New York Knicks - 2014/2015 Season Preview

by Jamal (CHA) Sun Apr 06, 2014 9:22 am

NEW YORK KNICKS - 2014/2015 SEASON PREVIEW

Retooled roster, renewed illusion this year in Manhattan for the Knickerbockers

After reaching the playoffs for the second consecutive year, we got to win our first playoffs series, only lo lose once again against OPs Heat. What we couldn't imagine back then, specially after the successful season by Lin (named All-Star), Franklin (2nd rookie team), and Parsons (top5 SF), was that all three of them were soon leaving the team for the colder Minnesota.

On a separate trade, Asik, who had been our starting center for nearly two season (only played backup when McGee arrived), was headed to Charlotte.

So suddenly we find ourselves with a totally renewed backcourt, formed by the long ago coveted Ricky Rubio, the often mentioned in trade talks Courtney Lee, and Budinger. Chase, who had a 6th man role with us, will see his role upgraded to starter. It might look like our main weakness, but we're sure he'll live up to the expectations.

Without further presentation, we'll introduce our new rotation player by player, including their last years production and what we expect from them this upcoming season.

Projected Starting Lineup:

New York Knicks - 2014/2015 Season Preview Ricky_rubio

PG - #9 Ricky Rubio - (23)

It all starts from the PG this year. Ricky's production will dictate where this team is and how good we can be. We've got full confidence on him, as he'll prove doubters wrong immediately. This kid is just too good!

Last season:
12.7 points, 7.2 asists, 3.7 rebounds, 1.7 steals, 1.5 TOs, 4.9 A/TO on 30.1 minutes
86% STOPS on 9.8 DRVS, 1.0 PA/SF, 16.9 EFF

What we expect:

His numbers should increase dramatically this year given the freedom to operate. Around 16/18ppg and 10/12apg shouldn't be difficult for him. We also expect an upgrade defensively, hopefully maintaining or upgrading his stop% but on much more drives faced in our defense. We're confident he can lead the CSL in steals anytime soon too.

So the expectations are too high for young Rubio, but he has proven to love the pressure trough his career. He plays better given the responsibility, and in New York we'll try to build a team around him. This kid will be our star, and a star in the league, for years to come!

New York Knicks - 2014/2015 Season Preview Courtney_lee

SG - #11 Courtney Lee - (28)

Courtney was limited to a secondary bench role in Charlotte with Kobes arrival. He still has plenty left in the tank, and his goal is to prove everyone he can be the shooter and defensive specialist he was not long ago. Age 28, he's on his prime, and he only needs the opportunity to prove it!

Last season:
8.2 points, 1.3 asists, 2.2 rebounds, 0.6 steals, 0.9 TOs on 20.3 minutes
74.7% STOPS on 6.5 DRVS, 0.9 PA/SF, 7.2 EFF

What we expect:

Scoring should go up on increased minutes of play, but it won't be his biggest role. He should do better on steals, and defensively he's going to have a much bigger role facing drives, where we hope he can maintain his stop%

New York Knicks - 2014/2015 Season Preview Chase_budinger

SF - #10 Chase Budinger - (26)

Chase already played big minutes (28.9mpg) last season as a reserve for us. This year he'll be promoted to starter, but he really earned the spot in the roster last year with his contribution.

Last season:
11.7 points, 1.8 asists, 3.7 rebounds, 1.7 steals, 0.8 TOs on 28.9 minutes
58.8% STOPS on 11 DRVS, 1.0 PA/SF, 10.6 EFF

What we expect:

He will play +32/34 minutes as a starter, but he'll have a bigger role in the scoring of the team. He's got a nice 3PT shot and he won't be afraid to use it. Opposing teams that underestimate this kid will make a huge mistake...

New York Knicks - 2014/2015 Season Preview Chris_bosh

PF - #4 Chris Bosh - (30)

Chris might not be a highlight machine or a spectacular player, but he's always been the leader in the dark for this team. He always steps ups when needed. Key player for this organization, we're really pleased to have in on board.

Last season:
15.2 points, 1.2 asists, 6.8 rebounds, 1.1 steals, 1.5 TOs, 1.0 blocks on 33 minutes
79% STOPS on 8.9 DRVS, 0.9 PA/SF, 16.3 EFF

What we expect:

Bosh adapts to the team, doing what's needed at every moment, and doing it great.h Lin and Parsons gone he'll have a bigger impact offensively this year. He's defense is always way above average, but people tend to forget how good he is offensively too. We'll need him to show it this season, so we expect a big year coming for Chris.

New York Knicks - 2014/2015 Season Preview Javale_mcgee

C - #34 JaVale McGee - (26)

Although starting, he shared the minutes at center with Asik last year. Next to Bosh they're a pretty good defensive combo, and offensively he always takes the easy hight percentage shots.

Last season:
12 points on 53.3 FG%, 7.9 rebounds, 0.6 steals, 2.7 blocks on 29.4 minutes
77.9% STOPS on 3.9 DRVS, 0.8 PA/SF, 15.4 EFF

What we expect:

He'll play more minutes, but won't ask him anything more than he already did last year for us. Play hard defensively, blocking shots, getting rebounds and slowing down opponent centers, and keep hitting the high percentage shot offensively. It looks easy on him, and that's the reason we traded for him. Also expect some highlights with the new Ricky-JaVale connection Smile

2nd Unit:

New York Knicks - 2014/2015 Season Preview Raymond_felton

PG - #2 Raymond Felton - (29)

Raymond didn't have much opportunity last year. Due to team fit, we believed Farmar was the perfect fit at the backup PG/SG position, so Raymond only saw playing time when injuries came.
But this year's another roster, and we believe he now is the perfect fit to backup Ricky while he's resting. We need a PG that can distribute more than score, and also keep the defensive intensity high. Raymond will do them both great for sure.

New York Knicks - 2014/2015 Season Preview Marco_belinelli

SG - #8 Marco Belinelli - (28)

Main acquisition this offseason, Marco makes us really deep at SG, as we now have a player that can step up whenever needed, without lowering the production. Like Courtney, he can't be left alone thanks to his shooting touch, and our point guards will take advantage of it.

New York Knicks - 2014/2015 Season Preview Luke_babbitt

SF - #11 Luke Babbitt - (25)

Luke could be seen as the biggest question mark in this roster. Yet we're confident on his skills, as we hope he'll surprise many teams with his production. He's not really a scorer, but like Marco he can't be left alone outside of he'll make you pay.
If he can live up to the expectations we have on him defensively (75 DEF rating and 6-9 should make him at least decent), his acquisition will be a total success.

New York Knicks - 2014/2015 Season Preview Kosta_koufos

PF - #41 Kosta Koufos - (25)

We're not going to discover Koufos at this stage. He proved last year he can be a pretty efficient scorer of the bench, and he'll continue with that role this coming season. He can play both PF and C positions, and is also confident starting when needed. Kosta is a great backup if Bosh or JaVale get injured. He might be weaker than those two defensively, but he can rebound and his offensive contribution is just above average, punishing his defenders constantly. He's a double double machine given the opportunity, and still 25 years old!

New York Knicks - 2014/2015 Season Preview Festus_ezeli

C - #31 Festus Ezeli - (24)

Came this offseason in the the trade with the Wolves without making much noise, but we liked what we saw from him from the very first moment. He'll be given the minutes as a backup center at the start of the season, and we'll see if he can perform like we expect.

Rest of the bench:

New York Knicks - 2014/2015 Season Preview Jordan_farmar

PG/SG - #1 Jordan Farmar - (27)

Will lose his 22.8 mpg backup role this year, at least to start the season. He could be moved, as he's still a valuable asset for a lot of teams. A guy that can play both PG/SG and shoot 48.6% from the field and 46.8% from 3PT is a luxury as a 3rd option in both PG and SG, but if he doesn't get interest from other teams he'll stay with us. Seasons are always long, and injuries happen, so he can enter the rotation anytime that happens.

New York Knicks - 2014/2015 Season Preview Steve_novak

SF - #16 Steve Novak - (30)

Same thing happens with Novak. He's a lights out shooter (51.7% from the field and 48.8% from beyond the arc last season). If we don't get any offers for him he'll stay as a great backup in case of injury.

New York Knicks - 2014/2015 Season Preview Joel_anthony

C - #44 Joel Anthony - (31)

Joel might be more productive right away than Festus, but we want to give the young Ezeli an opportunity to prove what he can do. Anyway is great having a guy like Anthony as our 5th frontcourt guy, ready to step up when needed. Solid veteran that knows his role and can contribute pretty nicely too.

New York Knicks - 2014/2015 Season Preview Paveikslelis-71089-plsm

SG - #7 Mateusz Ponitka - (20)

Young Mateusz won't see playing time this season. He's totally out of the rotation, and could go out cheap to any team that wants him.

New York Knicks - 2014/2015 Season Preview Images?q=tbn:ANd9GcSvw3iHhQosVMwtPYfoZ0ZgncXfJRxwv99yJxwsMQYxNnkhmAop

SF - #30 Jakarr Sampson - (21)

Same thing happens with Sampson. We're pretty deep at SF, so he won't have an opportunity. Could go out real cheap to any team that wants go give this youngster an opportunity.

Overall:

We did lose some key pieces and talent, but overall we believe that this group of players can succeed this season.

After winning the Atlantic last year, we want to be optimistic and hope for that goal once again this season, as the best way to secure a top4 spot in the east.

The conference has become stronger this offseason though, with players like LeBron and Cousins coming east, Atlanta and Charlotte making great acquisitions, and the two time champion Miami still there, not to mention other great rosters like Detroit, Cleveland, Chicago, Philly, Toronto, Brooklyn, Washington... As it happened last year, lots of teams will fight for a place in the postseason, and I can see it very tight from the first positions to the 8th seed, with also teams missing the playoffs by a small margin.

Anyway, and even realizing that our roster might not be as talented as others, we do believe team cohesion pays a big role, and we'll try to prove and take advantage of it in order to make the best of this roster.

Only time will put us in the place we deserve, so we're willing to start this new season!

by Marcos_Beck (CHI) Sun Apr 06, 2014 10:17 am

Nice reading.. You seem to know your team really really well.

Just a question, btw, where do you find those Stops on drives, PA/SF and Effectiveness stats?

by Dennis (BOS) Sun Apr 06, 2014 10:41 am

Oh yeah, just arrrived at work! Glad Ive something to read now Very Happy

!! Thanks Jamal!

by Dennis (BOS) Sun Apr 06, 2014 10:43 am

Marcos_Beck (OKC) wrote:Nice reading.. You seem to know your team really really well.

Just a question, btw, where do you find those Stops on drives, PA/SF and Effectiveness stats?

Third stat sheet ingame

by Jamal (CHA) Sun Apr 06, 2014 10:47 am

Marcos_Beck (OKC) wrote:Nice reading.. You seem to know your team really really well.

Just a question, btw, where do you find those Stops on drives, PA/SF and Effectiveness stats?

The only way to be successful in the CSL is by knowing your team beyond well, you'll learn that soon here Wink

And even with that it still surprises you sometimes... but that's the beauty of it I guess Smile

In the game, stats menu, and once there you'll find 'stats 1', 'stats 2' and 'stats 3' on the right side. Stop%, drives, PA/SF and EFF all on the third one Wink

Also, on your team's main window (office), you'll find 'Metrics' on the botton in the Magazines section, and you'll find more interesting stats there, like TS%, usage, etc. But that only during the season, don't think it's available right now.

DennisJ (BOS) wrote:Oh yeah, just arrrived at work! Glad Ive something to read now !! Thanks Jamal!

Yeah, you've got plenty to read. I just realized it might be a little too long Embarassed

by Marcos_Beck (CHI) Sun Apr 06, 2014 10:52 am

What does PA/SF means?

by Dennis (BOS) Sun Apr 06, 2014 10:57 am

Marcos_Beck (OKC) wrote:What does PA/SF means?

Points allowed per Shot faced.
I see you didnt read my peview:P! Else you would have asked before Razz

DennisJ (BOS) wrote:Oh yeah, just arrrived at work! Glad Ive something to read now !! Thanks Jamal!

Yeah, you've got plenty to read. I just realized it might be a little too long Embarassed

[/quote]

Haha it was fine. Like previews that are a bit longer. BTW what would have been the deadline for previews? 5th SIM or something?

About your team.
I like it. All your guys are able to defend. 60% stp for a sf isnt bad, same for 80% at pf or C. IMO its pretty Good. I love the new Knicks style. Rubio feeding all those shooters will be awesome. Maybe some dribble drive Action? Doesnt know rikis ( Razz

) inside shooting but his hdl, pass, mobility should be great to pressure the D to get the shooters open. Is bosh able to Hit Jumpers? Just no Access to the game to check the %.
Also i love the High DI of all your players, you should be able to
play High D instensity without getting into foultrouble too much. And with ricky and Lee leading th fullcourt press you could be really Good with uptempo and tough D. Will be a great task to find the right combination of speed and Full Court pressure so your guys are not getting to exhausted but I believe you will get it Managed Smile

Good luck jamayoda!

by WillyJakkz (ORL) Sun Apr 06, 2014 11:22 am

Gonna be interesting to see how the new look New York Knicks perform under Rubio vs Lin who did a masterful job leading that team as a perennial contender in the East.

He was a fan favorite so Ricky Rubio has some big shoes to fill. Maybe Bosh will have more of a prominent role with Lin and Parsons gone he'll have to shoulder the load offensively.

Nice read.

Sidenote: I kinda miss JaVale McGee, good to see he's continued to produce at a high level, great shotblocker.

by Jamal (CHA) Sun Apr 06, 2014 12:03 pm

DennisJ (BOS) wrote:Haha it was fine. Like previews that are a bit longer. BTW what would have been the deadline for previews? 5th SIM or something?

About your team.
I like it. All your guys are able to defend. 60% stp for a sf isnt bad, same for 80% at pf or C. IMO its pretty Good. I love the new Knicks style. Rubio feeding all those shooters will be awesome. Maybe some dribble drive Action? Doesnt know rikis () inside shooting but his hdl, pass, mobility should be great to pressure the D to get the shooters open. Is bosh able to Hit Jumpers? Just no Access to the game to check the %.
Also i love the High DI of all your players, you should be able to
play High D instensity without getting into foultrouble too much. And with ricky and Lee leading th fullcourt press you could be really Good with uptempo and tough D. Will be a great task to find the right combination of speed and Full Court pressure so your guys are not getting to exhausted but I believe you will get it Managed
Good luck jamayoda!

Most sure I will keep the 'ball-movement', but yeah, I would consider dribble drive too if I finally change it. I might run some tests, although I already used the first part of last season to make multiple tests, and even if players are different, I already took my conclusions Wink

Ricky may be better driving than shooting, and that could be adjusted with instructions, but not sure I'm going to do it. It worked for Lin last season, but I also think that way the player tends to shoot more, and I don't want that for Rubio. Even without that he could easily be the second with most shots attempted in this roster, and I guess I could be glad if he reaches the 40% level Rolling Eyes

As for the strat I already have idea pretty clear, but I will be fun to make minor adjustments and see how it works out. You never know till you see the first results. But yeah, we did full court pressure a lot last year with Lin, it won't be less now that we have Ricky Wink

WillyJakkz (HOU) wrote:Gonna be interesting to see how the new look New York Knicks perform under Rubio vs Lin who did a masterful job leading that team as a perennial contender in the East.

He was a fan favorite so Ricky Rubio has some big shoes to fill. Maybe Bosh will have more of a prominent role with Lin and Parsons gone he'll have to shoulder the load offensively.

Nice read.

Sidenote: I kinda miss JaVale McGee, good to see he's continued to produce at a high level, great shotblocker.

Big shoes to fill, both from the standpoint of the fans and from the management too.
As for the fans, I think they've already forgotten Lin, with Ricky still to play a his first game LOL. His just to popular already in Manhattan, and our future and franchise player eyes closed. And our smart fans know it Very Happy

But as mentions Ricky loves the pressure, and even plays better under it. We're talking about a boy that started playing pro at age 16, and was given full responsibility of the team when he was just 17-18. Now at 23, this kid's got the experience of a 30 year old PG.

Bosh will be more important this year offensively, but the scoring load will be carried by the whole team as part of our philosophy. And we do plan to be a high scoring team, we don't need a 25/30ppg guy for that Wink

I'm pretty happy with McGee's production to tbh. He's not a go to guy, nor do we need him to be so. He's got a clear role, and he does what he's meant to pretty efficiently. Glad I got him last year Smile

And yeah, if you had JaVale on your roster right now you could be even more dangerous of a team, and you really are right now!

by andrei (MEM) Mon Apr 07, 2014 4:35 am

I think this team is better than last season. As you said Bosh will have to step up on offense this year. There is no clear cut scorer on this team so you may struggle for points... Don't see Rubio averaging 16+ - he will definitely pass in double figures but I think Bosh will have to step up to show his scoring touch Toronto style

by Jamal (CHA) Mon Apr 07, 2014 7:35 am

andrei (POR) wrote:I think this team is better than last season. As you said Bosh will have to step up on offense this year. There is no clear cut scorer on this team so you may struggle for points... Don't see Rubio averaging 16+ - he will definitely pass in double figures but I think Bosh will have to step up to show his scoring touch Toronto style

I hope Bosh steps up offensively to, but more in quality than in quantity. I mean, if he can reach the 20ppg is already great to me. But I'm hoping he increases his % mainly.
Ricky is the second player in our starting unit in scoring rating, so as much as we play 'ball-movement' to focus less on that, I guess he's going to take lots of shots, and even his % won't be high, I'm thinking 16ppg is a realistic number, although you never really now... I guess I'm so willing to start and see how it pans out that I'm trying to guess things a lot. But it will be real fun to see how things go and how wrong I was later on Very Happy

I encourage all the teams to do the same, cause under our eyes our team is just the best and then it comes reality. It could be real fun Basketball

As for the points, I can tell you that's my last concern. IMO you don't need a high scoring guy to go 105/110ppg as a team, but a whole bunch of guys that can score at a decent rate. But again, we might find ourselves struggling to reach 90ppg in the first month of RS, but looking at how it went last year for us I really don't think so and I hope we can be closer to 110 than to 100. Dreaming is free cheers

by emplep7 (DET) Mon Apr 07, 2014 1:53 pm

I think your team lacks some depth and it will be interesting how they compete. You are relying heavily on Rubio putting up those numbers or else your team will have a hard time competing in the East this year.

by **Rizzo (NY)** Mon Apr 07, 2014 2:05 pm

New look Knicks need to establish themselves in New York before they can rule the Atlantic, let alone the East.

by Jamal (CHA) Mon Apr 07, 2014 4:15 pm

Great, I was starting to get worried with no-one disagreeing to my guessings/expectations Smile

Thanks both for your comments!

emplep7 (DET) wrote:I think your team lacks some depth and it will be interesting how they compete. You are relying heavily on Rubio putting up those numbers or else your team will have a hard time competing in the East this year.

Yeah, my concern comes with the injuries, cause they always come. I like our rotation, but I might be lost if Ricky/Bosh get injured.
As for Rubio I have to agree that I might be really biased about my opinion, but the truth is I'm pretty sure about it. Although I'm not painting everything great: being high on dimes shouldn't be hard for a 95 PAS guy like him. Saying he'll score 16ppg isn't a good him, cause I also mentioned that I'll be happy if he nears the 40% FG%.
But agree, the east should be real tough this year, with lots of teams fighting for the same spot-range.

Rizzo (NO) wrote:New look Knicks need to establish themselves in New York before they can rule the Atlantic, let alone the East.

Well, worst case scenario is that we become the second team of New York Surprised

(I said worst case scenario goikiri, you know that's not happening Razz

)
Winning the Atlantic is our goal, and a real tough one. We're putting expectations real high with that, I agree. But we think that's a possibility, so why not place high expectations? I'll be the first one to admit if we fail, that's why I'm writing it before the season kicks off. It's tough and dangerous to make predictions, and more if they're optimistic, but it's also fun to realize afterwards where we wrong or right and learn from it Wink

For example, I think this will be the breakout year for the Pelicans. And I'm not talking about fighting for the last seed in the west. I wouldn't be surprised to see your team 5th or 6th this season.
Obviously strategy is a bit part of the teams success, and I don't know what you'll be running on your team like I do on mine, but apart from that my bet is that we'll see a big jump from your young stars this season.

by andrei (MEM) Mon Apr 07, 2014 5:13 pm

Aim at the sun, and you may not reach it; but your arrow will fly far higher than if aimed at an object on a level with yourself.

by **Sun Scorched (NOP)** Mon Apr 07, 2014 5:43 pm

Real excited for the Eastern Conference this year. LeBron, Durant, Melo, Bryant, Nowitzki are all in the east now. Impressive.

by Jamal (CHA) Mon Apr 07, 2014 6:22 pm

andrei (POR) wrote:Aim at the sun, and you may not reach it; but your arrow will fly far higher than if aimed at an object on a level with yourself.

You could say it louder, but not more clear. I'll make it my motto Wink

Sun Scorched (CHA) wrote:Real excited for the Eastern Conference this year. LeBron, Durant, Melo, Bryant, Nowitzki are all in the east now. Impressive.

Yeah, the east has sudenly become really exciting!!

by blackice (TOR) Mon Apr 07, 2014 6:49 pm

Very intriguing read, honestly it's going to be tough to make a playoff run if Budinger doesn't replicate what Parsons did for you to a certain degree. Solid front-court, catch and shoot perimeter players and a star PG is a solid foundation though.

You always get more out of your team then most GM's (me included).

by Sponsored content

New York Knicks - 2014/2015 Season Preview

New York Knicks - 2014/2015 Season Preview

Re: New York Knicks - 2014/2015 Season Preview

Re: New York Knicks - 2014/2015 Season Preview

Re: New York Knicks - 2014/2015 Season Preview

Re: New York Knicks - 2014/2015 Season Preview

Re: New York Knicks - 2014/2015 Season Preview

Re: New York Knicks - 2014/2015 Season Preview

Re: New York Knicks - 2014/2015 Season Preview

Re: New York Knicks - 2014/2015 Season Preview

Re: New York Knicks - 2014/2015 Season Preview

Re: New York Knicks - 2014/2015 Season Preview

Re: New York Knicks - 2014/2015 Season Preview

Re: New York Knicks - 2014/2015 Season Preview

Re: New York Knicks - 2014/2015 Season Preview

Re: New York Knicks - 2014/2015 Season Preview

Re: New York Knicks - 2014/2015 Season Preview

Re: New York Knicks - 2014/2015 Season Preview

Re: New York Knicks - 2014/2015 Season Preview

Re: New York Knicks - 2014/2015 Season Preview