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New York Knicks: Contention Recipe

By Mauricio Putz

Mar 18, 2014; New York, NY, USA; Madison Square Garden chairman James Dolan in attendance at a press conference to introduce New York Knicks new president of basketball of operations Phil Jackson (not pictured) at Madison Square Garden. Mandatory Credit: William Perlman/THE STAR-LEDGER via USA TODAY Sports
Mar 18, 2014; New York, NY, USA; Madison Square Garden chairman James Dolan in attendance at a press conference to introduce New York Knicks new president of basketball of operations Phil Jackson (not pictured) at Madison Square Garden. Mandatory Credit: William Perlman/THE STAR-LEDGER via USA TODAY Sports /
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The 2014 offseason is coming to an end. Well, not actually but the teams are starting to make something out of what they’ve got for the upcoming season.

The New York Knicks are not the exception and after keeping Carmelo Anthony for five more years (and possibly for the rest of his NBA career) the team has to start building around him.

With Carmelo on board, the Knicks won’t have a chance to build around him until the 2015 offseason when the team’s money situation gets better.

In the meantime let’s seize the moment and look at the key components that could turn the underachieving Knicks into a contender for the 2014-15 season. (With the balance of power shifting in the Eastern Conference, everybody has a chance).

1. Playing in the Eastern Conference:

The third place in the East (Toronto Raptors 48-34) won as many games as the ninth place in the West (Phoenix Suns 48-34).

That’s it.

2. Improving Defense:

The Knicks ranked eighth in the league in opponents points per game (99.4), 27th in rebounds per game and 24th in defensive efficiency (109.1)

, a solid effort

. Strangely, they have the weapons (or at least what’s left of them) to be way better.

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    • 2002-10: 516 games, 64.5 games per season, 21.4 points per game, .547/.190/.758 shooting, 8.9 rebounds per game.
    • 2010-14: 219 games, 54.75 games per season, 18.2 points per game, .518/.341/.779 shooting, 6.7 rebounds per game.

    What’s this? Amar’e’s Phoenix Suns years versus New York Knicks years.

    The stat line clearly does not do justice to the mess that Amar’e’s been for the most part of his tenure with the Knicks. He’s been missing roughly 35 percent of each season due to nagging injuries (said injures don’t tend to improve as a player gets older).

    Don’t be fooled by his shooting numbers, even though they are by comparison almost the same as the ones he had in Phoenix, he’s been shooting a lot less in the past four seasons. Not uncommon in NBA that a player pats his stats by shooting less and picking his spots wisely. Not a bad move either.

    His shooting is not the problem since Carmelo Anthony has enough firepower to take over Stoudemire’s offensive load. His defense is definitely a problem. He’s been taking on 2.2 rebounds per game less than the ones he had with the Suns. Not a great sign for an ageing big man.

    Of course, his career has been plagued with injuries which may be the number one reason of his “sudden” demise. But if the Knicks can get a semi-healthy season from Amar’e in which he logs in something like what he did in the 2013-14 season (when he played, obviously) they could use defence as a force against the

    mighty

    underachieving Eastern Conference.

    3. Creating Offense:

    The New York Knicks ranked 20th in points per game (98.6) and 11th in the league in offensive rating (108.3), not bad. Regardless, their offense came mostly from 2012-13 scoring champion Carmelo Anthony who, by averaging 27.4 points per game in the 2013-14 season, scored roughly 27 percent of the teams points per contest.

    With the second highest offensive weapon on the team being J. R. Smith with 14.3 points per game, the Knicks are in dire need of offense. Adding Jose Calderon is definitely a step in the right direction but they still might not get to where their going until next season.

    Even though the brightest silver lining will not get here until the 2014-15 season comes to an end, the Knicks do have some areas of opportunity that, by working on them, could give them a much-needed push them into a solid playoff run.

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