This season is over for the Knicks. They have a lot of work to do in the summer to get a new group of role players to put next to Amare and Melo. Remember they traded four of their five starters to get Melo. It was not a trade to help the present. The only thing that sucks about it is that they will still make the playoffs because of the weakness at the bottom of the East. At the end of the day, the Knicks are one of the very few teams in the league that have two superstars. It's always easier to build a team when you have the center pieces. They will figure it out.
Who do you think has the best chance to overtake the Knicks - Pacers, Bobcats or Bucks? I think on paper Bucks have the stronger team out of the three. Bobcats are about to lose Captain Jack and Pacers are way too inexperiences without Dunleavy. I really want one of thoe 3 to overtake the Knicks.
Look at how the Nuggets are doing. They really took off, after the trade, even though they their 2 all-stars from the starting line up. They look just as good offensively, but they are better defensively than before the trade.
I think the Bucks can overtake them. Now that Brandon Jennings has recovered from his injury and Bogut is in the lineup, the Bucks are making a run. The Pacers lose too much, though not as much as the Knicks lately. The Knicks have 1 win in the last 3 weeks, while the Pacers have 3-4 wins.
I don't see any of them overtaking the Knicks. Unless the Knicks totally give up on each other and lose some their upcoming games to the Nets (twice) and Raptors, and the Cavs continue to beat them, they will simply have too many wins. Even 3 wins against those teams means the Pacers, Bobcats, and Bucks have to get to 38 wins. Pacers have too few games basically and most against teams better than them. Cats schedule is also pretty hard. Both would require multiple upsets to pull it off. Also the Bobcats lost the tiebreaker. Pacers can still win the tiebreaker, I just don't think so with their schedule. With today's loss, then Bucks need about 9 wins. Even if they beat every bad team and team they are fighting for a spot, they still need at least 2 upsets. They do hold the tiebreaker, so the Bucks have that advantage. It's possible but highly unlikely they pass the Knicks.
There aren't enough games left in the season for the Knicks to miss the playoffs. Even if they lost their final 9 games (which is unlikely), they could still get in because the Bucks and Bobcats are so far behind.
Stating the obvious here but if Knicks cant get overtaken or knocked out of the top 8 - that pretty much means we MUST get into the top 8 to take advantage of swapping picks. It sucks cause even if we dont get into the top 8 but have a better record than the Knicks with them making the top 8, we still have a higher pick than the Knicks. So no point is sawpping right? But then again even if we do get to take advantage of swapping picks - it looks like the Knicks will only be 2-3 picks higher than us. Is that enough for exploitation?
The Knicks gave up a little too much in the deal to get Melo. They should have insisted on keeping either Gallinari or Chandler. If Denver wouldn't do the trade without both, then NY should have waited until the offseason to sign Melo. It's not like the Knicks were gonna win the championship this season. Also, I think Felton is a better fit with the Knicks than Chauncey.
Sure, but draft picks aside, wouldn't it be more fun to watch them get drilled 4-0 in the first round against Miami?
nodstonothing, I wished you had taken the bet. I was wrong about the Carmelo trade helping them to 45 wins, though. http://bbs.clutchfans.net/showpost.php?p=5797131&postcount=111
Ha, I still think they would have won 45 games had they not traded for Carmelo, that trade obviously disrupted their chemistry. I am surprised how schizophrenic they've been since the trade -- they're like 7-4 against teams above 500 and have a horrible record against teams under 500 -- but if they add a few decent role players in the offseason, plus a training camp together, they'll be a lot better next year.
Knicks have won 7 in a row, and will now face the Celtics in the first round. I think they are finally starting to learn to play together, and this could lead to a great first round with the Celtics.
