The New York Knicks are set to start training camp later this month and fans are wondering about the starting lineup projections and the latest news about the team.
One encouraging piece of news is Carmelo Anthony divulging that he was “angry” over how last season ended, prompting the star guard to only take two weeks off after the season before getting back to work.
Anthony has been at the team’s facility in Westchester, working out with six or seven other players.
“I haven’t been broadcasting it, man. But I’ve been at the facility for the last couple of weeks with the young guys, with the coaches, trying to figure out that triangle offense,” Anthony told ESPN.
Part of the work is learning the new triangle offense that is a hallmark of Phil Jackson, and will be implemented by new coach Derek Fisher.
Anthony said he’s excited about the offense.
“Without a doubt, without a doubt. When people say spots, I’m going to be all over the floor in the triangle,” Anthony said. “It makes it hard to guard, it keeps all eyes off of you. I’m looking forward to it, I’ve been saying it all summer. I can’t wait.”
The starting lineup will almost certainly include Anthony at small forward, Jose Calderon at point guard, and Amare Stoudemire at power forward. The other two spots are somewhat uncertain. Andrea Bargnani or Samuel Dalembert could start at center, while J.R. Smith, Iman Shumpert, and Tim Hardaway Jr. will compete for both the starting shooting guard position and time off the bench.
Bleacher Report predicts that the Knicks will likely move Smith or Shumpert before the trade deadline, preferably Smith.
“Shumpert’s defensive ability and youth make him favorable to Smith, and if he returns to form this season, you'd have to think he’s the player the Knicks will opt to keep. Of course, they will still need Smith to perform so that he either plays himself into a new contract elsewhere or at least has a number of willing suitors for a trade,” it said.
All three guards are expected to perform better than last year, especially with the upgrade to Calderon at point guard.
As far as projections for the season go, Basketball Insiders predicts that the Knicks will finish in 2nd or 3rd place in the Atlantic Division.
It lists the best case scenario as a 41-41 record, which would likely be good for one of the bottom three seeds in the playoffs, and the worst case as 25-57.
“The New York Knicks won 54 games in 2012-13, capturing the Atlantic Division title and advancing to the second round of the playoffs. Yet, the same Knicks won just 37 games last season, missing the playoffs completely in a weak Eastern Conference,” it said.
“The Knicks have plenty of offensive firepower. They are returning most of their same core of players, so familiarity and continuity should not be an issue. However, will the team be able to pick up the triangle offense quickly and seamlessly? More importantly, will they be able to defend well enough to compete for a playoff spot. The East is wide open; New York should be squarely in the mix with even slight improvements.”
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