With the commencement of the NBA season around the corner, the New York Knicks have entered training camp with another dark cloud surrounding the organization. Last year, the buyout arbitration of Larry Brown was taking place, and this year the sexual harassment of Anucha Browne Sanders has, yet again, caused Isiah Thomas to miss the first days of training camp. In this blog, I will discuss whether this year’s dark cloud will foreshadow how the Knicks’ season will play out, as it did their previous one.
Currently, there are more reasons to believe that the Knicks will tank again this season than not. It almost seems as though there are more problems this season than last. The reemergence of the Eastern Conference, especially the Atlantic division, will make it extremely difficult for the Knicks to make the playoffs and ultimately contend for a championship. This arose because of the Celtics off-season moves, which practically solidifies them a place in the playoffs, and the continued growth of the Toronto Raptors and New Jersey Nets. In addition, the relentless progression of the Magic, Cavs, Heat, Bulls, Wizards and Pistons, will make this year’s race to the Eastern Conference playoff much tougher than in past years.
There are also numerous internal problems that the Knicks will have to resolve before the season begins. First and foremost, the Knicks have too many people under contract and on their roster. Jim Dolan and Isiah Thomas have to decide whether to continue with the youth movement and sign the rookies and cut the veterans (Fred Jones, Allan Houston and Malik Rose), or whether to add some veteran leadership and not sign the rookies, (Demetrius Nichols and Jared Jordan). Other internal problems facing the Knicks that pertain to the roster are how to form good chemistry between Zach Randolph and Eddy Curry. Together, Curry and Randolph must be able to successfully occupy a 72 square foot space while they are a whopping 13’8” tall and 555 pounds combined, which takes up an enormous amount of the paint. Plus, neither of them has seen their toes since they entered the League. Also, the mental health of the now infamous Stephon Marbury and his newfound love for Jesus and Italy is another serious concern. Additionally, bench coach Brendan Suhr has to concern himself with finding a large enough seat to fit the tragically massive waste of space Jerome James, who managed to injure himself on the first day of training camp. As it was eloquently stated by Alan Hahn and Eddy Curry, “Jerome James participated in half of the practice, but was on the elliptical machine when the media entered the gym. Curry had a wrap on his calf and he later explained why. “Jerome James,” Curry said, “Anytime Jerome James is practicing, stuff happens.” Furthermore, Coach Thomas must find room in the cluttered rotation for David Lee who will be an automatic candidate for the 6th man of the year award.
In my eyes, if the Knicks stay healthy they can be one of the forces in the Eastern Conference. They have an abundance of talent and building team chemistry has historically been Isiah Thomas’ strong suits. I believe that the Knicks can make the playoffs and could possibly make some noise. It will be very exciting to see the previous western conferences best power forwards square off on different teams in the Atlantic Division. I am looking forward for the season to start!
4 comments:
I've been a Knicks fan all my life. I vividly remember our playoff rivalries with the Pacers and Heat. I remember getting swept in the Finals by the Spurs. But I never remember seeing the organization from top to bottom in as much disarray as it is now.
Isaiah Thomas has essentially dug his own grave in the first place. He has to coach the below average and overpaid talent he signed, on top of being accused and found guilty of sexual harassment of said woman inside the organization. Beyond a miracle move to dump at the very least Houston's joke of a contract, I don't see them taking or getting rid of anyone that will help the team.
That said, the only available option to better the team would be coaching. With Isaiah Thomas in lieu of rebuild guru Larry Brown. I'll let that statement speak for itself.
Even if the team stayed completely healthy the entire year, I have little confidence that the few weapons we do have will be in the mental condition (read: Marbury) to perform, or will be used the way they were meant to be (see Nate Robinson and Eddy Curry).
I like the Knicks this year. Alot of the season is going to depend on how Thomas uses D-Lee and Balkman, who is an extremely underrated player. If Lee gets enough minutes as the 6th man, and shows us the same hustle he did last year, the Knicks have a chance to be succesful.
It's been said many times, but they are going to have to improve their defense and consistency. They have to avoid getting themselves into early trouble, because they seem to finish out games strong.
I do agree that they have to make a decision between either the rookies or veterans. Honestly, as much as I like Allan Houston as a player and person, there is no need for him to be even considered for the roster. Same goes for Malik Rose, who essentially serves as a bench warmer. They have alot of young talent, but Marbury, Curry, Randolph, and Crawford have been in the league long enough to show the leadership skills necessary for a succesful team.
Before I begin, I want to explain that my knowledge of the NBA is pretty basic, merely what I hear/see on ESPN, so forgive any comments that are seemingly unfounded. Having said that, I would like to offer my two cents on the Knicks, as well as the NBA.
No team that has dissention among its ranks can be succesfull. If a team is fighting amongst itself, how can it hope to compete with teams that are rolling on all cylinders? This seems to be the case with the New York Knicks.
Whether the issue lies in the coaching staff, the players, or the management, if a franchise is not trying to achieve the same goal then it is doomed to fail. With the influx of talent to the Boston Celtics and continued improvement of other conference opponents, the Knicks appear to quickly be falling behind the rest of the league.
Having said this, the Knicks have a copious supply of young talent and appear to be on the verge of a new era for the franchise. The question for the season now becomes, can the Knicks forget about the pre-season woes and scandals to come together as a young powerhouse in the Eastern Conference? Only time will tell, but with the Yankees spending the winter at home, New York fans will quickly become inpatient with unimpressive performance from the Knicks. New York, New York...
Randolph and Curry together combine for one of the best big man combo's in the Eastern Conference, and David Lee is a rising star in this league. With a pretty stout frontcourt I feel like the Knicks might be able to make a push for the playoffs if they can keep Curry and Randolph healthy which alreadys seems unlikely with the recent surgery done on Curry's shoulder. Also I think the Knicks will end up cutting Malik Rose, and Nichols. Jordan should make the team as 3rd PG since they recently got rid of Dan Dickau
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