Category Archives: Ray Allen

The Knicks have made many moves this off-season to become a contender in the Eastern Conference. The expectations are higher than they have ever been as the Knicks seek their first title in over thirty years. The way I see it, the Knicks still have more moves to make if they want to compete with the Miami Heat. Lets compare the projected starting lineups.

New York Knicks                Miami Heat

Raymond Felton                  Mario Chalmers

JR Smith                            Dwyane Wade

Carmelo Anthony                LeBron James

Amare Stoudemire              Shane Battier

Tyson Chandler                  Chris Bosh

A lot of this season will depend on how well Amare Stoudemire can play. We all know that Melo will be the same guy he was for the United States Olympic team and that Tyson Chandler will continue to be a powerhouse defender. But there are many questions surrounding Amare who had an injury plagued season in 2011 and has not been able to prove that he can play with Carmelo Anthony. This is the make or break season for Stoudemire. He averaged eight less points last season than in the 2010-11 season. STAT needs to turn that STAT around and start hitting his jump shot if the Knicks have any chance of making a playoff run.

And what about the point guard position? For a while, New Yorkers believed that Steve Nash would be the starting point guard. Then it was Jeremy Lin. Fans thought there was no way that management would let the big hit Linsanity leave New York City. They were wrong. Raymond Felton is the starting point guard with Jason Kidd backing him up.

Felton is 28 years old and has the potential to be a great distributor on the court. When he played with the Knicks in 2010, he had career highs with 17 points and 9 assists per game. Since then, his numbers have decreased but unfortunately his weight has increased. He was definitely looking a little chubby last season in Portland.

But if Felton can get back into shape and start nailing his jump shot, the release of Jeremy Lin will not seem as crazy as most people thought. Lin struggles with turnovers way more than Felton and Raymond’s pick and roll style meshes quite well with Stoudemire according to the 2010-11 season. Felton could actually be a good fit for this team.

The problem for the Knicks is depth and three-point shooting. It’s not so much that the Knicks lack depth, but the Heat are just an incredibly deep team. The best three-point shooter in the history of the National Basketball Association is the BACK-UP shooting guard for the Heat. Ray Allen was part of the big 3 for the Celtics and yet now he is coming off the bench for Miami! Udonis Haslem is the second string power forward even though he would start for most teams in the NBA. He is a great rebounder and defender making him a great asset to have off the bench. Proven sophomore point guard Norris Cole will chip in some minutes for the much-improved Chalmers. And the Heat were able to bring in another veteran three-point shooter in Rashard Lewis.

With so many lights out shooters on this team (including Mike Miller if he is healthy), they will be almost impossible to defend. Every time Wade or LeBron drives to the lane, one of these guys will be wide open for the three. The Knicks do not have enough firepower to keep up with the Miami Heat if they do not make a few tweaks.

New York does have a great back-up center in Marcus Camby but until Iman Shumpert comes back, the starting five will have to lead this team throughout the regular season. Jason Kidd will most likely split minutes with Felton and the Knicks best shooter Steve Novak will come off the bench. Other than that, this team has a bunch of guys that have no value. The Heat are much deeper and they have better shooters. Not to mention, LeBron James is the best player in the league.

I believe that the Knicks need to make more moves right now. Carmelo and Tyson are in the prime of their career and it is time to surround them with as much talent as possible. I know that is what the organization is trying to do, but I think there are more free agency signings and trades that could be made.

The Knicks definitely need a solid power forward coming off the bench. Right now they are pursuing Kenyon Martin. If they get him, it is a huge bonus. But if K-Mart decides to sign elsewhere, who will back up the aging Stoudemire? If they could, I would say that New York should trade the former All-Star but I don’t think any team would be willing to take on his lucrative contract. So what should the Knicks do?

They could sign a guy like Ben Wallace who is an old veteran that can still play solid defense. However, I think having Wallace and Chandler on the floor at the same time would decrease New York’s offensives efficiency substantially. That is why the Knicks need Kenyon Martin or even a guy like Matt Barnes who can play defense and shoot. He is more of a small forward but Carmelo could always move to power forward. Another option is to sign free agent Josh Howard who averaged 20 points in 2007-08. Although his numbers are in a steady decline, he is 32 years old and still has something left in the tank.

The Knicks are without a doubt a top five team in the Eastern Conference. This year it is crucial for them to shoot for the #2 seed in order to avoid playing the Heat until the Eastern Conference Finals (assuming they make it that far). Iman Shumpert could not come back soon enough and I believe that the Knicks need to go after guys like Kenyon Martin or Matt Barnes if they want be considered a serious contender.

Right now I have the Knicks finishing as the 4^th seed but if they make the right moves, who knows what could happen? The regular season is full of unknowns. Maybe some minority bench player who has been cut from multiple teams will come out of nowhere becoming the best player on the team and start an entire movement? Hey, it’s happened before…

The Knicks have made many moves this off-season to become a contender in the Eastern Conference. The expectations are higher than they have ever been as the Knicks seek their first title in over thirty years. The way I see it, the Knicks still have more moves to make if they want to compete with the Miami Heat. Lets compare the projected starting lineups.

New York Knicks                Miami Heat

Raymond Felton                  Mario Chalmers

JR Smith                            Dwyane Wade

Carmelo Anthony                LeBron James

Amare Stoudemire              Shane Battier

Tyson Chandler                  Chris Bosh

A lot of this season will depend on how well Amare Stoudemire can play. We all know that Melo will be the same guy he was for the United States Olympic team and that Tyson Chandler will continue to be a powerhouse defender. But there are many questions surrounding Amare who had an injury plagued season in 2011 and has not been able to prove that he can play with Carmelo Anthony. This is the make or break season for Stoudemire. He averaged eight less points last season than in the 2010-11 season. STAT needs to turn that STAT around and start hitting his jump shot if the Knicks have any chance of making a playoff run.

And what about the point guard position? For a while, New Yorkers believed that Steve Nash would be the starting point guard. Then it was Jeremy Lin. Fans thought there was no way that management would let the big hit Linsanity leave New York City. They were wrong. Raymond Felton is the starting point guard with Jason Kidd backing him up.

Felton is 28 years old and has the potential to be a great distributor on the court. When he played with the Knicks in 2010, he had career highs with 17 points and 9 assists per game. Since then, his numbers have decreased but unfortunately his weight has increased. He was definitely looking a little chubby last season in Portland.

But if Felton can get back into shape and start nailing his jump shot, the release of Jeremy Lin will not seem as crazy as most people thought. Lin struggles with turnovers way more than Felton and Raymond’s pick and roll style meshes quite well with Stoudemire according to the 2010-11 season. Felton could actually be a good fit for this team.

The problem for the Knicks is depth and three-point shooting. It’s not so much that the Knicks lack depth, but the Heat are just an incredibly deep team. The best three-point shooter in the history of the National Basketball Association is the BACK-UP shooting guard for the Heat. Ray Allen was part of the big 3 for the Celtics and yet now he is coming off the bench for Miami! Udonis Haslem is the second string power forward even though he would start for most teams in the NBA. He is a great rebounder and defender making him a great asset to have off the bench. Proven sophomore point guard Norris Cole will chip in some minutes for the much-improved Chalmers. And the Heat were able to bring in another veteran three-point shooter in Rashard Lewis.

With so many lights out shooters on this team (including Mike Miller if he is healthy), they will be almost impossible to defend. Every time Wade or LeBron drives to the lane, one of these guys will be wide open for the three. The Knicks do not have enough firepower to keep up with the Miami Heat if they do not make a few tweaks.

New York does have a great back-up center in Marcus Camby but until Iman Shumpert comes back, the starting five will have to lead this team throughout the regular season. Jason Kidd will most likely split minutes with Felton and the Knicks best shooter Steve Novak will come off the bench. Other than that, this team has a bunch of guys that have no value. The Heat are much deeper and they have better shooters. Not to mention, LeBron James is the best player in the league.

I believe that the Knicks need to make more moves right now. Carmelo and Tyson are in the prime of their career and it is time to surround them with as much talent as possible. I know that is what the organization is trying to do, but I think there are more free agency signings and trades that could be made.

The Knicks definitely need a solid power forward coming off the bench. Right now they are pursuing Kenyon Martin. If they get him, it is a huge bonus. But if K-Mart decides to sign elsewhere, who will back up the aging Stoudemire? If they could, I would say that New York should trade the former All-Star but I don’t think any team would be willing to take on his lucrative contract. So what should the Knicks do?

They could sign a guy like Ben Wallace who is an old veteran that can still play solid defense. However, I think having Wallace and Chandler on the floor at the same time would decrease New York’s offensives efficiency substantially. That is why the Knicks need Kenyon Martin or even a guy like Matt Barnes who can play defense and shoot. He is more of a small forward but Carmelo could always move to power forward. Another option is to sign free agent Josh Howard who averaged 20 points in 2007-08. Although his numbers are in a steady decline, he is 32 years old and still has something left in the tank.

The Knicks are without a doubt a top five team in the Eastern Conference. This year it is crucial for them to shoot for the #2 seed in order to avoid playing the Heat until the Eastern Conference Finals (assuming they make it that far). Iman Shumpert could not come back soon enough and I believe that the Knicks need to go after guys like Kenyon Martin or Matt Barnes if they want be considered a serious contender.

Right now I have the Knicks finishing as the 4^th seed but if they make the right moves, who knows what could happen? The regular season is full of unknowns. Maybe some minority bench player who has been cut from multiple teams will come out of nowhere becoming the best player on the team and start an entire movement? Hey, it’s happened before…