Post by cobrafitz on Feb 6, 2008 18:03:49 GMT -5
The East became a much more competitive division last year, and that only figures to increase this season. As a result, the Knicks evaluated their team and came up with two conclusions: rebuild completely or work with what we had and try to win now.
We put multiple players on the market who had really helped the team the last two years. In the end, only Nate Robinson moved on and the rest of the team stayed intact for the most part. So the decision was made to go for it now with the youth and a dominant Dwight Howard roaming the paint.
This season's lineup looks very different from the previous palyoff teams of two or three seasons past:
Point Guard:
Jameer Nelson moves back to the position after multiple seasons playing out of position at the 2. Jameer was excellent out of position, but the Knicks don't believe that strategy will work any longer with a much improved East. He brings one of the best Assist to Turnover ratios in the league at 5 to 1 the last time he was running point.
Backups:
Matias Nocedal has a bright future with the Knicks and is the heir to Jameer Nelson. That time could happen sooner rather than later should the Knicks find themselves out of the playoffs the next few years. Stephon Marbury is a FA next year and really only provides insurance at this point in his career.
Shooting Guard:
Recently acquired Caron Butler brings a higher level of defensive play to the Knicks at the SG position. His acquisition may force the team to play a little slower pace of basketball from teams the last two years as he really is more suited for the 3. His defense and scoring ability will transform the Knicks into an interior minded team.
Backups:
Young Nick Calathes just isn't ready for a starting job in the NBL despite his terrific offensive abilities. He'll come off the bench to score points in bunches when needed. He'll be ready to start soon, but in the meantime he'll need to focus his efforts to filling the role the team needs him to fill. Raja Bell was signed as an insurance policy in the event the team wasn't able to acquire another SG.
Small Forward:
Trevor Ariza will fill a new role for the Knicks this season. In seasons past all we asked him to do was play defense. Now he will be the #2 option in an inside focused offense. He can overpower most Small Forwards in the league and we will see how well that translates to scoring.
Backups:
The team will go with Will Chandler as the primary backup to Ariza because of his defensive abilities. Another option is Luke Walton though he won't play a very big role for the team either way.
Power Forward:
With scoring threats at the other four positions on the court, the Knicks are going to go with a defensive stopper like Jermareo Davidson to grab boards, block shots, and get steals. He will need to be effective or Koufos will get his starting job back. The team's strategy could also backfire by not having enough scoring punch in which case Koufos could be back as well.
Backups:
Kosta Koufos is the backup to Davidson at the moment. The team will look to bolster it's frontline to prevent using Chandler, Ariza, or Walton at the 4 or 5. Koufos cold easily break back into the starting lineup should the current lineup flop.
Center:
Dwight is the only center currently on the roster, and really he's a man and can handle the duties all by himself. As usual he's got the Knicks on his back and it will be up to him how far this team can go. He will be the focus again this year and the team will make efforts to draw defenders away from him by using Ariza as the secodn option down low. It is not the greatest strategy but Ariza will be a mismatch for many SF around the league down on the blocks so it could work.
Overall, we expect this team to be very competitive. Almost all the playoffs spots could come from the Knicks' division, so it will be a tough battle for one of the spots. That said, we like our advantages at PG and C. Other positions like SG and SF provide unique advantages as well, it will just be a matter of running the right offense to be most effective.
We put multiple players on the market who had really helped the team the last two years. In the end, only Nate Robinson moved on and the rest of the team stayed intact for the most part. So the decision was made to go for it now with the youth and a dominant Dwight Howard roaming the paint.
This season's lineup looks very different from the previous palyoff teams of two or three seasons past:
Point Guard:
Jameer Nelson moves back to the position after multiple seasons playing out of position at the 2. Jameer was excellent out of position, but the Knicks don't believe that strategy will work any longer with a much improved East. He brings one of the best Assist to Turnover ratios in the league at 5 to 1 the last time he was running point.
Backups:
Matias Nocedal has a bright future with the Knicks and is the heir to Jameer Nelson. That time could happen sooner rather than later should the Knicks find themselves out of the playoffs the next few years. Stephon Marbury is a FA next year and really only provides insurance at this point in his career.
Shooting Guard:
Recently acquired Caron Butler brings a higher level of defensive play to the Knicks at the SG position. His acquisition may force the team to play a little slower pace of basketball from teams the last two years as he really is more suited for the 3. His defense and scoring ability will transform the Knicks into an interior minded team.
Backups:
Young Nick Calathes just isn't ready for a starting job in the NBL despite his terrific offensive abilities. He'll come off the bench to score points in bunches when needed. He'll be ready to start soon, but in the meantime he'll need to focus his efforts to filling the role the team needs him to fill. Raja Bell was signed as an insurance policy in the event the team wasn't able to acquire another SG.
Small Forward:
Trevor Ariza will fill a new role for the Knicks this season. In seasons past all we asked him to do was play defense. Now he will be the #2 option in an inside focused offense. He can overpower most Small Forwards in the league and we will see how well that translates to scoring.
Backups:
The team will go with Will Chandler as the primary backup to Ariza because of his defensive abilities. Another option is Luke Walton though he won't play a very big role for the team either way.
Power Forward:
With scoring threats at the other four positions on the court, the Knicks are going to go with a defensive stopper like Jermareo Davidson to grab boards, block shots, and get steals. He will need to be effective or Koufos will get his starting job back. The team's strategy could also backfire by not having enough scoring punch in which case Koufos could be back as well.
Backups:
Kosta Koufos is the backup to Davidson at the moment. The team will look to bolster it's frontline to prevent using Chandler, Ariza, or Walton at the 4 or 5. Koufos cold easily break back into the starting lineup should the current lineup flop.
Center:
Dwight is the only center currently on the roster, and really he's a man and can handle the duties all by himself. As usual he's got the Knicks on his back and it will be up to him how far this team can go. He will be the focus again this year and the team will make efforts to draw defenders away from him by using Ariza as the secodn option down low. It is not the greatest strategy but Ariza will be a mismatch for many SF around the league down on the blocks so it could work.
Overall, we expect this team to be very competitive. Almost all the playoffs spots could come from the Knicks' division, so it will be a tough battle for one of the spots. That said, we like our advantages at PG and C. Other positions like SG and SF provide unique advantages as well, it will just be a matter of running the right offense to be most effective.
