The (New) New York Knicks

By Keith Allison - Flickr: Carmelo Anthony, CC BY-SA 2.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=29829656

Phil Jackson transformed a team. Now, the hype around the Knicks is big. Even though Derrick Rose isn't the best player currently, he sure has a really big name when it comes to basketball, so are the Knicks all hype, or are they for real.

First, let's take a look at the players they added and the players they lost.
They added: G-Justin Holiday
                    G-Derrick Rose
                    C-Guillermo Hernangomez
                    F-Mindaugas Kuzminskas
                    G-Courtney Lee
                    G-Brandon Jennings
                    C-Joakim Noah
                    G-Sasha Vujacic
                    F-Lance Thomas
With these guys added, you also throw in Carmelo Anthony, Kristaps Porzingis, and Kyle O'Quinn

They Lost:   G-Jose Calderon
                   C-Robin Lopez
                   G-Jerian Grant
                   F-Derrick Williams
                   G-Arron Afflalo
                   G-Tony Wroten
                   And also possibly Lou Amundson, Langston Galloway, Kevin Seraphin, and Cleathony Early

With this being said, you can obviously see this is a different team. As of right now, they have only kept 4 of last years' players.

To start off, I'd like to propose the question of this team's health. How will they be health wise. Because out of the past 5 seasons...
Carmelo Anthony has missed a total of 99 games
Brandon Jennings has missed a total of 95 games
JoaKim Noah has missed a total of 104 games
Derrick Rose has missed a total of 163 games

All 4 of these players have proven to be injury prone in the last 5 seasons. But these injuries haven't just lead to missed games, they've also lead to a decrease in performance.
Carmelo Anthony went from averaging 28.7 PPG to averaging 21.8 last season
Brandon Jennings went from averaging 19.1 PPG to averaging 6.9 last season
JoaKim Noah went from averaging 12.6 PPG to averaging 4.3 last season
Derrick Rose went from averaging 25 PPG to averaging 16.4 last season

I'm not convinced that this team can win. Not with these 4 guys constantly having injury problems in the last 5 years. Can this team win with a guy like Kyle O'Quinn starting or Sasha Vukacic? This team could very well turn into the Memphis Grizzlies of last season or the 2012-13 Lakers. They don't have enough depth to insure them if injuries were to strike.

As you can see, this team is very, very questionable. Number one, we don't know how productive these 4 guys will be. Number 2, we don't know how healthy they'll be. And with more teams becoming more competitive, it's going to be hard if a couple player become injured.

The (New) New York Knicks

"Kristaps Porzingis" by Ed - AIMG_1464. Licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0 via Wikimedia Commons.

The New York Knicks have an improved roster. No doubt. I mean, if your roster has Louis Amundson as your starting PF, that isn't too good. You won't win many games. But now it's looking a lot better. There is still a lot of work to be done but just take a look at it.

PG- Jose Calderon (starter), Jerian Grant (bench), Sasha Vujacic (res.)
SG- Arron Afflalo (starter), Langston Galloway (bench), Cleanthony Early (res.)
SF- Carmelo Anthony (starter), Lance Thomas (bench), Thanasis Antetokounmpo (res.)
PF- Derrick Williams (starter), Kevin Seraphin (bench), Louis Amundson (res.)
C- Robin Lopez (starter), Kristaps Porzingis (6th man), Kyle O'Quinn (res.)

Not a bad roster, is it? They have a strong bench and some great role players. And with Carmelo comming back they could easily make a spot in the Eastern Conference Playoffs.

However, I think that the Knicks will be a new beginning for some players. Derrick William will hopefully live more up to the potential that they said he had as he was drafted number 2 overall by the Minnesota Timberwolves in the 2011 draft. After not really improving much, he was sent to the Sacramento Kings where he had also not improved and now the Knicks have signed him this off-season.

Arron Afflalo is a guy who knows Carmelo Anthony from when he played for the Denver Nuggets. They will be great to watch playing together. And backing him up will be Langston Galloway. His rookie season was great until it was shortened by injury. With him coming off the bench, the Knicks bench will have no trouble in the scoring department.

Kristaps Porzingis and Jerian Grant will look to be developing and learning along the way. They might not be starters or star players but they will have important roles for the Knicks to have success this upcoming season.

Carmelo Anthony will look to be making the playoffs after coming off an injury. He will be taking on the main scoring load but he will finally have some other players to give the ball when he needs some help with scoring. And if everyone is healthy I would expect the Knicks to at least come close to making the playoffs this season. With Jose Calderon working with Robin Lopez on the pick and roll, with Afflalo coming off screens, and with Derrick Williams going up for some high-flying dunks, this should be a fun year for the Knicks. And they should do well as long as they don't have Louis Amundson starting.

How the NYPD Ruined the Hawks Post-Season

 

When Police are tackling you, you have to cooperate. But cops should explain why they are tackling you and give some assurance. Now I don't really know what happened, all I know is that Thabo Sefolosha was injured and was out for the rest of the playoffs.

After the incident, the Hawks just lost confidence. They had no bench player who had major playoff experience. Take a look at this guy.

• 1 Steals per game (playoffs career)
• 4.6 PPG (playoff career)
• 78 Playoff games
• 67 Playoff starts

As you can see, this is a great veteran to have in the playoffs. After he was injured, the Hawks just didn't look like the Hawks. They haven't shot well, they haven't played well, they haven't been the Hawks. Korver Hasn't even been Korver as the Hawks were taken out of rhythm. They could barley beat the Wizards. Now they are struggling against the Cavaliers. I think the main problem is the Hawks defense. If they had Sefolosha, they would be a much better defensively. Thabo is a great defensive player and would be suited to play help defense and the team would be so much better.

I don't know. I just think that the absence of Sefolosha just threw the Hawks off. They can't even beat the Cavs without Kyrie Irving and Kevin Love. I think if they had Thabo, they would be so much better right now. Just think, this was all because of the NYPD. They are supposed to help people, but they hurt the Hawks.