6-0 Knicks Winning With Defense

The Knicks proved Thursday night that their undefeated start is no fluke.  Coach Mike Woodson's team topped the 7-1 Spurs in their most impressive win of the young season so far.  We saw the resiliency in this team after coming back from a 12-point deficit with seven minutes remaining in the 4th quarter.  Five Knicks scored in double figures as the Knicks improve to 6-0 on the season. 

The Knicks have been getting contributions from everyone so far.  Carmelo Anthony only scored nine points last night and the Knicks still pulled off the win against what was the best team in the NBA.  J.R. Smith is having a career year early on scoring 18 points a game  Raymond Felton and Jason Kidd have been absolutely tremendous for this team and they showed it last night.  Felton led New York with 25 points last night.  Kidd scored 14 including a couple of big three pointers in the 4th quarter to propel the Knicks to the big comeback win.  So far, it looks like the combo of Felton and Kidd might be the better option than if they chose to retain Jeremy Lin.  The Knicks offense seems to have better chemistry without Lin at the point.  They are moving the ball around and getting everyone involved, which we didn't see as much last season.  The offense that revolved around Anthony now has been able to find other guys to contribute and score when their star has an off night like last night.  

The biggest reason for this team's early success has been their defense.  Coach Woodson has revitalized this team on the defensive end.  The Knicks are the second best defensive team in the NBA right now giving up just under 90 points a game.  Woodson's team is coming up with defensive stops in the 4th quarter when they need it most.  The defense has been the biggest reason for their unbeaten season.  

It's been fun to watch so far.  When "Ra-sheed Wallace" chants begin at MSG early in the 4th quarter, things have to be going right.  Sheed has actually played a key role off the bench for this team through the first six games contributing six points a game.  This team has beaten three playoff teams so far in the Heat, Mavericks, and Spurs.  The road only gets tougher tonight when they are in Memphis taking on the 6-1 in Grizzlies.  

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.

Knicks Season Comes To End

The banged up Knicks roster could not pull off a miracle in Miami.  The Heat ended the Knicks season Wednesday night defeating the Knicks with ease, winning the series four games to one.

New York knew it would be tough to make it a series once Iman Shumpert went down with a torn ACL.  As it if that was not enough, Amare Stoudemire decided to go at war with a fire extinguisher and cut up his hand.  Stoudemire would have to miss game three because of the injury.  If those two blows were not enough, Baron Davis would then go down in game four tearing his ACL as well.  The Knicks were down three point guards for game five.  Jeremy Lin could not pull a Willis Reed as his knee still was not 100 percent.  The Heat were just too talented for a Knicks team that was hobbled and in disarray.

The Knicks did not show much fight in game five as they could not get the game close in the second half. They trailed by double digits the entire second half and could not put any form of run on.  The Heat had an answer to every move the Knicks tried to make.  The Knickerbockers got the one team in the Eastern Conference that they did not want to play.  They clearly would have matched up better playing the Bulls, who trail the eight seeded Sixers three games to two.  Miami is by far the best team in the East right now.  With Derrick Rose going down with a torn ACL, the Heat have instantly become the favorite out of the East.

Mike Woodson's squad has a very good team and one that can definitely contend once again next year.  This team needs some backcourt help.  Steve Nash will definitely be a guy that the Knicks will have on their radar.  Jeremy Lin was huge for New York, but the league started to catch up with him a bit before he got hurt.  The Knicks will most likely bring back Lin-sanity as he instantly became a fan favorite.  The team still needs a lot of backcourt help as Iman Shumpert will not be back until around Christmas time and Baron Davis will miss almost all of next season.  Landry Fields will also become a free agent and could have played his last game as a Knick.  New York needs to bring in a guy who can score out of the backcourt helping out Stoudemire and Carmelo Anthony.  Besides another point guard along with Lin, and a shooting guard, the Knicks need another big man to come off the bench.  Jared Jeffries is not the answer.  Jeffries played well off the bench this year, but New York needs another big man who is not a liability offensively.

Coach Woodson definitely deserves to return next year.  Woodson had this team playing very good basketball finishing 18-6 to end the season.  Unless Phil Jackson decides to come out of retirement, Mike Woodson should coach this team next season.

With a bit of backcourt help and some depth added to the bench, the Knicks could definitely come in next season after a full summer of training camp and compete with the Bulls and Heat at the top of the Eastern Conference.

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.