7. New York Knicks (35-31)

This might seem pessimistic in light of the hype coming from Gotham, but in the short term, I'm not sure the Knicks have dramatically improved. They've essentially traded Chauncey Billups for Tyson Chandler, which will help, but this is the wrong season to have a thin bench and brittle stars. Between Amare Stoudemire's knees and Chandler's toes, the Knicks are likely to feel the brunt of the schedule-makers' wrath.

Baron Davis, despite his weaknesses, will prove quite useful when he's able to play. Mike D'Antoni's system demands a point guard who can pass, and Davis can do that when he's not jacking up 3s with 20 on the shot clock. It's even more important given the Knicks' other high-profile moves -- they boast three of the best frontcourt finishers in the game, but nobody to get them the ball.

I factored half a season of Davis into my projection, figuring he will miss more than a quarter of the season with his current back injury and then some more with his next injury. When he's out, the Knicks have Toney Douglas running the point, which is less than ideal. While I like him as a player, he's a bad fit at the point in this system because he's blind as a bat.

Otherwise, the roster is a bit of a mess. Landry Fields and Iman Shumpert are nice prospects but aren't ready to be top-seven players on a contending team. Jared Jeffries and Renaldo Balkman are the top two frontcourt reserves. Really. And at some point the Knicks will have to play Mike Bibby in a real game.

About the best thing New York has going for it is, well, New York. Players are lured by the city, and, as with the Lakers, the Knicks have a great shot at signing any decent veteran who shakes free during the season via buyout, waivers or departure from China. Better yet, the Knicks still have their $2.5 million "under-cap" exception lying around to use on such a player.

Nonetheless, I have trouble envisioning a high seed for this team. The Knicks get more dangerous once the playoffs begin. If their three frontcourt stars and Davis make it to May upright, they'll be a very difficult first-round out. Getting to that point is the problem.

also, "might have to play Bibby in a real game" is ludicrous. he was the starting point guard on the NBA finalist Miami Heat last year. was he great? no. was he solid enough to get the job done? yes, most nights he was.

crzymdups wrote:easiest way to get hits on your site is to talk smack about a NY team. thanks for copying and pasting it here so i don't have to reward ESPN with a site hit.

yep

Saying the Knicks could be affected by injuries is fair. Saying that puts them at a disadvantage over other teams is just dumb.

And did this guy suggest we might not make the playoffs? That there are actually 8 better teams out there in the East??? Thats hilarious.

Im excited about the things this team, these players and this coaching staff has to prove, and Im excited about the pieces that they have to use to prove their point. Im confident it will happen. Time will tell.

Bonn1997 wrote:

matt wrote:Hollinger has been and is a douche

Yet he's been dead on in his Knicks' predictions. People here should take a step back and try to learn from him instead of assuming they're right. 35-31 is probably pretty close to where most non-Knick fans would rank the team. I said 38 but that's probably colored by my rooting for the team.

2008-2009, he predicted 28-54, Knicks finished 32-50
2009-2010, he predicted 26-56, Knicks finished 29-53
2010-2011, he predicted 37-45, Knicks finished 42-40
2011-2012, he predicted 35-31, Knicks finished 40-26

So he is always close, but shorts us by about 3 or 4 wins every season.

MarburyAnd1Crossover wrote:

Bonn1997 wrote:

matt wrote:Hollinger has been and is a douche

Yet he's been dead on in his Knicks' predictions. People here should take a step back and try to learn from him instead of assuming they're right. 35-31 is probably pretty close to where most non-Knick fans would rank the team. I said 38 but that's probably colored by my rooting for the team.

2008-2009, he predicted 28-54, Knicks finished 32-50
2009-2010, he predicted 26-56, Knicks finished 29-53
2010-2011, he predicted 37-45, Knicks finished 42-40
2011-2012, he predicted 35-31, Knicks finished 40-26

So he is always close, but shorts us by about 3 or 4 wins every season.

I see what you did there...

crzymdups wrote:easiest way to get hits on your site is to talk smack about a NY team. thanks for copying and pasting it here so i don't have to reward ESPN with a site hit.

also, "might have to play Bibby in a real game" is ludicrous. he was the starting point guard on the NBA finalist Miami Heat last year. was he great? no. was he solid enough to get the job done? yes, most nights he was.

Bibby only played about 15 mpg for them in the Finals before he got benched. Here's his statline from last year's postseason: 3.7ppg, 28% fg 50% ft, 25% 3fg, 1.2 apg, 20 mpg. That's horrendous. And if you look at his stats from the last several seasons, http://espn.go.com/nba/player/stats/_/id/61/mike-bibby, he's been terrible for a while now. If he has to play more than 10-15 mpg, in spot duty, then we're in deep ****.

OasisBU wrote:I think the dark horse in this race is Bibby. People are underestimating him because he has looked like he was done for a while now. Granted that is a legitimate concern but when was the last time Bibby was in a system like this with great supporting talent? You have to go all the way back to the Sacramento days.

He knows the system, we have the talent, he should be able to perform above expectations - and if that's the case we are in good shape.

There are definitely question marks but the team has improved dramatically.

I agree. Mike Biddy is a real PG. The dude can pass and can hit the 3. He can't guard a closed door, but neither could Nash, so he will fit right into MDA's system. Picking up Biddy was huge for this team. If MDA can figure out a way to hide him on defense, our offense should be solid. All we need him to do is give us a solid 20 minutes and this team should be fine.