 |
| I had to attach this shot of Jerry Stiller with the mid 90’s Knicks City Dancers...“Serenity Now!!!!”- Alex |
The best words to describe this New York Knicks team are VERY INTERESTING! The Knicks are the 4th youngest team in the NBA which is intriguing in itself, and they now have a legitimate All-Star who decided to take his talents to the garden in Amare Stoudemire. I am not one to get into salaries because it ain’t my money and I just want to be entertained. Hopefully we will finally see a team that can run and gun in D’Antoni style. There is no doubt that this is a crucial year for D’Antoni to produce some results. I agree they should contend for the last playoff spot. Big turnover of the roster brings excitement for Knicks fans as they finally have a team with youth, energy, and the ability to protect the rim. I loved David Lee but his shortcomings were obvious and well documented. The Raptors got nothing for Bosh, the Cavs got nothing for LeBron, the Knicks got 3 young players for Lee.
Besides being young and having a legit star the Knicks also continue to build an international roster with new additions:
Kelenna Azubuike -- Born in London but raised in Oklahoma, he is a former D-leaguer who can shoot and score, is a great athlete but will be out with injury till January.
Ronny Turiaf—Born and raised on the French Caribbean island of Martinique, then moved to Paris for high school. He had a serious heart condition that was discovered after he was drafted by the Lakers doctors. He now runs a charity to help provide medical care for children with no insurance or means to pay for the care they need. It is worth checking out his personal website. He is fully rehabbed and will add size and help protect the bucket, which is something the Knicks have lacked since Camby left town.
Timofey Mozgov --Born in St. Petersburg, Russia. He is 7 foot one and has been the focus of a lot of hype the last few weeks, and why not. He brings size and a nice mid range jumper, he will get better and that the Knicks got him is somewhat amazing. The Nets new owner is a Russian mega-millionaire and they did not get him. Interesting story of how Mozgov was hiding out until the Knicks could finalize his deal. He got some great experience in high pressure games during the recent World Championships this summer.
Of course the Knicks already have Danilo Gallinari ---- the rooster, who will have to continue to improve if the Knicks want to get in the playoffs. Amare will be option 1 but we need to see consistency from Gallinari and some growth in his game, proving that he is more than just a jump shooter.
The other newcomers that join the 3 youngsters of Gallinari, Will Chandler and Toney Douglas are:
Ray Felton-- a huge upgrade at the point guard position who will be “dishing and swishing”. Felton can push the ball and provide some defensive pressure on the opposing point. There is talk of seeing Felton and Douglas together and playing a smaller line-up vs. Chandler playing the 2 out of position. I think much of the Knicks offensive success relies on 2 things 1) D leading to O 2) hitting open 3’s and not shooting bad ones. Their overall success will rely on their ability to gel and the development of their young guns, especially Randolph and Gallo.
Anthony Randolph--- exciting young player (21 yrs young), crazy potential and the antithesis of Eddy Curry in that he can be guilty of trying too much. He is a great athlete and can block shots, handle the ball, drive and finish but definitely a work in progress. Big potential bargaining chip in the chase for Carmelo Anthony. (more on that later)
Amare Stoudemire--- Let’s hope he stays healthy because he can do a lot and can teach his young teammates a lot. Apparently he woks very hard at practice (first there and last to leave) and seems so far to be relishing the pressure that the New York market brings.
Roger Mason--- shooter who could compete for playing time.
The Knicks had 2 draft picks: Andy Rautins a shooter from Syracuse and Landry Fields a swingman from Stanford, who led the Pac 10 in scoring and rebounding last year. Apparently Fields has impressed enough that he is projected to get some quality burn right away. Worth noting that both rooks played 4 years college ball and are not your average rookies, showing a lot in camp and pre-season. It will be interesting to see if D’Antoni extends his floor time to include a second unit which would give some burn to the high energy “neophytes”. Typically the coach has stayed with a 8 man rotation.
I think it is worth mentioning that Toney Douglas played real well in the pre-season and we could see a lot of him this year as his defense and energy are much needed. Bill Walker is back and he is a very exciting young player in his third year in the league. We got him from the Celtics when we dumped N8 late last year. The Knicks will need time to gel but as I said in the opening they will be interesting to watch. One blog ranked them as one of the most watchable teams--- I think that means they may be exciting. As I said before I want to be entertained and love the run and gun style that D’Antoni and Amare played in Phoenix. I grew up a Knicks fan but also loved the showtime Lakers and then later the run and gun UNLV and Loyola Marymount teams. That is fun basketball to watch.
I do not think much need to discuss Melo at this time. Any deal would happen down the road and despite rumors that say otherwise, I would be shocked if the Knicks would trade Danilo Gallinari at this time. Obviously management had no problem trading Lee or Nate Robinson who were other crowd favorites but this would shock me. Wilson Chandler is another story, same goes for Douglas who is expendable for a talent like Melo. The Nets and others may have more to offer and so be it. I hope trade rumors will not effect the team too much. The pressure to perform in NYC is immense always. The Knicks will be able to get a better deal in a trade that happens down the road.
Bottom line is that the roster is upgraded immensely even without LeBron. And with or without Carmelo the Knicks have some talent that could lead to playoff basketball in the Garden. No doubt about it the Knicks fans are starving for a winner. Whether we get a winner or not “at least I’m enjoying the ride”.
Posts
No comments:
Post a Comment