Posted by Bippity10:
Knicks lovers have less faith in the team than the "haters" do. I personally look at the roster and see all the talent and think there is no way this team should not be a playoff team. Only their heads can prevent a playoff birth.
Meanwhile the "lovers" who don't have faith in the team are already setting themselves up for the excuse making.
WHo are you referring to? I may have missed these posts, but I don't recall anyone that is a supporter of this roster saying anything that sounds like they are bracing for failure and thus need excuses ready to be used.
I don't see how Tor is so superior to us. They already had tons of shooting and then they add two more guys in Delfino and Kapono that are mainly shooters. From what I can see they still should be pretty much what they were. I think Mo Pete was a better defender than either Delfino or Kapono, by a long shot. They still only have one really good penetrator in TJ Ford. Not unless I missed someone they added. They still don't seem like a good playoff team to me. They'll do well in the regular season IMO, but I think they'll run into a wall again in the post season. Even with an improved Bargnani.
NJ is always tough, but I don't see them being as strong defensively as they once were and I don't know if they have what it takes anymore to be the dominant team they once were. They're good tho and since they have Kidd they'll continue to be at the top of the Atlantic if healthy. Now tho they have much stiffer competition.
Boston is a hard one to figure. They should be much improved with Ray Allen. Al and Pierce needed some help and he's plenty. They still won't be able to defend and thus I think they'll be in our boat along with the rest of the weak defending Atlantic.
Philly is up and coming, but i'm not yet convinced that they've made a major step based on the late surge they had. We'll see how that translates over 82 games. They've got some talent, but I think they're gonna be at the back of the bus this year. I think the rest of the Atlantic improved a bit more than they have.
The Knicks have been helped a good deal by the addition of Zach. It makes us a tough team to deal with for 4 qtrs, cuz we can always have a stud in the game that can focus our attack. I think we shoud find it easier to stick with a rotation minus Francis and Frye. Steph, Q, Jared, Zach & Curry - Lee, Jamal, Balkman would seem to give us most of what we need. We'll have a very good bench as well. We should continue to be strong on the boards and in the paint. Plus I expect better shooting from the perimeter this year.
7/16/2007 7:48 PM
