I'm with you. Barring injury, the Knicks will make the playoffs as a lower seed. This is based on things as they stand now. I don't know exactly what they can do, but the Nets will try to make a big splash. Anthony Morrow will help if they get him. Same if Udonis Haslem signs on. We don't know yet how far the Bobcats will fall (if they do at all). I'll pencil the Knicks in at #7 for now.
curry $14 mil will go off the books next year. and they didn't sign 2 max contracts. i think tey can pursue another max guy next year. watch out for melo to go to the knicks.
I actually thought they would do alot worst just a week ago and would miss out on everything... until wednesday when i thought they might get Lebron. I dont think much of Felton, but then again i barely ever watched him play, but IMO by far the bigger acquisition was (along with Amare) was Anthony Randolph, who is incredibly still ONLY 21 years old. In his sporadic two season of limit minutes, Randolph has shown a ton of talent and potential. During his rookie year his numbers in games where he's played 30 minutes or more was 15 points 10 rebs 1 blck (14 games). Like many others on the Warriors Randolph had a difficult time with Nelson and an injury plagued year in 2009-10. Despite his problems with fouls, maturity, injury and nelson, he was still a highly sought after prospect, whom the knicks were able to obtain for a player they had no need nor no interest in resigning. The Knicks may not have gotten Lebron or Wade, but they did get some consolation in stoudamire & may get more than that if Randolph ever realizes his potential. In the meantime, I think the knicks will be in playoff contention with Azuibuke & Turiaf, both of whom any fan would love. Its unfortunate Azuibuke didnt catch with the rockets a few seasons back (due to roster space) he was exactly what they needed.
Are you kidding? 1: Orlando – Howard is the most effective game changer in the EC on defense. They had the 2nd best record last year, so no reason to think they won’t again be good this year particularly on defense. Barnes loss is important, but not hugely so. Seriously, their team is built for the regular season, not the playoffs. 2: Miami – Lebron and Wade can get them to this level. Heck Wade got this team to the 5th seed last year nearly single-handedly. Only reason I do not see them better is that defense wins championships. Who defends the star PG’s? Who defends star Centers/PFs? “Coach Spo” never seemed to have a strong defensive strategy last year. 3: Atlanta – Same team as last year it seems, and they may even add Childress. No reason why they won’t do as well as last year. Not sure what Drew brings to table, but one of their young pseudostars needs to start being a leader cuz Bibby is getting old and he won’t be able to do it much longer. 4-6: Not sure how the 3 spots end up but it will be some combo of these teams: Chicago: On first glance, I sort of feel they will be 4. Why? They added a go-to scoring post up player to stacked roster. Gibson is good, but now he gets to be an energy 7th man. Anyone want to face a Rose/Boozer PnR? Plus they got a shooter they needed in Korver. Then on top of all that they the best defensive guru the NBA has seen in decades as coach? Heck, why do I have any uncertainty. They will be #4 and possible #3. Boston: Yes, the Big 3 will be older, and you know Doc will rest them whenever possible so that they can play full speed in the playoffs. They ran out of steam in the Finals, so who wants to bet they will all be limited to like 30 min a game for 60 games? Having said that who picks up the slack? Also Perkins is not an easy replacement for a team that relies on defense. Big Baby is not a defensive presence. And they will have to add the new guy in without their defensive guru. Milwaukee: They were really good last year…when Bogut was not hurt. That is really their only knock. How long will be Bogut be hurt for and when? If they can withstand his eventual injury, and it happens early enough for him to rehab and be full strength in the stretch run, they will be dangerous. Gooden is a wash with Mbah. If Redd can come back to be an effective 6th man, he may get them to challenge for a #5 seed. 7/8: New York: Remember this thing first. This is a Dantoni team, a Run and Gun team with some talent can beat many other teams that do not expect it because of scheduling quirks and trying to adjust to the tempo and speed on the fly in a long season, even though they will not play defense. Felton was the perfect PG for this team. He is a very good passer, decent defender and good in space. He shot 38.5 % from 3 last year which is better than Alston has shot in 7 years. It could have been the last year on contract effect, but he will have more space this year. Douglas is a good backup PG who can hit the 3. Azibuke can play in open court and a SG with size. How good he will be after his injury is questionable though. They have 2 SF’s to figure things out with Gallinari and Chandler to shoot 3’s. Amare can face up and score if needed. He did during the Sun’s slow down phase. Otherwise, I can easily seeing a PnR with Felton & Amare working. Also Randolph on the other block is no slouch on offense. Then Turiaf off the bench is good energy player. This team can win some games as long as they can hit their shots, and they will get looks. Charlotte because you never doubt a Larry Brown team. I fully believe Lawson can fill in for his Tar Heel compatriot Felton. The rest… New Jersey – The team should start out fully healthy this time. Outlaw gives them defensive athletic wing they had lacked, and the Black Napoleon will get them to play some real defense but they still are a bad long range shooting team. I could see them making a run, but not likely to get to playoffs. Favors factor is negligible. Indiana – Will make a run, but need a true PG and a real Center with defensive presence. Hard to gauge if they can make any trades with all their expiring players. Philadelphia/Washington – Turner & Wall will help them win some games, but do you remember how bad they were last year? Not much else has changed for them. Plus they both have too many holes and duplicate players. Detroit – Hasn’t really improved their team much. Monroe is good, but doubt he will have much impact immediately. Too many players who are too old. Cleveland – Poor poor team. I would root for them, but having them lose helps their chances of getting a top player who may help them forget Lebron. Toronto – The only vestige of NBA basketball in Canada. Honestly, who actually thought this would work out? Can we relocate this team already to a city that cares about sports not on ice? I mean they draft good players, but they can never keep them because no one wants to live there and they cannot bring any good help. Just move this team to Seattle and right the wrong that was done 2 years back. None of these teams will be 0.500, and honestly 40 wins may be hard to do as well. Only the Nets I could see doing so if they start off strong, otherwise no dice. End result: Do you think the Knicks with Amare, Randolph, Gallinari, and Felton can win 40 games? Yes, they can.
So, I guess the Knicks payoff for dumping Jare Jeffries at the cost of Jordan Hill, a 2011 pick swith, and a 2012 pick is Raymond Felton? No pressure, Ray. But if the Knicks suck and give away a high pick, you are to blame.
have you ever been to Toronto or even pay attention to the amount of support that the raptors receive in Toronto? It's clearly no because you are just spouting bs out of your ass.
good deal for felton, horrible for the knicks. I 've seen this guy play in league pass, his decision making is just questionable, he's certainly a bit on the slow side too for a PG. They should've gotten one year of ridnour who could flourish with his shooting and held off for next year or the year after with Chris paul or something else, but long term commitment to this guy is jsut a mistake
Boozer and Amare are a wash. It's silly how Beck compares 4 players to Korver, instead of Felton to Rose and Turiaf to Noah. When your team compares unfavorably, then you group 4 players together and compare it to the other team's scrub. He is in denial.
Felton/Douglas > Duhon/Robinson, Felton is a good PG, though he gets tunnel vision sometimes and won't pass the ball. Get him and if Anthony Randolph can protect the paint (the Knicks were pathetic in defending inside) they might not be the doormat of the EC any longer.
great haul? They gave up a lotto pick, potentially traded down in 2011, and a 2012 first for this "great haul". kelenna is coming off a major injury. I like him but lets be real. He is only going to put up numbers on bad teams. turiaf is a nice 8th/9th man for energy but garbage otherwise. randolph could be a star but I simply don't trust dantoni to develop him. amare is the only legit baller they got, but they didn't really even need to marginally upgrade the power forward since they had lee. Also I am curious how amare will be without nash. The iso stats for amare in phx don't bode well. Wasn't it like an 8% fg% decline when amare was iso aka creating for himself? if a writer is worried about where jj freaking reddick goes in order to crown 2nd place for FA acquisitions then I'm gonna go ahead and say your offseason wasn't really that good.
Terrible, terrible player. To give him a contract more than the MLE is a huge mistake. Hopefully for them he's still tradeable when a better PG to play alongside Amare and D'Antoni falls into their laps.
It's really weird to me that people think the Knicks have improved. It's like they're not even acknowledging that David Lee, Al Harrington, Chris Duhon and Jared Jeffries (their only defensive player) are all gone. I think the squad they're putting on the floor is worse than the squad they put on the floor last season. And if Amar'e misses any significant amount of time? They'll be lucky to win 20 games. I honestly think their best case scenario is to be a 35 game winner.
Duhon is basically a younger Rafer. Felton actuallly played well last year for the first time, on a team that went to the playoffs. Contract year? For fun, here's the Knicks 3 most used starting lineups last year Code: G W L W-L% Starting Lineup 27 11 16 [COLOR=Red][B].407[/B] [/COLOR] W. Chandler ▪ C. Duhon ▪ D. Gallinari ▪ [COLOR=Red]J. Jeffries [/COLOR]▪ D. Lee 14 3 11 .214 W. Chandler ▪ C. Duhon ▪ D. Gallinari ▪ [COLOR=Blue]L. Hughes[/COLOR] ▪ D. Lee 8 4 4 [COLOR=Red][B].500[/B] [/COLOR] W. Chandler ▪ C. Duhon ▪ [COLOR=Blue]A. Harrington[/COLOR] ▪ [COLOR=Red]J. Jeffries [/COLOR]▪ D. Lee Without considering quality of opponents, the Knicks had their best records with JARED JEFFRIES as a starter . They went 15-20 with Jeffries, a .428 W-L%, compared to their season total of 29-53, .353 W-L%. When they had Larry Hughes instead of Jeffries they really stank it up. Instead of Lee, Harrington, Jeffries, Duhon, N Robinson, they have Amare, Randolph, Turiaf, Felton, Azubuike. and they keep or return, Gallo, Curry, Chandler, Douglas. Its not Celtics Big 3 improvement, but its a slight improvement. 35-39 wins. Their younger guys will get better or play supporting roles instead of being forced to start. If its wanting it to bottom out for the Rockets sake, should HOPE the Knicks force Curry to play and Curry can wreck the team flow. And hope Felton goes back to his usual mediocre self instead of the last year decent version.
