keeps performing as he did toward end of the season he'll be a legit second scoring option. After watching summer league and some plays we were running I also think he might do really great in new system. Seems PF might need to shoot mid range jumpers and he's hitting those great. He's also still agile enough to contribute a lot, so I have high hopes with him on pick and rolls, cutting, and under the basket.

I just hope they'll somehow figure out something regarding his defense and that he'll adapt and stop holding the ball. If he and Anthony really embrace the system, we'll watch some good looking basketball, if not, no system can help us.

[cammac]

Fair assessment of the NYKs but see them a little better fighting for 8th in the East. It depends on health and the triangle working? I can see them floating around 500 or winning 32 games.

[Destructor]

the rebuild the knicks are employing is not the typical one but it is a proven one

some destinations demand rebuilding through the draft, as stated the knicks are a top destination and have deepest pockets. Now with Phil and Melo they hold some legitimacy too.

Building through the draft is a challenge. In todays league the player you hope to get in the draft doesn't usually develop until that player is ready for full free agency. Unless you get very lucky as with Durant, Lillard, etc you are looking at a 4 year build with a good player. Look at Clev getting 3 #1 overalls in 4 years and still being garbage before LeBron returned and they could trade for love.


Back to the knicks - young talent like Hardaway, Early and Shumpert show some prospect but the team will be built on this coming summer or the trade deadline in 2014 - unless Phil sees the cap significantly jumping as rumored and is able to hold off for 2016.

If at the deadline massive expirings and young guys like the ones listed above are enticing enough to land another all star player Phil may go in. Otherwise I expect the cap space - be it 15mil without moves or more with - will be spread to 2 quality pieces to augment Melo's game

Phil's championship teams have always had at least one superstar, one near superstar and many quality role players. Obviously an argument could be made that the #2s were also superstars but I think Pippen, Gasol and young Kobe were made superstars by their playing with true superstars in MJ, prime Kobe and Shaq respectively.

Not sure what the deep pockets can do in the cap NBA but I know Dolan will keep spending and Jackson will keep swapping out for talented players.

thanks for the preview

we shall see!

I think for the Knicks to field a true title contender, they'd need at least another true superstar next to Melo seeing as he's not on the same level as MJ, Kobe or Shaq. I don't see Phil going this way though. I think he'll take a more balanced approach and try a construct a complimentary team with at least 1-2 other all stars and a supporting cast that can maximize the Triangle scheme, create open looks at the three point line and play top 10 defense. This is where I think Melo's contract might come back to bite them.

[DG88]

I don't see how they get worse

They'll actually be running an offense




Sent from my iPhone using RealGM Forums

Great but what about their defense?

[Left Side Drive]

Knicks fans keep saying how can the team have a worse record this year than last year since they supposedly improved their roster? I say it's mostly because the rest of the East has improved drastically as well. Add to the fact that the team is implementing a new offensive system and having a rookie head coach, it's going to give them a rough start to the season.

However, I can definitely see the Knicks heading in the right direction with a no nonsense manager in Phil Jackson. I say wait a few years Knicks fans.

[omerome]

I don't see how they get worse

They'll actually be running an offense




Sent from my iPhone using RealGM Forums

Great but what about their defense?

If it's the same as last year, they should still be better, just based on a better offense. For most of last year, the Knicks looked like a team that didn't know what they were doing - on both sides of the ball.

I won't say they will be a good team because they still have a lot of question marks, but I would be completely shocked if they are a worse team than last year; completely shocked.

[omerome]

Knicks fans keep saying how can the team have a worse record this year than last year since they supposedly improved their roster? I say it's mostly because the rest of the East has improved drastically as well. Add to the fact that the team is implementing a new offensive system and having a rookie head coach, it's going to give them a rough start to the season.

However, I can definitely see the Knicks heading in the right direction with a no nonsense manager in Phil Jackson. I say wait a few years Knicks fans.

While true that the east improved, I wouldn't say it was drastic; more like a leveling of the playing field.

I do agree that learning a new system will take some time, but just having a coaching staff/management that has a plan and players who are motivated for different reasons should at least keep the Knicks hoving around the 8th seed. The Knicks lost most of their games because of bad coaching, poor execution, and terrible shooting. Those issues were mostly addressed in the off-season. They still have a ways to go before they can truely compete, though.

[DG88]

I don't see how they get worse

They'll actually be running an offense




Sent from my iPhone using RealGM Forums

Great but what about their defense?

If it's the same as last year, they should still be better, just based on a better offense. For most of last year, the Knicks looked like a team that didn't know what they were doing - on both sides of the ball.

I won't say they will be a good team because they still have a lot of question marks, but I would be completely shocked if they are a worse team than last year; completely shocked.

It's not like they were a terrible offensive team, the Knicks could score, they had an offensive rating of 105.4 good for 11th in the league, it was there defense that was terrible at 106.5 ranking 24th. The problem is that the triangle offense is not an easy offense to learn add to that they defensively they're no better then last year. The only player that can play defense in the starting lineup is Shumpert! I say they win around 35 games next year.

[omerome]

It's not like they were a terrible offensive team, the Knicks could score, they had an offensive rating of 105.4 good for 11th in the league, it was there defense that was terrible at 106.5 ranking 24th. The problem is that the triangle offense is not an easy offense to learn add to that they defensively they're no better then last year. The only player that can play defense in the starting lineup is Shumpert! I say they win around 35 games next year.

Interesting that they were ranked that high, because the offense was as innovative as adding milk to chocolate.

Even if the triangle offense is not easy to learn, it should be better than what Woodson drew up, because at least now we'd get to see movement on the court instead of standing around. It was a predicatible offense that was easy to figure out, especially in the fourth quarter - i.e., give the ball to Melo or JR at end of the shot clock and take a forced shot.

You're right about the defense, though. The team will struggle to stop opponents because they don't have many defense-minded players. Hopefully the team can focus on team defense like a zone instead of man-to-man, because if we go with the latter, ouch...

[RememberLu]

I completely agree with Jazz Fan's assessment of the Knicks and I've been saying the same thing for years. All that stuff about skipping steps rings true, the management is constantly looking to wheel and deal and by doing so thereby ruins the team by preventing chemistry from forming. Granted other factors like injuries and poor coaching go into that too. For all their disastrous FA and trade moves, ironically, Knicks seem to draft decently well. But none of that matters when you move your young talent at a whim to chase the next big money FA or trade.

I'm hoping at long last for some stability for the Knicks at the FO and coaching level. It all starts at the top.

[digitaldropoff]

The Knicks should be on par for last season. Calderon is better, but he's also one year old....while he's a better defender than his previous holder of the position, he's still very easy to get around....especially the kids that have a decade on him. Shump and Smith have talent, they just don't get it. I would expect both get shopped hard for minimal returns. Hardaway Jr. looks promising, but he's got the look of just a really good role player....which every team needs. Melo is obviously the best the Knicks have, but that's where it goes all down hill. Daly has been a stiff since his days with the Sixers....and anyone counting on Amare doing anything beneficial the entire year is smoking mad rocks. Bargs is in a contract year, but that doesn't hide the fact that he's not that good to begin with. I don't see Fisher or Jackson having a big impact this year with the current roster...it's a bad fit for the offense they are trying to run, and the defense they'd hope to have. Any team with a decent post player will slaughter the Knicks nightly....and if Calderon, or even worse...Melo gets nicked up for any length of time.....they don't sniff the playoffs.

[j4remi]

I think they'll outperform that 32 win projection but can't argue with a projection on a squad that has so many question marks. That said, I think it's important to note just how abysmal the Knicks were in close games late...I don't have the record but I know they had a ridiculous number of losses in games decided by 5 or less and that's a place where I see signs they'll see improvement. Melo is in better shape, the offense has a real system instead of ISO reliance late, there's SF depth to rest Melo some more and most importantly a competent PG who can both control tempo and reduce TO's.

Another thing I'd point out is that while the East overall has improved some, look at the division itself. Outside of Toronto, it's a bottom feeders division. They have 12 games against the Nets, C's and 6'ers and I'd say all three are looking weak headed into the season.

For the most part, I can't argue with most of your points though. Not half bad as a preview. The more I think about mystery man, I might throw Hardaway's name in that hat. He had a strong rookie season, his strength as a shooter makes him a nice system fit and the Knicks seemed really adamant about keeping him which points to high hopes. I think he could have a really nice sophomore season (especially if my guess that they'll look to move Shump rather than worry about his contract renewal comes true).

[MaseInYourFace]

I just want to go on the record. I think Fisher will be the best of the rookie coaches signed this year.

(sorry Snyder)

Winning 32 games? What are you projecting the other rookie coaches to win? Kerr?

[DG88]

It's not like they were a terrible offensive team, the Knicks could score, they had an offensive rating of 105.4 good for 11th in the league, it was there defense that was terrible at 106.5 ranking 24th. The problem is that the triangle offense is not an easy offense to learn add to that they defensively they're no better then last year. The only player that can play defense in the starting lineup is Shumpert! I say they win around 35 games next year.

Interesting that they were ranked that high, because the offense as innovative as adding milk to chocolate.

Even if the triangle offense is not easy to learn, it should be better than what Woodson drew up, because at least now we'd get to see movement on the court instead of standing around. It was a predicatible offense that was easy to figure out, especially in the fourth quarter - i.e., give the ball to Melo or JR at end of the shot clock and take a forced shot.

You're right about the defense, though. The team will struggle to stop opponents because they don't have many defense-minded players. Hopefully the team can focus on team defense like a zone instead of man-to-man, because if we go with the latter, ouch...

The problem with zone is that you can't use it for very long, because you lose rebounding position and you're susceptible to 3s. The Knicks are just not a good defensive team. Hell you're starting Bargnani and Calderon, former Raptors that were apart of one of the worst defenses in NBA history. Those days were *shudder*

[stuporman]

I give this preview a D.