NBA: 2015-16 Eastern Conference Projections
By Shane Young
13. New York Knicks: 25-57
Weakest month: April — 6 games, .435 (25th)
Hardest month: January — 17 games, .560 (1st)
Overall strength of schedule: 9th
There’s a painful feeling of having to watch the Knicks throughout the regular season. But, I’m starting to get a different pain. It just hurts me to repeatedly sound like a killjoy when discussing New York’s beloved blue and orange.
After all … they’re trying. They really are. This isn’t a case where Phil Jackson is just sitting in his living room, feet propped up on the sofa and bottle of whiskey pouring away his worries. He has a solid argument for the current rebuild taking place. Plus, to help mitigate the impatience surrounding New York, Jackson worked hard to bring in adequate talent this summer.
Jerian Grant (draft) will end up being the primary point guard for this team when it’s all said and done, because Jose Calderon just continues to decay as time passes. Calderon only shot 51.9% in true shooting in between his two injuries last year, and that’s odd for him. It was a 7.7% decrease from his previous year, which is a huge drop-off in the true shooting formula.
Robin Lopez brings his aggressiveness to the frontcourt after earning a respected defensive reputation in Portland. He’ll also look to kill the opposing mascots when the Knicks travel, just to provide some entertainment that New York hasn’t featured on the court.
What everyone should be extremely excited for, however, is the scoring combination of Carmelo Anthony and Arron Afflalo. Anthony is returning from his aggravating knee issues during the 2015 All-Star break, and Afflalo is earning $8 million annually with his new contract.
Afflalo was always a favorite to watch, since he’s a consistent double-digit scorer with the right offense. In Derek Fisher’s triangle, he’ll be expected to make an immediate impact on the rest of the team: Freeing up Anthony by drawing attention, being a decent enough play-maker, and trying to help the defensive narrative of the Knicks’ backcourt. New York allowed its opponents to shoot a crazy 38% from 3-point range last year, easily the worst in the league. They need to force more turnovers, run shooters off their spots, and hope Lopez can hold up in the middle.
Why are they so low, despite getting Anthony back in the lineup and signing the Lopez/Afflalo duo? Until Fisher proves that he can guide this team properly, it’s only right to remain skeptical. There’s still a lot of work to do, and I wouldn’t bet on this team being able to figure out effective keys of the triangle. And, for the love of God, Fisher should pull his team away from taking 25.3% of their shots from mid-range. There’s enough proof in the last couple years to explain why it’s unwise.
An 8-win upgrade is definitely leaning on the edge of pessimism for this season, but at least the Knicks have a superstar. That’s often the missing piece for many re-building hopefuls, and one they likely never reel in.
They’ll shoot up the standings once it’s clear how they’re going to play. There’s just too many new components coming in this season to be an automatic believer.
Next: 12th