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!
