Not much depth on that team at all. They really only have 3 offensive options on the team with Fields, Anthony and Amare. Anthony is coming off of off-season knee surgery and has already hyperextended that same knee. Amare is already scheduled to sit some games due to fear of re-occuring injuries. Billups is gone and a rapidly declining Mike Bibby is all they have at the point. Tyson Chandler is a food defender but no one else on the team is and Dantoni does not coach defense and never has. Tyson is almost no help on the offensive end. Tyson almost seems like a square peg in a round hole on a Dantoni coached team. If the Chandler, Amare and Anthony all stay healthy and if Fields takes the next step this should be a 50 win team but if any of those guys gets injured or has a down year that team could easily find itself in the lottery. Of course rhe ultra week Eastern Conferance may keep them in the play-offs even if their play sucks. I expect Indiana, Philly, Detroit and Washington to all be better so maybe they can challenge for a play-off spot and if just a little bad luck happens possibly possibly push the Knicks out of the play offs.
With this frantic season and all your points, I can see it happening. Though I think they'd have to have a couple of big name injuries to be worse than the Pistons or Wizards.
i lol'd at the typo :grin: But seriously, no I don't think the Knicks will be a train wreck. Carmelo could just as easily have a great season now that he has his bursitis taken care of and knee solid again. He said it has been bothering him for 7 years. They didn't say what procedure was done to his knee, but I am guessing it was something relatively minor. Also, Fields and Toney Douglas could continue to improve this year as well. That's a pretty nice starting 5.
I don't see it happening. They had a garbage front court and still managed the playoffs. If anything, their run-n-gun style will do wonders in this shortened season. Teams that require lockdown defense will suffer. Run-n-gun works better for tired players than playing defense does.
Toney Douglas will be a lot better than people think. He played well last year given the limited amount of minutes he received, and when Chauncey was out he filled in nicely. If Melo or Amare go down, they're playoff doomed.
The Knicks won't be a train-wreck unless Melo or Amare gets hurt and misses a large number of games. They should finish in the top 4 in the East but I don't see them as a legit threat to make the Finals. Their roster is poorly put together and the notion of running the offense through Melo may be doomed to failure. Their head coach is on eggshells and may not last the season. Their season will be considered a failure if they don't make the 2nd round of the playoffs. This is likely IMO.
Just saying...1 injury to injury and its over. Chandler : injury prone Amare: Injury prone Melo: injury sensitive? now that he has had surgery. I would say there is a good chance for a big disappointment in NYK... would love to get the 13th and 14th picks lol...then maybe we could flip them for a high PICK!
Eddy Curry you mean? lol But they should make a move amnestied BD. He's the perfect fit for that team. And if they get Crawford somehow, they will be more than fine. Although, I would trade douglas away afterward
the knicks will have injuries and will struggle...but they will make the playoffs in that 6th/7th spot
The Knicks need their role players to come through. The difference between them and other big 3s in history is the lack of a 3rd scorer. And that's pretty difficult to overcome. The Celtics big 3 needed Rondo to help out. Miami's big 3 is just vastly superior to everyone else in terms of talent. Even look back to the Rockets big 3, where all three players could score at will. Also, D'Antoni is a horrible match for the team. Because of Amare and Melo, they're best served playing a slow paced game, milking the clock, and lean on their great scorers in the half court game. But D'Antoni plays up tempo, which really limits Chandler's effectiveness and possibly expose their lack of depth. If Melo or Amare misses big chunk of time, I think they can drop very, very fast. As bad as the Rockets was prior to the Rudy Gay draft. One side note is that it would be funny if Knicks pick end up being higher than the Wolves pick.
I played against / with Toney Douglas at my gym right after the lockout was lifted. I was not impressed. Some non-NBA guy was outplaying him offensively pretty significantly and it wasn't evident that he did much during the offseason. He seems destined to be a Lindsey Hunter type with better scoring feel but less pure point skills.
They have defense now, so no. They can win regular season games with just Melo and Chandler alone. And the Knicks said they will rest Amare a few times during the season b/c of the condensed schedule.
Their three key cogs are all injury prone. It could fall like a house of cards if even one of them goes down.
OP could be overestimating the quality of Detroit, Washington, Indiana, and Philly. Well, I actually like Philly, but those other teams suck.
Doesn't matter. Shortened season. House money. This year won't fell normal, trust me. Any repercussions from an off year will be short lived.
