The New York Knicks face some questions. Photo Credit: Keith Allison, Flickr.com
On Oct. 9, the New York Knicks will step on the court for the first time since losing to the Indiana Pacers in the playoffs. Believe it or not, the franchise took a step in the right direction last year. Their playoff run, if you want to call it that, was their most successful run in 20 years. In the regular season, they won 54 games, the most wins since winning 57 in 1996-97. Their winning percentage was also the second best in franchise history. A few things, however, have changed. The Knicks have tweaked their lineup and hired a new general manager. Some fans think their offseason moves were good, others not so much. Also, the East is looking even scarier this year. Derrick Rose and Danny Granger are healthy, the Heat did not dismantle the Big Three and teams like the Detroit Pistons, Cleveland Cavaliers and Brooklyn Nets have upped their rosters. It is no secret that this team will go as far as Carmelo Anthony takes them. But, here are three other aspects that the Knicks need to worry about going forward.
1. Leadership
Most of the time in the NBA, a team’s biggest star is their leader. Take for instance Kobe Bryant, LeBron James and Tim Duncan. That is not always the case though. Some players simply do not have that quality. Players like Tracy McGrady, Dwight Howard and, more or less, Carmelo Anthony to name a few. Last year, the Knicks picked up Jason Kidd to help manage the team. Kidd is now retired and coaching the Nets. To fill Kidd’s shoes, the Knicks brought in Metta World Peace to help lead the team. I am kidding. World Peace has enough trouble managing himself. The Knicks now have three very large egos on their team and I do not think Tyson Chandler and the coaching staff are equipped enough to handle these players if things turn ugly. If the team does start losing, do not be surprised when they start to implode and certainly do not be surprised when Anthony is not wearing a Knicks’ jersey in 2014.
2. Defense
In bringing in World Peace, the Knicks did attempt to solidify their defense. World Peace, a healthy Iman Shumpert and 2011-12 Defensive Player of the Year Tyson Chandler make for a very intimidating defense. However, when theplayers who play the most minutes, Anthony, J.R. Smith and Raymond Felton are known for their lack of defense, bad things may happen. The Knicks went from being the fifth-ranked defense in defensive rating in the 2011-12 season to the 17th-ranked defense last year. Coach Mike Woodson prides himself on his defensive coaching abilities. Another offseason may give Woodson the opportunity to light a fire under these players or it might just be another offseason where these players drown out their coaches. We will have to wait and see.
3. Scoring
I know what most of you are thinking, the Knicks were 11th in scoring last year and have arguably the best scorer in the game, Anthony, why should it be a concern? This is true, but it is also true that the Knicks’ two top scorers, Anthony and Smith, are two very streaking shooters. It also does not help that the two make their money from doing exactly that. Their games are built around jump shooting and the occasional highlight reel from around the rim. Those two accounted for 47 points a game last year. The Knicks averaged 100. If their bodies get beat up during the season, which everyone’s does, their game will be off. This was evident in the playoffs last year. Also, the two major additions the Knicks picked up in the offseason, World Peace and Andrea Bargnani, are not reliable scorers either. So fans may be in store for another season of extreme highs and extreme lows if they cannot come across reliable scoring.
Knicks’ message boards are filled will people who think the team has a shot of beating the Bulls, Pacers, and Heat. They are also filled with people who think the Knicks will not even have home-court advantage in the first round. Either way, Knicks fans are in for a interesting season. Luckily, they will not have to wait much longer before they see their team back out on the court.