Are the New York Knicks Contenders or Pretenders?

The New York Knicks have been irrelevant for quite some time.  That said, I am extremely skeptical of their early season success.  Let's face it, many teams begin a season on the proverbial "good foot."  Then, they nose dive later in the year.  I think that is still a very good possibility.  Their dismantling of the Miami Heat two times this year is not enough evidence for me to believe in them.  

I do not think the Knicks will challenge for the Eastern Conference Championship for a number of reasons.  The first issue they will have is chemistry.  They are playing extremely well at the moment, but their "max" salary player, Amare Stoudemire, will be back in the mix soon.  Now, he has publicly stated that he would be willing to play any role Coach Woodson wants him to play.  That even includes playing the 6th man role.  Amare still believes he is a star in the NBA.  That said, star players do not come off the bench.  Also, he is a terrible defensive player and the Knicks have actually been playing really great defense without him in the lineup.  That will change when he returns.

The Knicks are an old team.  In fact, they are an extremely old team.  Jason Kidd, Rasheed Wallace, Marcus Camby and Kurt Thomas were playing in the NBA when some of the current rookies were not born.  Anytime you have a team as old as the Knicks, injuries are a serious consideration. And although they have not had a lot of injuries thus far, it will happen sooner or later.  Now, that will not matter much if a non rotation player is injured.  But, what if Jason Kidd, or Tyson Chandler, or any other rotation player sustains a serious injury?  The ship will sink quickly.

Lastly, this year's Knicks team is depending on Carmelo Anthony to lead the way.  Melo is obviously a talented player, but I don't know if he has the necessary leadership ability to help him team advance deep into the playoffs.  More importantly, this team relies on J.R. Smith.  He is talented, but he is also very erratic and undisciplined.  I predict that the Knicks will finish the season with the third best record in the Eastern Conference.  They will lose in the conference semifinals.


Instagram

Peace