Continuing on our merry way with our TrueHoop familia, today we turn our attention to the New York Knickerbockers. Once a franchise looked upon with pride, but then they ran into Vince, Alvin, Antonio, and their old employee named Charles. The Raptors knocked them out in the first round and the Blue and Orange faithful have been reeling ever since.
The folks over at Knickerblogger have given us insight to what is in store this year from the Mecca. Looking back at last season, we got absolutely pummeled at the Garden, bounced back two days later to win by double digits at the ACC, Bargs was impressive again come April and then the next night we looked like we were a fly in a spiderweb and were humiliated. Another split of the season series. Seems to be a theme.
predicted starting 5:
For a team returning almost all of it’s core, this is actually a tough question. The only player they lost, Quentin Richardson, started 51 games for the team last year. So the big question is who will take over that starting role? It’s possible that D’Antoni might see if second year player Danilo Gallinari is ready. But it’s also possible that Eddy Curry or Darko Milicic work their way into the lineup as well. If I had to guess, I’ll go with the center-less option: Duhon, Chandler, Gallo, Harrington, and Lee.
best offensive player:
Nate Robinson, although I’m tempted to say David Lee, due to his strong ability to score inside and recover his teammates missed shots. However Nate can seemingly break down a defense at will, and his passing has improved over the years.
best defensive player:
That’s a question Knick fans have been unable to answer for a few seasons now. You could put up a list of mediocre candidates: Chris Duhon, Jared Jeffries, Wilson Chandler, or maybe newcomers Darko Milicic and Toney Douglas. I’ll pass on this one.
best new player:
The main competitors are Darko Milicic, Jordan Hill, and Toney Douglas. Milicic has a checkered past, Jordan Hill may not see much playing time, and Douglas is a late round first. I’ll go with Milicic, but I think Doulgas is a better choice than Hill, at least for this season.
player that will be missed:
Sorry Richardson, but no one.
weakest link in your top 8 rotation players:
Depends on who is in the top 8. I’ll have to pass for now.
greatest weakness as a team:
Defense. As I said before, the team doesn’t have any great defenders, and there are some guys who are clearly below average.
biggest question heading into the season:
Putting aside "what will happen in free agency next summer?", I’ll go with "who is in the rotation?" It’ll be interesting to see who is getting playing time, especially among Gallo, Curry, Darko, Hill, and Douglas.
if I was GM for a day, I would…
… have signed Ramon Sessions over the summer, and tried to get Lee and Nate locked into reasonable long term deals. If I can’t go back in time, then I’d grab Morris Almond. The Knicks need a scoring guard, and this could be the second year in a row that they let one get away from their summer league team that could make another team’s rotation (Von Wafer).
your opinion of the Raptors:
I love you. You love me. We’re a happy family.
if you had to assign a "movie title" to your expectations of the season, what would it be?
Pass.
– w/l prediction for your team
Pass.
Thanks again to Knickerblogger. If you want to become a stathead, you need to check out this piece on their site. Also, hit them up if you are ever looking for some Knicks tickets.
