CelticsLife Atlantic Division Preview: The New York Knicks

New York Knicks 13/14 record: 37-45

Over the course of the next week, members of the CelticsLife staff will take a look at what to expect from the Atlantic Division this coming season. Today, let's dive into the New York Knicks



The Knicks are a complicated team. On the surface, I want to say that they're quietly a very good team. That once they completely give up on Andrea Bargnani (who, for as bad he is at center, is infinitely worse defensively at the power forward position), they could easily have a hot stretch of basketball, and enter the playoffs as a serious team to watch. Because if you look past their obvious flaws (both on the court and off) this actually a pretty talented roster that should rebound well this season.

But they're also the Knicks. So your guess is as good as mine.




Key Additions: Jose Calderon, Samuel Dalembert, Jason Smith, Derek Fisher
Key Losses: Tyson Chandler, Whatever Ron Artest is calling himself these days, Raymond Felton, Mike Woodson

There have been a lot of questions about the Knicks new head coach. Is hiring a coach with no experience a good decision? Will Fisher be able to implement the triangle offense? Will Carmelo respect him? Will Carmelo buy into the triangle? Will Carmelo shift his focus to being a more present part on 'Lala's Full Court Life'? All super-valid questions.

Here's the one thing I think you need to know about Derek Fisher; he's not Mike Woodson. And that in itself should be a radical improvement.

Say what you will about how the Knicks have assembled their roster. Not resigning a first round pick in twenty years is an outright embarrassment, and far from their only one in the past few years. But in a historically bad Eastern Conference, incompetence is the only explanation for this team finishing well below .500. Unimaginative play calling, poor player management, and unfathomably bad late game strategics out of the head coaching position is the only way a team with a star like Carmelo Anthony, who averaged 28 points, 8 rebounds, 3 rebounds and a steal a night last season, could miss the playoffs in the Eastern conference.

Take a look at this late-game blunder the Knicks, who were armed with a timeout, had against the Washington Wizards back in December.



Review that again, and watch Mike Woodson doing his best imitation of a statue who is terrible at coaching in the top left hand corner of your screen. It's just one example of many, but its the embodies all the issues with Woodson. The defensive minded coach, watched his team have a complete breakdown onthat resulted in an uncontested Bradley Beal layup (who somehow found his way past Beno Udrih) on the defensive end, then opted against using a timeout in the final 7 seconds despite it being painfully obvious that he should, to the point (at around 3.5 seconds left) where it's physically uncomfortable to watch.

So while Fisher's inexperience might come into question, and there's good reason to question how long it'll take the Knicks to be able to adopt to the three point offense, there should be little question on if Fisher's leadership qualities should allow him to get more out of this roster than Woodson did.

Helping him mightily will be the steady play of Jose Calderon. For as much talk as there is about the Knicks being interested in Rajon Rondo right now, I think a lot of that will cool down with 30 days of Calderon playing the point for the Knicks.

It's not that Jose Calderon is better than Rajon Rondo, clearly he's not. But Calderon is a better fit. He's the exact type of offensive-player you want to put next to Carmelo Anthony. A strong, heady point guard, who does a great job at running an offense and is deadly form deep (he's shot nearly .450 from 3 last season on 5 shots a game, and .460 the year before). They don't need an elite shot-creator like Rondo, they need a guy who can take care of the rock, initiate the offense, and hit down the many open looks Carmelo will be able to create for him.

Compare that to the play of Raymond Felton, and his .318 shooting from 3 point range, and you can start to see how Calderon could almost immediately benefit his teammates.



Iman Shumpert and JR Smith should have return seasons, as they're both way too dang talented to be as poor as they were last season. Calderon, again, should help; he'll be able to put them in the right places for them to succeed (or, succeed at a better rate than they did last season).

All right, that's enough talking good about the Knicks. Doesn't feel right. Let's get to some bad stuff.

Samuel Dalembert is not Tyson Chandler. Tyson Chandler is an elite defensive anchor who has shown the ability to dramatically elevate the defensive play of a team. Samuel Dalembert is tall. And while he occasionally has shown the ability to block shots, he's actually a really bad defensive player. Consistently alternating between being out of position because he's gambling on a shot block, and being out of position because he's never been able to grasp the idea of team defense.

Here's what the guys over at MavsMoneyball had to say about him:

Dalembert was actually one of the most infuriating players to watch all season, as he seemed to be in the wrong place in the wrong time remarkably often on defense, despite his skillset, he could never seem to finish the easiest of gimme shots at the rim, and he would take maddening 15 foot jumpers from time to time.

Similarly, he was so bad at even catching the basketball on a roll or a cut to the basket, and so bad at keeping his hands on a rebound, that he earned the nickname "Pizza Hands" Dalembert from yours truly, after I had cycled through every other "bad hands" joke I could think of, in honor of the fact that his hands probably functioned better as pizzas than as actual hands.

Between Dalembert and Bargnani, the Knicks should be able to put out their version of the 9 minute 'James Harden terrible defense' by mid-November.

Jason Smith could provide some much needed defensive relief, but you probably know this because he's currently leading the league in 'Compliments by dudes on the internet who haven't actually seen him play the game of basketball before.'


Who else?

Richissin: Over
O'Connor: Under
Dyer: Under