Knicks NOT old. A team in their prime!

mafra

Legend
Our #1 star, franchise player, is Carmelo Anthony (28); His sidekick, Amar'e, is an "old" 30.

The heart-n-soul of our defensive, the man in the middle (Tyson Chandler) is 30 as well.

Our starting PG, Ray Fel, is 28; and eventually the starting SG (Shumpert) is our youngest player, he's 22. The current starying SG, a versatile role player Ronnie Brewer is only 27. Our super-sub, 6th man stud, JR Smith just turned 27.

Finally, one of NBA's elite shooters, Mr. Steve Novak, well he's only 29 years-old.

Right there folks is an 8-man rotation is chock full of mid-to-late 20 yr-olds in the prime of their respective careers. Actually, when the playoffs arrive, one can make the case that the first 8 men in the roation are:

Felton
Shumpert
Carmelo
Amar'e
Chandler

Smith, Brewer, Novak

*This 8-man rotation has an average age of 27.6. Not the "oldest" nonsense in NBA history stuff that the national media has focused on.

What comes after this? Well, the backup PG position is filled with 2 "ancient" vets. Sure. But Kidd & Pablo valuable b/c of their brains. ELITE basketball minds. 1 is a 1st ballot HOF player, who (as recent as 2 years ago) was instrumental in beating the MIA heat (which is the team this squad is trying to, or being built to, beat). Pablo is the 3rd string PG; or 10th/11th man in the roation come playoffs. He's insurance.

Besides the backup PG spot, we employ the scary-hairy, vet cerberus beast of Camby, Thomas, & Wallace. But, to me, this is just a safety-in-numbers type package. The Knicks know there will be injuries & limited minutes, & this is why they've decided to spread the wealth. 10 minutes here, 5 minutes there; a few days off here, hot hand there...The strength being best displayed in the locker room leadership this triumvirate brings to this roster.

When the playoffs come, this trio brings 18 fouls and a nasty attitude, clogging the lane, while helping preserve interior defense, shot-blocking & rebounding when TC is on the bench (and if he gets in foul trouble).

I'm tired of hearing about the age stuff. That KIDD, CAMBY, THOMAS, WALLACE & PABLO are too old to be a factor. I think it's the opposite really. That this 5-pack will eventually prove to be the difference maker. Leadership + production = success.

1) This group of vets us about the only thing that will demand the most from Carmelo, JR Smith & Amar'e. TC wasn't enough. Toss in Woodson, and we have a group buying into a system, syncing in on the ultimate goal as 1 unit with the determination to match this intensity of focus.

2) We're talking about GREAT players, who know the game & understand their role, & (for the most part) will maximize their efficiency when given minutes.

3) These vets are here b/c it helps NYK battle MIA. Camby-Thomas-Wallace can hit jumpers and clog the lane. Taking away the penetration, which MIA thrives on. KIDD & Pablo are pass-1st PGs, who will help get easy looks for Carmelo, Amar'e & Chandler.


Let's start talking about this team as it really is... We have a core rotation of 8 players ALL IN THE PRIME of their careers. We suppliment & compliment that with a still highly productive, talented cavalry of role players, to give this NYK depth.

Knicks will attack you with a PG group of Felton, Kidd & Pablo. They can run Shumpert & Brewer at you to shut down your wing players; they have a scoring spark in their 6th man (Smith); they have a sniper (Novak); a go-to elite scoring option in the 4th (Carmelo); along with an elite scoring PF (Amare); we have maybe the best front court, in terms of clogging the lane, in Chandler & Camby & Kurt Thomas. Toss in Wallace, who can score in the post or drain a 3...

What's not to like about this team?
 

Forrest17

Rotation player
yeah totally. We really aren't old. Id much rather be us, and have a core in their prime, with veterans and youth backing us up, rather than say the lakers where all your money is going to a bunch of old starters with no bench and no one of quality being able to back them up.

Youth costs more. If a player is good and young they are more valuable then a player that is older. This is because teams want to secure young players for several years. So in terms of value, you are more likely to get a player who can contribute more to your team for a low cost if the player is older rather than younger. Because if a player is younger and will accept a low payment it must likely means that he sucks. But if the player is older it could mean that he was at one time good but isn't what he used to be. Id rather have a has been who still has knowledge of the the game and how to win than a never was.

Age is only an issue if you sign them with the intent of having them for a lengthy period of time. We don't. This is the one season we are even going to bother our selves with most of our older players in all likelyhood. Im not sure why this is so hard for some people to understand.
 

mafra

Legend
Also, the slur associated with being old (in the athletic sense) is that your roster is slow. This just isn't the case. With Brewer & Shumpert, the Knicks have 2 ELITE wing defesnive players, capable of guaring the 1-2-3 spots.

Felton is in shape... He has supurb athleticsim. He's not Ty Lawson or D-Rose, but he's still above average in quickness at the point.

Carmelo can guard the SF/PF spots. Chandler locks down the paint.

JR Smith can't be guarded by most players. He can only stop himself.

So the Knicks have athletes.
 

iJoe

Rotation player
JR Smith can't be guarded by most players. He can only stop himself.

lol so true. He has the ability to be one of the top players in the NBA. Guy has shown that he can play defense, is actually an above average passer and everyone knows how hot he can get on offense. He just needs to mature a bit more.
 

Knicks4Life_1985

★The Floor General★
lol so true. He has the ability to be one of the top players in the NBA. Guy has shown that he can play defense, is actually an above average passer and everyone knows how hot he can get on offense. He just needs to mature a bit more.


According to most members of this board JR and Felton are overrated ... Who would have thought
 

RunningJumper

Super Moderator
lol so true. He has the ability to be one of the top players in the NBA. Guy has shown that he can play defense, is actually an above average passer and everyone knows how hot he can get on offense. He just needs to mature a bit more.
Yeah. Imagine him driving more too? Him and Shumpert could destroy teams.
 

NYk_Reloaded718

★KNICKS-TAPE★
Our "old players" whoop a$$ on the court :smokin:

but i agree with this thread we aren't old were in our prime
 

metrocard

Legend
Imagine if we had Kidd, Rasheed, and Camby in their prime ? Those 3 alone would gurantee us a championship.
 

Wargames

Starter
partV.jpg


The knicks aka the Lethal Weapons
 

Crazy⑧s

Evacuee
Forgot to add that this is a sensational thread. SENSATIONAL! +1. Gotta love it when a KO member brings a beat write worthy topic to the fray.

Nice one, mafra.
 
It really bears repeating, awesome thread! I am out in LA so I was stuck watching a Mavericks telecast of last night's game. And right away they were discussing how "old" the Knicks roster is. You would have thought they were talking about our top 3 scoring options! Let people continue to think this team needs 15 walking canes, it'll make it all the sweeter when we roll over their squad!
 

DaTPRiNCE

The Knicks are Back
What people tend to overlook is our core players are in the prime of their careers with a young rising star to boot( Shumpert) . Just because our role players and backups are old doesn't mean thats aa bad thing. They provide experience that far makes up for youth; as jkidd has proven thus far. This team is dangerous with the right amount of balance
 
So long as we keep conditioning well why would the injuries pile up? If anything were only getting healthier with important pieces coming back

I hope to God that you're right. But looking back on our last couple playoff runs, the Knicks are cursed in the injury department. I wanna brush it all off and attribute it to the Knicks running more under D'antoni's offense but seeing how Woodson has slowed everything down, I can see this team making it through the long haul :crossfingers:
 

KingCharles34

All Star
Injuries have had alot to do with our poor performances in the playoffs the past 2 years. Last year it was Shumpert, Lin, Stat, Baron Davis, Jeffries. And Chandler was sick the first game or 2, dude has a weak immune system. Then 2 years ago against the Celtics it was Billups, Stat and probably a few other players. We had Melo on the court with scrubs like Fields, Bill Walker, Douglas, Jeffries (offensively), Sean Williams and Shelden Williams against Boston.

This team is the deepest team we've had now and one way or another i think Melo will always have a couple other players to chip in and help him out. We're loaded with really good role players, some that wont even get to play when we're completely healthy. We got 2 stars...Melo and JR Smith. Everybody else contributes and a few of them even play like stars at times.
 
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