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technomaster
Posts: 23228 Alba Posts: 0 Joined: 6/30/2003 Member: #426 USA |
2/28/2018 12:26 PM
The Knicks haven't had consistent success since the Ewing era ended. But now with the numbers in front of me, it's interesting to look at the bits of sucess we had.
https://www.basketball-reference.com/teams/NYK/ The year after Ewing left (2000-2001), we had a .585 winning record. (Luc Longley was the prime recipient of Ewing's mins). After that year, we didn't have a .500 record for a decade until 2010-2011. Arrival of Amare, then Carmelo late. (bye bye Gallo, Chandler) We stayed over .500 for 2 more years, peaking at 54-28. I thought the Knicks were legit championship contenders - that is, until Garnett dislocated Carmelo's shoulder. I really liked that team - Kidd, Kenyon, KT40, Rasheed, Camby providing prototype championship level veteran leadership off the bench. At that point, we thought we just needed mild retooling to maintain champion contender status for 3-5 more years. Instead, things went south fast. We're now in our 5th consecutive sub-500 season. The KP injury is a a major setback for this franchise. I'd say the safe bet is that we won't be legit playoff contenders until 'til the 2019-2020 season. Of course, a few things can go right for us that get us down a winning road next season: 1) Most importantly (and largely by luck) our 2018 lottery pick turns out to be an NBA-ready superstar, or is immediately seen as a future great. There haven't been too many rookies who have been all-star game worthy in recent years. Even the great Anthony Davis only averaged 13.5ppg in his rookie year - he wasn't ready to carry a team from day 1. 2) 2-3 young players develop into top-15 starters at their positions. We get an all-star level performer on the team. I don't think Kanter/THJr are that far away from being even or better than half of their direct matchups. But we badly need a top-15 or better PG on the team. I'm optimistic that out of Burke/Ntilikina/Mudiay, we may have a long term solution at PG. That would make a HUGE difference. We haven't had a really good PG since the aging Jason Kidd. (sad to say Calderon, Rose and Jennings didn't work out for us) 3) We sign top-15/borderline all-star or better player from free agency. I think the Knicks will bring back Kanter and perhaps take a look at Randle and Thomas, but I'm skeptical of the Knicks investing big in the free agent market. The only way we'd go down this road if our draft pick is really, really good. Here's a link to the top free agents. “That was two, two from the heart.” - John Starks
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franco12
Posts: 33192 Alba Posts: 4 Joined: 2/19/2004 Member: #599 USA |
2/28/2018 1:58 PM
technomaster wrote:The Knicks haven't had consistent success since the Ewing era ended. But now with the numbers in front of me, it's interesting to look at the bits of sucess we had. I agree with everything you said - but critical is having us land the top pick in this draft. We can't pick another Frank when there are better talents available like a Donovan Mitchell was this year. We don't need to pick#1, but that would sure help. |
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reub
Posts: 21836 Alba Posts: 0 Joined: 1/13/2016 Member: #6227 |
2/28/2018 6:45 PM
We'll be a rising playoff team the season after next. Call your bookie now!
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SupremeCommander
Posts: 33785 Alba Posts: 35 Joined: 4/28/2006 Member: #1127 |
2/28/2018 7:49 PM
carry the two.....
Sambakick wrote:
Gives a whole new meaning to "Jazz Hands"
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