Nalod wrote:

SupremeCommander wrote:according to that we're a game off of 4th place. One of these years age is going to catch up to Boston. Really not too far away from finishing second, according to this.

I think Washington is over looked a bit. They added Reezy, Nene and Okafor. Nene is a more natural 4. If Wall starts to play up to his potential thats a nice 4. Is it a 40 win team? That I can't say but they won't be a joke anymore especially at home.

I agree and Bradley Beal could turn out to be really good, especially because there aren't really any young SGs in the league that could turn out to be a star. I live right outside DC and am considering a mini-plan for the Wiz

Nalod wrote:Lin>Felton
Lando>Brewer
Camby>JJ2
Kidd>Baron
Pablo=Bibby (Bibby came up nice in the playoffs)

What am I missing?

On paper one can say we better in some areas, weaker in others.

Amare SHOULD be a monster! That alone could be a big difference!

I'd say Brewer is better than last years Landry Fields, though they both had sub par seasons last year. I think the main difference is that while our PG situation looks about even (Lin, BD, Bibby vs Felton, Kidd, Pablo), remember we spent the first half of last season with just TD! (shudder)- Lin and BD started playing around Feb. so really it's:

Felton, Kidd, Pablo> Tony Douglas

Nalod wrote:Lin>Felton
Lando>Brewer
Camby>JJ2
Kidd>Baron
Pablo=Bibby (Bibby came up nice in the playoffs)

What am I missing?

On paper one can say we better in some areas, weaker in others.

Amare SHOULD be a monster! That alone could be a big difference!

Tough call, Is Lin + Amare + Melo > Felton +Amare + Melo???...Does Felton gel better than Lin does with those guys...Thats what is important...

Uptown wrote:

Nalod wrote:Lin>Felton
Lando>Brewer
Camby>JJ2
Kidd>Baron
Pablo=Bibby (Bibby came up nice in the playoffs)

What am I missing?

On paper one can say we better in some areas, weaker in others.

Amare SHOULD be a monster! That alone could be a big difference!

You are missing the coaching impact over a full season. Not saying that Woodson is a better coach than MDA, but he's much better with this particular roster. This team should be much better on the defensive end(consistently). I dont believe we lost more than 2 in a row under Woodson's short tenure and that is a great sign. When teams are exceptional on defense, its hard to make roster comparisons on paper (* see the Bulls.) Never the most talented on paper, but defense has push them in front of several teams with with more paper-talent..

Its a valid point about coaching. Its really hard to quantify last year because it was like 3 different seasons in part.

MDA/Melo dysfunction
Linsanity
Woodson

We rode Melo the last month of the season hard. Not sure its sustainable over a long season. Hopefully having a coach everyone can buy into with a camp (remember JR came in March!)and Baron really never got it going at all.

holfresh wrote:U know, I always get pissed at these things and they are usually right...Pacers better huh...

nixluva wrote:Boston is getting a bit too much respect IMO. They can't remain at the top forever and I think this year they will have to rely on their younger players a bit more. Even last year they weren't that much better than the Knicks, and the Knicks had MAJOR issues with the PG spot and both of our top player slumping. So why are the Celtics and Sixers better than the Knicks?

Knicks are TOP 3 IMO!!! This team has the best roster to be able to matchup with all the top teams IMO. We don't really have great shooting, but that's hardly a reason to doubt the competitiveness of this roster overall. I don't think anyone will be head and shoulders over the Knicks in terms of Defense and depth. On a night to night basis this team should be one of the toughest to score against with 2 DPOY Centers and capable defenders at every other position.

1. Melo
2. STAT
3. Tyson
4. Felton
5. Brewer
6. Smith
7. Camby
8. Kidd
9. Novak
10. Shump (hopefully he makes a solid return)

IMO that is a really solid rotation of players. LOADS of defense, experience and toughness. I just don't think that roster takes a back seat to any team in terms of being able to compete at a high level every night. There are no guys who won't bring it at this stage in their career or who don't know what to do. The age thing is overblown, cuz this team will make teams play at the Knicks pace, which should be slower and more deliberate. This team IMO is made to play grind it out BB and win!!! I honestly think this team is the 2nd best team in the east right in front of Boston. It seems too much is being made from how the Knicks started the year and how they bombed in the Heat series, but you have to leave that in the past and look at the team for what it is now. It's a MUCH BETTER team!!! No more PG issues and no more depth issues. Even more potent on D!

THIS TEAM would not go out in 5 to the Heat!!! I think this team can present some problems for the Heat. I think mainly because this team can force the Heat to play half court and at a slower pace with fewer easy baskets off TO's .

+1
We did not have a good point guard last season with the exception of the 25 Linsanity games. We've upgraded in every position. Most of the players were injured last season and in the playoffs. With one hand Amar'e and Co. won a game against the Heat. People just don't want to give the Knicks credit.

mrKnickShot wrote:

gunsnewing wrote:I dont know if we are right there with Miami. You thought we had a chance last year going into that series and the knicks were embarassed. You have to put down the orange and blue shades and accept the fact that 3yrs from now it will be 43yrs without a championsip as teams like Miami, LA, OKC win. As the Knicks in 3yrs bring in other teams castoffs to bring another decade or more of capped out subpar mediocrity

What has OKC won?

Who the heck thought we had a chance vs. Miami? And we really needed all the injuries and fire boxing to help us out, no? And, we got embarrassed? More than OKC? Ind? With a depleted squad ??? C'mon.

Now I know it is always something with this team in the last 40 years but its been a while since they have been this good going into a season. Will they screw it up? Probably but give them a chance!

Look at OKC's roster, it is YOUNG and they are playing awesome. Clearly they are closer to Miami than we are and they proved it pretty much. IF you want to take out Miami, and then OKC in the finals you need a very deep and talented team. We did well in getting some bench play at the PG position, but we are banking on Felton replacing a young and comer in Lin. That is what our season in large part hinges on. Our starting pg is Felton. This is hit or miss. He played well here and then came back down to earth the weeks preceding the trade. Was he playing above his head? Looking at his career stats one would say for sure yes. But, being where you want to be can sure change someone to play great. We'll see.

To do all that we did last year and to let Lin walk is a huge gamble imo. Again, it is on Felton to replace him and on Stat and Melo to of course play well together. Chandler being able to score (and be a threat on offense) with more than put backs will be critical as well. Chemistry is going to be key, as well as our players improving substantially.