2012-2013 Knicks Season Preview

The Knicks open their 2012-2013 season Friday night with high expectations.  After losing to the same Miami Heat team in May that they will play tonight, the Knicks hope to improve on their 36-30 season and 7th seed in the Eastern Conference.

Point Guards

The Knicks major loss this offseason came when they let Jeremy Lin sign with the Houston Rockets.  James Dolan chose not to match the offer the Rockets gave for the breakout point guard last season.  Lin was the major reason for the 8-15 Knicks turning their season around last year.
Raymond Felton will now lead New York's backcourt.  Felton returns to the Knicks after playing 54 games here in 2010-2011 in Amare Stoudemire's first season.  Felton looks to have the success he had early on here after having a disappointing season last year with the Portland Trail Blazers.

New York also brought in 40-year-old point guard and future Hall of Famer Jason Kidd to come off the bench.  Kidd is a nice addition providing some depth and a guy who can lead this team.  Kidd has been there before and will be able to mentor guys like Felton.
The Knicks also brought in 35-year-old rookie from Spain, Pablo Prigioni, to be another effective point guard off the bench.  

Shooting Guards

At shooting guard, the Knicks will mix and match a couple of guys until Iman Shumpert returns from his torn ACL.  New York brought in Ronnie Brewer, who becomes the opening night starter.  Brewer is known more for his defense, something the Knicks definitely need out of the backcourt.
J.R. Smith returns after being a key contributor in the second half of the season for New York last season.  Smith should come off the bench as a 6th man and will see plenty of playing time.  When he's on, he can score at will.  They're going to need his scoring out of the backcourt.  Smith has the ability to score 15 points a game off the bench.  The Knicks are going to need that scoring and energy from him that we saw last season.
The Knicks also added high flying guard/forward James White, who played overseas last season.  The 30-year-old will provide a spark off the bench as he should be the recipient of some big-time dunks.

Small Forwards 

At small forward, the Knicks are of course led by their star Carmelo Anthony.  After having an incredible Olympics run and winning the gold medal, Melo is ready to have a huge season.  With Stoudemire being out the first 6-8 weeks of the season, Anthony becomes the Knicks go to guy.  Look for him to play the power forward position a lot until Stat returns to action.  Anthony should thrive in that role with not many power forwards being able to stop the versatile scoring forward.
The Knicks also bring back three-point specialist Steve Novak this season.  Novak provided a huge spark off the bench last season making a plethora of big-time three point shots.  With Anthony playing at the four, expect Novak to get some big minutes off the bench at the three.
Expect to hear Chris Copeland's name a lot this season.  Copeland played overseas last season and had a huge preseason surprising a lot of people.  Copeland can score at will at times and will shock a lot of people coming off the bench this season.  If the Knicks continue having injury problems, look for the 6'8" 28-year-old to fill in.

Power Forwards 

The Knicks will go the first 6-8 weeks of the season without their starting forward, Amare Stoudemire. Stoudemire went down in preseason with a knee injury and will not return until late December.  Coach Mike Woodson is going to use a lot of different lineups with Stoudemire out.  The Knicks acquired veteran Kurt Thomas in the trade with Raymond Felton.  Thomas is very familiar with New York after playing here for seven years from 1998-2005.  Thomas should see some minutes and is a nice veteran to have to help some of the younger guys.
The Knicks also signed 38-year-old Rasheed Wallace to come off the bench.  Wallace came out of retirement to join a Knicks team that went with some veteran bench presence this season.  Wallace will get minutes with Stoudemire out along with Thomas at power forward.

Centers

Tyson Chandler returns as the Knicks starting center this season.  Chandler had a solid first season in New York averaging 11.3 PPG and 9.9 RPG.  Chandler is a double-double machine at center and will be pivotal in the paint, especially in the first two months of the season without Stoudemire.  His defensive presence down low will be essential for the Knicks success this season.
The Knicks also bring back another one of their former players in Marcus Camby.  Camby will back up Chandler and get some major minutes this season.  The key for the 38-year-old is staying healthy.  Camby has been injury prone throughout his career dating back to when he played for the Knicks from 1998-2002.  Camby's defense and ability to block shots will be big for this team over the course of the season.

Prediction

The key for the Knicks this season is staying healthy.  Stoudemire is already out and injuries have been a major issue for this team.  If Stat and Melo can gel together, this team could be a contender in the East.  Melo is expected to have possibly the best season of his career.  The key is him working well with his teammates.  Coach Woodson did a tremendous job last season filling in and getting this team to the playoffs.  Woodson hasn't been able to get the Hawks or the Knicks over that first round playoff hump.  With the talent in the Eastern Conference this season, it will be tough for him to do it this year.  If the Knicks stay healthy over this 82-game season they will return to the playoffs.

Expect a 46-36 season and the 5th seed in the East for the Knickerbockers this season.

Melo Haters Silenced

Anyone who had anything bad to say about Carmelo Anthony was quickly silenced Sunday afternoon.

Anthony put on an unbelievable performance at Madison Square Garden in a playoff atmosphere against the Bulls, who have the best record in the Eastern Conference and the most wins in the NBA.  The Knicks beat the Bulls, 100-99 in overtime. Melo scored an astounding 43 points.  He showed integrity and determination down the stretch making clutch basket after clutch basket.  With 11 seconds left, Melo drained a long three pointer with the long arm of Taj Gibson right in his face.  The Garden erupted into a thunderous roar.  The Knicks seemed to be out of the game, but thanks to four missed free throws by Luol Deng and Derrick Rose, the Knicks stayed alive.  Melo's clutch three helped send the Knicks to overtime where he was not done yet.

Melo would make a driving layup with just over a minute to go in overtime to cut the Bulls lead to two.  With eight seconds left, Melo would make the Garden shake once again.  He drained another long three pointer with Deng's hand in his face to give the Knicks a 100-99 lead.  The Knicks would get a stop on defense and come out with the victory.

Anthony showed all his haters that he knows that it is his time.  The Knicks are playing without Jeremy Lin for the rest of the season and possibly without star Amare Stoudemire for the year.  Sunday was up there as one of the most magical performances ever seen at MSG.  The Knicks needed that game as the Bucks are creeping up behind them for the eight seed in the East.  It was a monumental win in a game that could be a playoff preview of the first round.  Anyone who had doubts about Melo has hopped on the bandwagon now and is on for the ride.

The Knicks clearly are the team that the Bulls and Heat do not want to play in May.  The Knicks are tied with the Sixers for the seven seed at the moment with the Bucks sitting just a game behind.  New York has ten games remaining and will play the Bulls once again on Tuesday night in Chicago.

D'Antoni Did The Right Thing

Mike D'Antoni knew his time was up in New York.  The Knicks had lost 6 games in a row.  They were falling out of the playoff standings, and the player-coach relationship was not there.  Carmelo Anthony was opening his mouth,  and D'Antoni was firing back.  On Wednesday, D'Antoni called it quits.

The Knicks have underachieved for the most part of the 2011-2012 season.  They started the season 8-15 before Jeremy Lin came in and took over as point guard.  They would then win their next seven games in a row during Lin-sanity.  The Knicks would then start to struggled once Carmelo Anthony returned from injury.  The style of play had changed completely and the team had no chemistry.  D'Antoni clearly had trouble working with the new offense and it showed in their play.

Now, assistant coach Mike Woodson takes over for the rest of the season and Woodson know what he has to do with this team.  It all starts with Stat and Melo.  Amare Stoudemire has been nowhere near what he was last year and it is time for him to be more aggressive and look for his shot more.  Jeremy Lin can take less shots and the Knicks can move the ball more.  Woodson knows exactly what this team has to do to win games.  Woodson has been there and in the playoffs before.  He is a defensive-minded coach, something that the Knicks lacked with D'Antoni.

The Knicks needed a change and they needed it quick.  Mike Woodson is going to send this team in the right direction the rest of the way and help the Knicks get back to the playoffs.  We are going to see the Knicks playing hard-nosed basketball the rest of the season headed into the playoffs.  The talent is there for the Knicks to get to the playoffs and to make noise in the playoffs.  With 23 games remaining and the Knicks tied for the eighth seed in the Eastern Conference, there is still time for the Knicks to get back to the team we saw in February that had Madison Square Garden going Lin-sane and ticket prices off the charts.

Just Shut Up and Win

The Knicks have gone from a team that had all of the NBA talking for all the right reasons just two weeks ago.  They now are being talked about for all the wrong reasons.  New York is on a six game losing streak, Carmelo Anthony won't keep his mouth shut, and Mike D'Antoni has lost control of his team.  The Knicks chemistry is at an all time low as fingers are being pointed in all different directions.

Coach Mike D'Antoni has lost complete control of his team.  Carmelo Anthony has commented putting blame on the coach, while D'Antoni has done the same on Anthony.  Clearly, the relationship between the coach and his players is horrific right now.  The Knicks are not worried about winning and are more worried on blaming each other acting like children.  It's about time for them to just shut up and win ball games.  The Knicks are on the verge of missing the playoffs as they have fallen into a tie for the eighth seed in the east with the Bucks.  The Cavaliers are sitting right behind the Knicks just one game back.  If the Knicks cannot get a win in the next couple of games, D'Antoni's time in New York may be up before his contract expires at the end of the season. 

The Knicks clearly have the talent and a deep bench to get to the playoffs and do the damage.  This team needs to get their act together off the court and play the kind of basketball we saw in the month of February.  The team has struggled mightily since the return of Anthony following his injury.  Anthony cleared up the rumors of him wanting to be traded by saying he wants to remain a Knick.  Most Knicks fans at this point would have no problem trading Anthony, but there is nowhere he could go right now.  The Knicks gave up a ton to get him and he is not going anywhere. (at least not this season)  

The Knicks need to stop the talking and get back to their winning ways before it gets out of hand more than it has already.  The Knicks will face the Blazers at the Garden tonight and are in need of a huge win.  It's time that the Knicks win games, play team basketball, and stop pointing fingers at each other.  The Knicks have 24 games remaining, with 14 of those being against teams over .500.  

The New Look Knicks

The Knicks have become an entirely different team than the team we saw just seven games ago when they were an abysmal 8-15.  They were a couple losses away from Mike D'Antoni being jobless, Jeremy Lin being cut, and Carmelo Anthony banging himself up even more.  The Knicks were being led by a banged up Anthony and a struggling Amare Stoudemire.  Two men were attempting to carry the team on their backs.  It just could not be done.  They needed a change.  That's when the Knickerbockers would make a Lin-probable return to winning basketball and an excitement in New York that we have not seen since the days of Patrick Ewing, Allan Houston, and Latrell Sprewell.

The Knicks are now at .500 at 15-15 and in the thick of the playoff race securing the eight seed in the Eastern Conference right now.  Lin has helped lead the Knicks putting up unbelievable numbers.  Lin has scored at least 20 points in six of the seven games and has had at least seven assists in every game.  Three of the games he has recorded a double double.  Lin dropped 38 points against Kobe Bryant and the Lakers in front of a packed Madison Square Garden without Stoudemire and Anthony.  It has been a story that has gotten Lin several endorsement offers and the financial assets to move him off his brother's couch and into his own place.  Lin has thrived even with all the attention he has received.

When everyone thought the Lin-sanity would take a halt for a game against the Raptors in Toronto, Lin scored six points in the final minute including a game winning three pointer with less than a second to go.

This story has been one of the most inspiring stories and one that has Knicks fans believing in a championship this season.  Just today, the Knicks signed J.R. Smith hoping he can add some depth from the shooting guard position.  When Smith is on, he is an explosive scorer.  Him and Anthony played together in Denver as well.  The Knicks have a potential starting lineup of Jeremy Lin, J.R. Smith, Carmelo Anthony, Amare Stoudemire, and Tyson Chandler.  That is arguably the best lineup in the NBA.

The question is whether Anthony will be able to co-exist with Lin and the rest of the team.  Melo will have to do a lot more passing and less shooting.  This Knicks team has thrived moving the ball and getting everyone involved.  They have gotten great bench play from Steve Novak as well as Jared Jeffries and Bill Walker.  The team has played superb team basketball since Anthony has been out.  The Knicks need Anthony to return, be healthy, and move the ball with this new look team.  If this team can co-exist and continue their unselfish play, we might just see a deep playoff run and MSG rocking come late May for the first time in over a decade.

Merry Christmas NBA Fans

This Christmas is going to be an extra special one for basketball fans.  Fans get to not only wake up on Christmas day to family and presents, but will also get to watch NBA basketball for the first time since June.  Early Saturday morning, the NBA owners and players would come to a tentative agreement to end the 149-day lockout.  The league plans to open up training camps and free agency on December 9th and have the first games on December 25th.  It is planned to be a 66 game season, 16 games less than a regular 82 game season.

The specifics of the deal have not been confirmed yet.  The players accepted a deal somewhere between the range of 49-51% in favor of the owners.  The exact details of the deal should be known in the coming days.  Most importantly, basketball will be played and both sides wanted to end this lockout as soon as they could.  Commissioner David Stern said it would take around 30 days from when the deal was made to begin the season.  In just two weeks, the craziness that we all saw once the NFL lockout ended will be seen in the NBA.  Trades and free agency signings will be in a frenzy as lots of moves will be made.  It happened to be one of the most exciting weeks in sports when we saw all the moves made in July following the end of the NFL lockout.  Plan to seen all that madness come again in December.  Owners, players, and fans are all relieved to see the end almost near.  It has been months of negotiations and meetings that at times had many extremely frustrated and had fans in disarray.

In New York, fans could not be happier.  We get to see 66 games of Carmelo Anthony and Amare Stoudemire together on the same floor.  ”Stat and Melo” had Madison Square Garden packed every night for the three months they got to see of them.  There is no question that MSG is going to have the same excitement this season as they get 75% of a season to see them suit up together.  The Knicks have a bright future to look to, but are going to need more than just two stars to win.  Veteran point guard Chauncey Billups played a pivotal role in the Knicks success late last season as well.  This will most likely be Billups only full season with the Knicks as he is a free agent after he makes $14.2 million this season.  The Knicks are going to need a lot more depth and some more size if they want to achieve success this season.  They struggled mightily at the center position last season.  They lacked size and depth to help out Stoudemire in the paint.  The Knicks are going to need to make moves adding depth to this team.  Rookie Landry Fields had a very solid season for them, but was nonexistent in the playoffs and spent most of the time on the bench.  Big man Jared Jeffries is a liability on offense and cost the Knicks a playoff game in the first round against the Celtics.  Guard Roger Mason did not get much playing time throughout the season and when he did was very ineffective.  One bright spot the Knicks did see last season was the play of backup point guard Toney Douglas.  Douglas was very effective off the bench and has a very bright future ahead of him.  The Knicks need help but have the pieces to build a championship contender.  Of course, they will have to compete the “big three” in Miami as well as Derrick Rose and the Bulls and the division rival Boston Celtics.

Knicks fans and all NBA fans are looking forward to Christmas day.  Mark down December 25th on your calendars NBA fans, it is a rare day where you get to celebrate two holidays in one day.  The season tips off at noon at MSG as the Knicks play the Celtics.  The Mavericks will host the Heat in a rematch of the NBA finals.  FInally, the Lakers will host the Bulls in a classic matchup of two past rivals.