'30 Teams in 30 Days' 2015-2016 NBA Season Preview: #19 New York Knicks

Test

  • Odds to win the 2015-2016 NBA Championship: 200:1
  • 2014-2015 Record: 17-65 (Missed Playoffs).
    • 2015 Draft Results:
      • [autotag]Kristaps Porzingis[/autotag], Latvia (4th Overall)
      • [autotag]Jerian Grant[/autotag], Notre Dame University (19th Overall)
    • Key Offseason Additions: [autotag]Robin Lopez[/autotag], Arron Afflalo, Kyle O’Quinn, Derrick Williams, Kevin Seraphin.
    • Key Offseason Losses: Tim Hardaway Jr., Jason Smith
  • Projected Starting Lineup:

Capitals Fire

  • Player Salaries

cat

  • Season in Review:

aq1

  • The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly (in video form):

All of these can be intertwined because they’re all a direct result of New York’s 2014-2015 tankapalooza. There’s not a whole lot from the season to analyze or talk about here that isn’t preaching to the choir. The good from last year is that the Knicks were so bad, it allowed their injured superstar to get surgery early and rehab so that he ready was in time for the upcoming campaign. In addition: they’ve finally wiped the books clean of every “bad” contract and long-term commitment, as Carmelo Anthony is the only player on the roster who was also on the team’s 2012 playoff squad. (This hypothesis depends on whether you think Carmelo is a “bad” contract, but, that’s a conversation for another day…)

The horridness of the Knicks’ win-loss record permitted them to not only obtain the 4th overall pick in the draft, but, get their rookies/young guys valuable regular season experience. I’m not going to sit here and try to convince you that Langston Galloway, Clenanthony Early, and Thanasis Antetokounmpo are pieces the Knicks would rely on in a potential playoff series – but, they certainly could be attractive pieces in a trade deadline package for a star player on the block, if the team ever gets back into contention and wants to make a move…

  • Baseless God Wob

aq2

So here we are: a completely new Knicks team that has not played a single minute together. Don’t let that mislead you, though, as between the draft and free agency: New York was undoubtedly one of the NBA’s biggest offseason winners. Let’s review in chronological order…

June 25th, 2015: The Knicks select Kristaps Porzingis with the 4th overall selection in the 2015 NBA draft.

The world erupts as the Knicks have done it once again – taken a flier on a raw European player who the franchise thinks is the next Dirk Nowitzki, but, will ultimately turn out to be Maciej Lampe.

Lives are ruined.

(Warning: Explicit language)

Reality sets in that the Knicks just tanked an entire season to draft a player who will undoubtedly flame out AND don’t have their first round pick in 2016 because of the Andrea Bargnani trade/fleecing by Denver.

Not gonna lie, I may have overreacted.

Well, like many times before – just when you thought you were finally out of rooting for the Knicks, THEY PULL YOU BACK IN.

test

OHHHHHH!!!!!!!

Thirty minutes into Knicks fans planning the public execution of Phil Jackson, he completes the NBA transaction equivalent of ‘The Music City Miracle”: Jax convinced an NBA franchise to trade him a first round pick (who I thought so highly of I publicly implored to draft at the #4 slot) for Tim Hardaway Jr.

Yes, the same [autotag]Tim Hardaway Jr.[/autotag] who had one of the worst statistical season in [autotag]New York Knicks[/autotag] franchise history — recording an individual Defensive rating THIRTEEN POINTS HIGHER (114) than his Offensive (101), and a -4.2 box score plus/minus average while having the highest usage of any player on the roster, after Carmelo Anthony was held out for the season….

July 10th – 20th, 2015: Grant and Porzingis are unleashed at the NBA’s Summer League in Las Vegas.

The hype is real, ya’ll. Whether it’s him being a 6’7” (Six-foot-seven!!!) point guard, his “I don’t care who you are, I am about to school you” attitude, or Steve Nash-esque court vision — I could sit here and write 10,000 words about why I think [autotag]Jerian Grant[/autotag] will be the first player from this draft to be an all-star, but, for now: I’ll just show you instead.

Here are a plethora of reasons why:

His physicality is simply un-guardable. I’m sorry if you don’t agree, I don’t write the rules.

As for Porzingis, he confirmed two scouting reports on him: he has RANGE, and is awkwardly effective.

It’s tough to make predictions about players who haven’t played a real regular season game yet, but, I’ve honestly never felt this confident about Knicks draft pick(s) actually panning out as I do with these two AND MY SOLE PURPOSE ON THIS PLANET IS TO DESPISE EVERYTHING THIS FRANCHISE DOES.

cas

Expect these guys to be thrown into the mix IMMEDIATELY, Porzingis will likely start – and Grant won’t be too far behind him. They’ve both been perceived as “NBA Ready”, and they’re going to have to prove it … quickly.

July 10th: Free Agency moratorium ends, and the Knicks officially sign Arron Afflalo, Robin Lopez, Kyle O’Quinn, Derrick Williams.

Once again: no-one on this list of players is going to make you jump out of your chair and scream: “CHAMPIONSHIP”, but what these signings represent is: after DECADES of incompetency … this franchise may have finally turned the corner in re: to not turning everything they touch into feces.

Afflalo and Lopez’s impact will be felt immediately. Whether that’s a good thing or bad thing is TBD. I say this because Afflalo went Jekyl & Hyde on us last year before/after he got traded from Denver to Portland…

caty

I know that table is probably impossible to read – so, the sparknotes version of it is: Afflalo had a 11.7 P(layer) E(fficiency) R(ating) with the Denver Nuggets and a catastrophic 8.2 one in Portland. In addition: every major statistic was down across the board … maybe it was because Portland had a lot more good players than Denver had and subsequently didn’t get his paws on the rock as much as he did with the Nuggets, maybe it wasn’t. Regardless: the biggest thing that pops out to me here is that 97% … NINETY SEVEN PERCENT … of Afflalo’s three-point makes are assisted by another player. I think I speak for everyone when I say Carmelo Anthony isn’t necessarily the most generous of offensive players when it comes to distributing, so, how is Afflalo going to get his buckets if he can’t create them himself?

As for Lopez: it’s no secret. Defense Defense Defense. He brings an individual defensive rating 13 points to the good vs. his ORTG – meaning when he’s on the floor, his team scores 13 more points per 100 possessions than the opponent does. This interior stability is something the Knicks haven’t had since (healthy) Tyson Chandler in 2012 –

caty

…lord knows they’re going to need it when Carmelo and Kristaps are out there in the front court together.

Will all the radical transactions Phil Jackson completed translate to the court right away? That’s the million dollar question, and I say yes….

Anyways: whether you agree with my prediction or not, what you can’t argue against is the long-term consequences of these new Knicks if they don’t live up to their expectations – as all of these players mentioned above are signed to either short-term deals, market value contracts, and/or won’t be a drastic burden on the salary cap.

For the first time in a long time: The Knicks are in a win-win situation. If the free agent signings/draft picks gel together and make the playoffs, that is a phenomenal season for New York. If things don’t work out and they miss the postseason, oh well … Phil gets to try again next year because half the roster is signed to one-year contracts. Not having a Steve Francis, Allan Houston, Stephon Marbury, or Amare Stoudemire-esque albatross contract on the books makes us Knicks fans feel like the genie at the end of Aladdin when his shackles come off — no longer weighed down by the burden of “HOW MANY YEARS DOES _____ HAVE LEFT? FOR THE LOVE OF GOD WE CAN’T SIGN ANYONE FOR THE NEXT 5 YEARS” … and if the salary cap being cleared is the only good thing to happen to this franchise this season, I won’t complain — because for once: the fate of Knicks’ next decade won’t be determined by one “all in” season.

  • 2015-2016 Season Projection:
    • 40-42 Record
    • 8th Place in East
    • Playoff Prediction: 1st Round Exit
  • Fan Mindset, as told by Hollywood:
    • William Wallace, Braveheart
  • Baseless God Wob’s 3 Divine Questions:

aq30

  • Should Jerian Grant start opening night over Jose Calderon?
  • Who is going to carry the burden of scoring when Carmelo goes to the bench?
  • Trial by Combat: you have to pick an NBA player to win a game of 1-on-1 or you die. Is Carmelo Anthony still the first guy everyone picks?

—-

OTHER NBA SEASON PREVIEWS/PRESEASON RANKINGS:



from The Big Lead http://ift.tt/1j3pT0a
Labels:

No comments:

Post a Comment

Subscribe to: Post Comments (Atom)