Want to Be Part of It: NY Knicks 12-13 Preview (Pt. 2)

While immensely unpopular, I do not fault the Knicks' decision to let two of the organization's young and promising players walk in Jeremy Lin and Landry Fields. Both showed clusters of greatness, but neither had sustained that level of play for a full season, and both are now being paid as if they had. Shrewd owners make decisions that are not always popular. Neither Lin nor Fields would have put New York over the top.

That being said, shrewd owners don't raze the farm to get a player that replicates the star player you already have. Shrewd owners also know when they have a real team on the cusp of greatness.



If you are of the belief that the 2012-13 Knicks is a team looking to make a push for the second round of the playoffs, then Gotham's offseason was a resounding success. The team added veteran leadership and stability in six ideal bench players with plenty of big game and playoff experience.

But if you are of the belief that this Knicks squad is destined to be NBA champions, then this offseason is little more than smoke and mirrors.

Adding aging veterans often brings substance to a team's chemistry and makeup. In fact, there is a correlation between experience and winning. But adding experience and adding geriatrics is a completely different thing.

The offseason haul the Knicks had this past summer would have been championship caliber five years ago. Marcus Camby was the reigning DPY and led the league in blocked shots. Jason Kidd was averaging a sick 13ppg, 9.2apg, and 8.2pg. Rasheed Wallace was key in the Pistons getting to the Eastern Conference Finals, while Pablo Prigioni was leading the Euroleague in steals. And Kurt Thomas, well, Thomas was pretty much doing the same thing he does now.  

Entering into the 2012-13 season, however, Camby and Kidd (who will both be turning 40 in March) make up two of the five oldest players in the Association. Thomas, who is turning 40 this Thursday, carries the distinction of being the oldest player in the NBA (just beating out Grant Hill by a day). And Wallace, who hasn't played professional basketball for two years, just turned 38 last week.

By the world’s standards, these men are in the prime of their accomplished lives. By NBA standards they are on death’s doorstep.

Experienced veterans on their last legs are usually brought in to put championship caliber teams over the top. Think Sam Cassell and P.J. Brown for the 08 Celtics championship squad. Or Juwan Howard and Shane Battier for last year's Miami Heat team.

These Knicks, as presently constructed, are not a championship caliber team.

With only Amar’e, Melo, Chandler, J.R. Smith, and Steve Novak returning from last season, the team must discover an identity and learn how to play as a cohesive unit--especially considering that New York’s two biggest stars have barely spent any court time together.

Early signs indicate that everyone is trying to make this work, bringing in Hakeem Olajuwon to tutor the big three, meeting over the summer to practice, showing up to training camp early and in tip-top shape.

But complicating matters is injury concerns. The young and talented Iman Shumpert was set to be a major piece this year, before tearing his ACL during the playoffs. While he is ahead of schedule and should return in December, he excelled last season due to his athleticism and quickness, which made him the Knicks best perimeter defender. There is historical precedence for young, quick, athletic guards to bounce back from ACL surgery. Corey Brewer, Kyle Lowry, and Baron Davis all had ACL surgery early in their carers (for Davis and Lowry it was before they entered the NBA) and all excelled in the years that followed.

But the uncertainty of Shumpert's status, how he'll play when he returns and what the guard rotation will be in his absence, makes it tough to predict how the backcourt will shape out. Shumpert's assumed replacement, the athletic and defensive-minded Ronnie Brewer, is also currently sidelined after undergoing minor knee surgery early in September. While he'll be ready for the start of the season, the Knicks need all the court time together they can get.

It's important to establish a rotation as soon as possible and remain consistent so that players can establish their various roles on the team.

As mentioned earlier, I think this team has scary potential if Stoudemire and Raymond Felton come off the bench to lead a vicious second unit of Smith, Novak, and Camby or Wallace. That's plenty of floor spacers, and a pick and roll tandem that was extremely effective two seasons ago (Felton averaged 17 and 9 in his previous stint with the Knicks).

Kidd needs to be paired with a guard with which he can cross-match defensively. Brewer and even more so Shumpert, are ideal tango partners. The offense would run through Anthony at the four, and the defense would be greatly improved by not having Amar'e and Melo playing together.

With these two units, the Knicks would be maximizing the talent they have and prove to be a pretty scary team. Think an older, east coast version of the Denver Nuggets.

Alas, this scenario is unlikely to happen. And early indications point to a starting backcourt of Felton and Kidd, with Anthony at the three, Stoudemire at the four, and Chandler at the five.

Which leaves Prigioni to run the second unit.

Oddly enough, the 35-year-old rookie reminds me of former New York Mets pitcher Satoru Komiyama. Both had an accomplished career overseas and led the league in one category for exactly one season (assists for Prigioni, ERA for Komiyama). Prigioni is unathletic, but a savvy passer, and he has 17 years of pro experience to his name. Komiyama topped out at 86 mph, but utilized guile and no less than eight different pitches throughout his career. Komiyama’s American tale ended with him posting an 0-3 record and a 5.61 ERA over 25 games.

We’ll see if the comparison sticks.

The 14th and 15th roster spots are up for grabs now that training camp has begun. The potential candidates include Mychal Thompson, Chris Smith, Chris Copeland, and John Shurna. Thompson, the son of Mychal Thompson and older brother of Klay Thompson, is an athletic defensive-minded guard with a high IQ. Smith is a terrific athlete, but is 29 years old and has been unable to stick in the league. Copeland is a 6-8 power forward journey man who has spent the last seven years bouncing around from the D-League to Belgium to Germany to Spain. Shurna's a 6-9 forward with range.

Questions abound with this Knicks team. It is difficult to see how the Stoudemire/Anthony/Chandler trio will be able to evolve enough in order to not just win, but become a dominant force. If they remain the starting front court, it is likely this team is a seventh or eighth seed, and could potentially miss the playoffs--even in the weaker East. However, if Stoudemire anchors the second unit, it is possible the team fulfills Anthony's stated goal of homecourt advantage throughout the first two rounds of the playoffs.

Either way, the 2012-13 Knicks are destined for another second round ouster.

Predictions: Knicks earn sixth seed in the East. Lose in the second round. Carmelo Anthony averages 24 ppg, 7 rpg, 2.5 apg, and shoots 46 percent.






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