2011-12 New York Knicks Predictions
Written by Steve Janus
The New York Knicks come into the 2011-12 NBA season as one of the league’s most intriguing teams. Coming into last season the Knicks were excited about the addition of All-Star power forward Amare Stoudemire, but the buzz around New York grew drastically once the team made a mid-season trade for Carmelo Anthony and Chauncey Billups. The Knicks finished with their first winning record since going 48-34 in the 2000-01 season and made the playoffs for the first time since the 2003-04 season. Injuries to Stoudemire and Billups ruined the Knicks chances of making a playoff run, as they were swept in the first round by the Boston Celtics.
The Knicks had to trade away a number of their core group of young players (Danilo Gallinari, Raymond Felton, Wilson Chandler, and Timofey Mocgov) to bring Anthony and Billups to New York. They have made even more changes to the roster to try and put together a team that can compete for a championship as soon as this season. They parted ways with Billups, Ronny Turiaf, Anthony Carter, Shawne Williams, Sheldon Williams, and a few others, while adding Tyson Chandler (trade), Mike Bibby (free agent), and Iman Shumpert (draft).
There is no question that the team is built around Anthony and Stoudemire. Anthony is one of the league’s best pure scorers in the game. He averaged 26.3 points and 6.7 boards in 27 games with the Knicks, but really showed what he was capable of in the playoffs. Stoudemire put up 25 points and rebounds a game in his first season with the Knicks. These two figure to be one of the more deadly 1-2 punches in the NBA on the offensive end. The question is whether or not they will decide to play defense.
One player that will without question make the Knicks a better defensive team is Chandler, who will also help Stoudemire cleanup the boards. Chandler was a huge part in the Mavericks winning the NBA Finals, as he turned a soft defense into a group that controlled the talented trio of Miami. The big concern for the Knicks is the lack of depth they have behind Stoudemire and Chandler. I wouldn’t exactly consider Jared Jeffries and Josh Harrellson legit NBA players.
Whether or not the Knicks become an elite force in the Eastern Conference will likely come down to the play of third-year point guard Toney Douglas and second-year shooting guard Landry Fields. While Bibby might start (he shouldn’t), I believe Douglas will see most of the minutes. He averaged 10.6 points, 3 assists, and 3 rebounds mostly coming off the bench last year (9 starts). He is miles ahead of Bibby on the defensive end, and has the potential to grow as a scorer. Fields started 81 games as a rookie last year, averaging 9.7 points and 6.4 rebounds (one of the best rebounding guards in the NBA) a game. They would like to see him to step up his game offensively, but he isn’t going to get a ton of shots playing with Anthony and Stoudemire.
Shumpert may not help the Knicks offensively as a rookie, but they drafted this kid because of how well he plays on the defensive end. Shumpert is an outstanding perimeter defender who could see a lot of minutes late in games when the Knicks need a stop.
Prediction: 2nd Eastern Conference Atlantic Division - The Knicks are a definitely a team to watch out for this season. My biggest knock on this team as of right now is their lack of depth all over the floor. There are also big question marks on what we will get out of this team defensively. I don’t think there is any doubt they will be one of the highest scoring teams in the league, but defense wins playoff games, which is what New York is dying for. If they add a couple more pieces they could contend for the division title and make a run in the playoffs, but for now they are likely headed for the 4th or 5th seed in the East.
Find out where we have all 30 NBA teams finishing in our 2011-12 NBA Predictions article.
If you are looking to make some money this NBA season, be sure to check out what Steve Janus has to offer. Steve finished No. 7 overall in the NBA last year, thanks in large part to a 37-17 run towards the end of last season!
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