The New York Knicks 2016 season is the quintessential “Is the glass half full or half empty?” scenario. At their worst, it could be another long and tumultuous season in NYC. But if some of president Phil Jackson’s well placed gambles prove fruitful, they are a legitimate contender to upset Cleveland’s love-fest and spoil Golden State’s plans for redemption…or at the very least, they’ll be playing beyond the third week of April. After having playoff ambitions last season, the Knicks finished up with an abysmal 32-50 record. The team jettisoned coach Derek Fisher and his Page 6 love triangle on February 9 in order to get an early jump on the rebuilding process, or so we thought.
Orange and Blue faithful have been waiting for the “Zen Master’s” magical powers of ring attraction to kick in since his shoes hit the Manhattan streets. So it was concerning to say the least when coaching moves were happening left and right and the Knicks seemed largely out of the mix. It was not until June 2 when Jeff Hornacek was officially named head coach. Once Phil Jack rolled up his sleeves, he gave the team a major overhaul. The Knicks dealt Jose Calderon and Robin Lopez to the Bulls for 2010-11 MVP Derrick Rose. New York would double down on the Chicago fire sale by signing Joakim Noah to an eye-popping $72 Million dollar, 4-year contract. Quite a pretty penny for a 31-year old player coming off his lowest scoring output (4.3 ppg) and third-lowest rebounding effort (8.8 rpg) in just 29 games last season. After a demoralizing and injury-plagued final season in Chicago, Jackson is banking on Noah’s return to defensive dominance and consistent double-double performances he was cranking out just a few years ago.
Speaking of gambles…Derrick Rose came to MSG with several clouds hanging over his head. In addition to a major civil trial that was just resolved a week ago, there were the questions about his ability to stay healthy, ability to still put out his maximum effort nightly, and even his ability to mesh egos with other high profile players like Jimmy Butler. Rose is eager to put all the questions to rest, confidently telling the New York Post, “I’ve been preparing for this for a long time. Ever since I didn’t make the playoffs last year, I’m still chasing something right now. I just want to hoop and let my game speak for itself.”
The nucleus of this Knicks team is still Carmelo Anthony, a superstar still hungry to make a truly significant playoff run, and Kristaps Porzingas that Latvian gang banger sensation who has already proven to be a huge credit to Phil Jackson’s talent evaluation. (Remember this Knick fans!?) The development of Porzingas will be wide open as Hornacek does not wish to limit his young star. “You don’t see a guy 7’3″ that can do multiple things,” Hornacek said. “And in our offense, you could see him in some high pick-and-rolls out of the sets we have, fading for 3s. At 7’3”, I still believe you can get him on the post, and if a team wants to try to play him with a small guy and get up into him, then we can throw him down there and take advantage of his height in there.
“Why can’t he be a top-5 player in this league?”, Hornacek recently asked in an interview. “Why can’t he be the top player in this league?”
Health (like most teams) will be the critical in order for this team to remain in serious playoff contention this season. With Rose and Noah only playing in 64% of their games the past 2 seasons, the use of reserves Brandon Jennings (PG) and Kyle O’Quinn (PF) are expected to contribute some valuable minutes and much needed relief off of the bench. The “New” New York Knicks will strive pick up the pace if they want to be competitive this season. They averaged a league worst 8.4 ppg off the fastbreak this past season. Though they will want to find more easy transition points if they’d want to become an elite team, however playing at a slower tempo may not be the end of the world. When the focal point is Melo, who has chronic knee soreness, a 7’3″ stretch four and a point guard with two bum wheels, dictating the pace will be paramount.
As with any newly assembled team, there will be the natural growing pains that come with gaining familiarity and trust in one another. Luckily for the Knicks, the Eastern Conference (minus a few exceptions) should provide this team a cushion to help pad their learning curve. The Knickerbockers now possess veteran leadership, a competent coach, and possibly the most title starved fan base (left) in the NBA. With a little bit of health and luck, the Knicks should be poised to seriously enter the playoff conversation in 2017.