by James Finneral
After signing Carmelo Anthony and Amare Stoudemire a few years back the New York Knicks believed they could be contenders in the East. After that Stoudemire busted and Carmelo Anthony was pretty much the only reliable player around for New York. You may call me crazy, but with Anthony coming back I believe this team will gel and have one of their best seasons in a while.
You can't think of the Knicks without thinking of Carmelo Anthony. Over the past four years Anthony has become the face of the franchise and one of the top players in the league. Anthony's new contract may make him seem greedy, but in truth it shows his loyalty to the Knicks and how he wants to lead them to a title. With a leader that is happy to be in New York it already helps the Knicks. Anthony knows the Knicks do not have the talent to win a championship this year, but he does have faith that they can take some major steps. Melo should have no struggles putting up the same numbers that he did last year. He is debatably the best scorer in the NBA and his rebounding just seems to be getting better and better. Anthony has never been a big passer, but he provides enough for his team as is and will once again be an all star and the best player on the Knicks.
Of course the Knicks will need more than just Carmelo Anthony to be successful this year. This team has plenty of talent they just need to build chemistry with each other. Lets start with the front-court. Although Amare Stoudimire has been injured often, when he has played he has shown signs of his old self. Stoudemire is a powerhouse who is quick on his feet giving him an advantage against most power forwards. Look for Stoudemire to start the majority of the games and make some major improvements this year. With Tyson Chandler gone the Knicks can play Stoudemire at the center and have Anthony play the power forward forcing rookie Cleanthony Early to start at the small forward. They could also start Andrea Bargnani at center and play Stoudemire at power forward and Anthony at the small forward. The Knicks will have to make these executive decisions, but no matter what, the starting lineup is looking pretty solid.
The Knicks have made some new additions as well such as general manager Phil Jackson and point guard Jose Calderon. Jackson has gone down as one of the greatest coaches in the history of the game. His wealth of basketball knowledge and charisma towards his players has lead to success year after year. Although he will not be coaching, Jackson can make a huge difference to the Knicks organization. The main thing the Knicks were missing throughout last year was a reliable point guard. Raymond Felton was not their ideal fit and it really effected their team. Adding Jose Calderon was a great move for the Knicks. He is a dual threat point guard, but Calderon is more of a pass first guy which is perfect for the Knicks. He will be able to feed Anthony, Stoudemire and J.R. Smith making the Knicks offense even more deadly. These two gentlemen will play huge roles for the Knicks this year.
With everyone healthy and Calderon joining the team, the Knicks have one of better rosters in the Eastern Conference. This could be the year that this team finally gels and gets back on track. They're not going to win the championship, but the Knicks have enough talent to be one of the last teams in the Eastern Conference playoffs.
Potential Starting Lineup:
PG: Jose Calderon
SG: J.R. Smith
SF: Carmelo Anthony
PF: Amare Stoudemire
C: Andrea Bargnani
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