2008-2009 Season Predictions...(Your Opinion is Wanted!)

[Starks]

I expect an exciting season. But I don't expect any success.

Most of the season will be about developing the games of you players...refining the mid levels like Crawford and Zach, and trying to bring up Steph's value so they can trade him at deadline.

No playoffs. But this season will be easier to take with Mike D being a realist

 

[portega1968]

..
All Knicks fans want is HOPE!...

Yes, I wanna be able to say as loud as possible "I'm a Knicks fan" without being mocked by my wife and kids.

Yes, I want to say that this year looks more promising than last year without being reminded by my brother-in-law AGAIN that I've said the same bullshhit for like the past three decades.

Yes, I wanna be able to watch some basketball at MSG in May and June.

Yes, I want to see us clear up cap space and go after Lebron and Wade BOTH!!!

Yes, my fellow Knick fans, both Haterburys and BuryLovers alike. ALL I WANT IS HOPE.

I fuuukin hope we aint looking for a new coach and president next summer.

I fukkin hope James Dolan relocates to Tibet this year.

I fuuccking hope we win 45 games this year and make the playoffs.

I fukin hope Eddy Curry doesn't eat another frikin french fry in his life.

I frakin HOPE I can finally let go of YEARS of fuccking frustration and look at all the non-believers in the eye and tell 'em "I TOLD YOU SO" as being a Knick fan is honorable again.

Realistically, we may barely get 25 wins... But I'm hoping we double that.

 

[Knicks4lyfe]

You said "Anything short of a playoff appearance is a complete failure."

I predicted us not making the playoffs last year. I was one of the few. I knew Zach was going to be bad for us, because he didn't address any of the team's deficiencies.

I don't know where you get the "pompous guru" claims. I haven't heard D'Antoni say we are definitely going to make the playoffs this year. If you can find that quote, I'd like to see it. If anything, I've just heard him say it's going to take some time. But if he did say it, then I'm sure it was just a media response. Besides, what is he supposed to say when asked, what does he think this team will do this year? I don't think he would answer the media by saying we're going to suck this year and be at the bottom of the East again.

Don't ask me for the quote, and then have ready made excuses for him. When the reporter asked about shaved heads, he did not have to offer we're gonna make the playoffs. He did not ask were the Knicks going to make it, he asked would he shave his head in the EVENT they did. He said "oh we're gonna make the playoffs"

http://ca.youtube.com/watch?v=hjasVR2RrLk

At the 9:09 mark in this video he says we are gonna make the playoffs.

And if he feels this way, we would likely have to win 45-50 games to do so. And with this offensive talent nothing less should be expected. If we don't make the playoffs, this season is a failure. It was a failure last year when we did not make it, so I don't see why it would not be this year.

As far as him being a pompous guru, I think it is pretty pompous to think a career backup will play well enough to start and help propel this team to a playoff berth. Especially since everyone knows the pg is the key to how this whole offense runs, and Duhon has never shown has the ability to maintain a starting spot in the league. But maybe he knows something the rest of us don't.

My opinion. And I'm still entitled to it thank goodness.

Coach says we're making the playoffs. If we don't the season was a complete failure.

 

[Kiyaman]

I think this "POST" should have that article of "Curry or Lee as the starting center" because if coach Dantoni or the Knick big brass is making that decision for the Preseason games or the regular season games it is a senseless decision when the Knicks have Marbury or Duhorn as the starting PG up in the air.

The success of this Knick Team this season will be on coach Dantoni decision making on the starting-5 unit, and the 7-man rotation.

The media comparing Duhorn to Marbury as starters, then Lee to Curry as the starting center has not been well chronicle reading.

If the Knicks are going to change their recipe from the nasty tasting 23 win season by taking PG-Marbury out of the Starting lineup (for Duhorn) then I suggest that SF-Q.Richardson be taken out (for Chandler), and Zach Randolph be taken out too (for David Lee), so the seasoning to this new recipe could mix-well early before the boiling point.

Cont.

 

[Kiyaman]

The Knicks are just as Backwards as lastseason 23 wins.

Why put Marbury on front street and not Zach Randolph who aquisition last season was the turning point of a 33 win team into a 23 win dysfunctional team? it should be Curry, James, and Zach fighting for the starting center position.

It has become hard for this Knick organization to admitt the truth that "David Lee" is the "Starting PF" for the first 82 games of the 2008-9 season.
The Knicks refused to start PF-Lee in the 2006-7 season over Frye, and refuse to start PF-Lee the next 2007-8 season over Zach Randolph.

And now in the 2008-9 season to showcase Zach Randolph (for a trade) the Knicks are going about it backwards (Just like Isiah Thomas).

NBA Teams want to see if Zach Randolph is discipline enough to come off the bench as a 6.9 F/C and provide that 20/10 performance before they show any interest in a trade for him.


The Knicks have a very decent starter at the PF spot in David Lee who strong winning hustle at the PF position will not let the Knicks lose control of the first quarter to oposing starters.
The same can not be said about 20/10 PF-Zach Randolph in his performance in Portland or New York...

 

[GetRealistic]

Kiya yet again you prove yourself to be a dope. If you've read anything for the past two weeks David Lee is the starting PF. Everbody needs to relax on the starters and rotation at this point, We haven't even played a preseason game yet so who knows what lineup D'Antoni is going to use.

As things stand right this second the guys who seem to be getting the most playing time will be Duhon, Crawford, Q, Lee, Randolph, Marbury, Nate, Chandler and possibly Curry.

I have no problem with Q starting atleast the early season games, Chandler is still a young guy and as long as hes getting minutes it doesn't really matter if hes starting or not. It may be a benefit to the team to have Q start the early season games just for the main fact he's played in the system before, also by default he's one of the major team leaders.

The biggest difference between Isiah and D'Antoni is that D'Antoni owes nobody on this roster anything. I think hes proven that by starting Duhon and making slight rips on Curry all the time. I really think he will play the best 8, and although our best 8 may not be good enough our best 8 will play.

 

[GetRealistic]

Now to my predictions

If Starbury starts 82-0
If Duhon Starts 4-78

But in all seriousness if this team is playing meaningful games in March the season will be a success. I'm not expecting to be a playoff team and if we do make the playoffs it'll be as an 7th or 8th seed that gets bounced out quickly. I think 35 wins is a nice start to the rebuilding program and its a 12 game improvement from last year.

I'd also like to see Gallo by the second half of the season show hes going to help this team in the future.

Is there really a way we can be any worse then last year?

 

[Kiyaman]

Kiya yet again you prove yourself to be a dope. If you've read anything for the past two weeks David Lee is the starting PF. Everbody needs to relax on the starters and rotation at this point, We haven't even played a preseason game yet so who knows what lineup D'Antoni is going to use.

As things stand right this second the guys who seem to be getting the most playing time will be Duhon, Crawford, Q, Lee, Randolph, Marbury, Nate, Chandler and possibly Curry.

I have no problem with Q starting atleast the early season games, Chandler is still a young guy and as long as hes getting minutes it doesn't really matter if hes starting or not. It may be a benefit to the team to have Q start the early season games just for the main fact he's played in the system before, also by default he's one of the major team leaders.

The biggest difference between Isiah and D'Antoni is that D'Antoni owes nobody on this roster anything. I think hes proven that by starting Duhon and making slight rips on Curry all the time. I really think he will play the best 8, and although our best 8 may not be good enough our best 8 will play.

GetReal! Please dont respond to my post, your a writer not a reader with comprehension.
You never read any of the articles about Duhorn starting over Marbury, or Lee taking Curry starting position. You just like to write BULLSHIT after BULLSHIT, contradicting everything you say.

If Boston had Marbury, Duhorn, and Rondo who the hell do you think coach Doc Rivers will start?

If Boston had Curry, Zach, Lee, and KG who do you think coach Doc Rivers would start at center and PF? what two bigmen would get the majority of playingtime? and what position would he play Lee at the most?

I believe you are clueless to these answers because you did'nt have a clue on how coach Doc Rivers beat coach Jackson in the FINALS...

 

[GetRealistic]

So your saying if D'Antoni had Rondo, and KG he wouldn't play him? The fact is he doesn't have any players.

As of October 7th he is starting Duhon, Crawford, Q, Lee, and Randolph. Weill that change by October 29th? Possibly but as of right now that is the lineup.

You act as if Nate isn't going to see minutes. Nate is going to play minutes we all know that, and from the looks of what we are hearing he is the backup PG and Marbury is a backup combo guard.

How can you blame D'Antoni for the lack of playing time Lee has gotten over the last three seasons? And in actuality he may not have started but he saw plenty of playing time.

And i'll tell you how THE CELTICS BEAT THE LAKERS. They played hard nose defense and the roleplayers for the Lakers (Odom, Gasol, Sasha etc) couldn't handle the intensity and physicalness of what the Celtics threw at them.

But lets be honest Rondo is far superior then Nate, Duhon, and Marbury at defending. And KG is far superior then anybody the Knicks have had in the last 10 years. The coach can only coach the players he has on the roster.

Maybe in your whacked out mind a lineup of Mardy Collins, Nate Robinson, Demetrius Nichols, Renaldo Balkman, and David Lee can compete night in and night out agianst NBA competition but you are the only person in the world that believes that.

Also when did i ever say this years team is near the level of the Celtics, if you read what i posted i said a 35 win season would be a great accomplishment and in my math 35 wins probably doesn't get us into the playoffs, so comparing the Knicks and Celtics or D'Antoni and Rivers isn't a comparison at all.

Stick to bolding and talking about summer league.


I honestly don't understand what you want. Do you want it to be Duhon, Crawford, Chandler, Lee, and Curry?

I can understand that you want Chandler to start over Q but thats debateable at this point. We all believe Chandler will be a big figure to this roster and i would have no problem with him starting at the small forward but is it that much of a stretch to have a second year player come off the bench for a guy who had his best NBA season playing for D'Antoni? Also how often does the opening night or better yet opening preseason night starting lineup play together the whole 82 game season. Why can't Chandler be inserted after the first ten games?


I pose this question to you Kiya, after all this nonsensical comments you make. If tomarrow night was opening night who would be your starting 5 and top 4 off the bench.

Mine so you can compare would be

Duhon
Crawford
Richardson
Lee
Randolph

Marbury
Nate
Chandler
James/Curry limited minutes

Things can change from now till October 29th. Maybe Marbury, Randolph, or Collins play well in the preseason and attract a decent trade. Or maybe Curry continues to vomit for two more weeks and gets into playing shape.

This is the NBA, you can't reinvent the wheel here. With the restrictions on salary cap and the situation Layden and Isiah put us in, were stuck with the majority of the last season roster. But at seasons end players slowly begin to come off the books and the rebuilding PROCESS can truely begin.

 

[LJ4ptplay]

Don't ask me for the quote, and then have ready made excuses for him. When the reporter asked about shaved heads, he did not have to offer we're gonna make the playoffs. He did not ask were the Knicks going to make it, he asked would he shave his head in the EVENT they did. He said "oh we're gonna make the playoffs"

http://ca.youtube.com/watch?v=hjasVR2RrLk

At the 9:09 mark in this video he says we are gonna make the playoffs.

And if he feels this way, we would likely have to win 45-50 games to do so. And with this offensive talent nothing less should be expected. If we don't make the playoffs, this season is a failure. It was a failure last year when we did not make it, so I don't see why it would not be this year.

As far as him being a pompous guru, I think it is pretty pompous to think a career backup will play well enough to start and help propel this team to a playoff berth. Especially since everyone knows the pg is the key to how this whole offense runs, and Duhon has never shown has the ability to maintain a starting spot in the league. But maybe he knows something the rest of us don't.

My opinion. And I'm still entitled to it thank goodness.

Coach says we're making the playoffs. If we don't the season was a complete failure.

So essentially your just bitter that Duhon may start and not Marbury. What if Marbury comes off the bench but still plays starters minutes as a PG/SG combo? It might be a better role for Marbury and a better match with Nate and Chandler, which is better for the Knicks as a whole. Will you still be bitter?

I don't consider D'Antoni pompous for saying we're going to make the playoffs. Unrealistic, but not pompous. It's kind of like McCain saying Palin mopped the floor with Biden during the debate. When clearly that was not the case. It's a media response.

 

[Knicks4lyfe]

So essentially your just bitter that Duhon may start and not Marbury. What if Marbury comes off the bench but still plays starters minutes as a PG/SG combo? It might be a better role for Marbury and a better match with Nate and Chandler, which is better for the Knicks as a whole. Will you still be bitter?

I don't consider D'Antoni pompous for saying we're going to make the playoffs. Unrealistic, but not pompous. It's kind of like McCain saying Palin mopped the floor with Biden during the debate. When clearly that was not the case. It's a media response.

Dude, I'm a Jehovah's witness. The things people do and say at the door sometimes don't make me bitter, so whether one millionaire starts on a sports franchise or the other really does not have impact enough for me to be bitter. Just saying it takes a bit of gumption on his part to deem Duhon the starter in a new system, new team, in which he now says will make the playoffs, when he was not even doing it on a playoff team he just left. I mean, Duhon could not beat out Hinrich.

You don't consider it pompous, does not mean the rest of us can't. You're opinion. Cool. You deem it a media response, I say if we don't make the playoffs, year one under Walsh, D'antoni is a failure. Completely.

 

[GetRealistic]

So you want D'Antoni to come out and say, "I don't see this team making the playoffs"? Lets be honest here, even the head coach and the players on the St. Louis Rams in the preseason say there going to make the playoffs.

 

[Knicks4lyfe]

So you want D'Antoni to come out and say, "I don't see this team making the playoffs"? Lets be honest here, even the head coach and the players on the St. Louis Rams in the preseason say there going to make the playoffs.

I'm actually glad he expects us to make the playoffs. That means he is gonna coach his butt off and be the first coach in awhile to earn his pay here.

But him offering that we'll make it rather than being pressed for it means he thinks he has enough right now to make the playoffs in the east.

I expect the playoffs this year.

 

[Kiyaman]

GetReal, this is the Preseason where certain bench players who been working out together all offseason should get the oportunity to be starters in all the preseason for preparation if an injury were to occur during the regular season.
Plus it would be nice to see if these dedicated offseason players PF-Lee, SF-Chandler, Combo-guard Nate, improve their chemistry from lastseason, and their outstanding performance in training camp should've earned them something.

 

[GetRealistic]

Its not the NFL or spring training baseball. For the most part the starters get a majority of the minutes in the preaseason. Especially when a brand new system has been put into play and ALL the players on the team need to get live action running this system. You act like Lee and Nate are still rookies, they are in their 4th season and are both guy who are going to see extensive minutes this season, and if you've been reading correctly Walsh is trying to sign Lee to an extension during the preseason.

I agree Collins, Roberson, Chandler, and Ewing Jr. should get minutes in the pre season and i'm sure they will. But like with Lee and Nate, Chandler is a memeber of the rotation unless he plays to the point where he loses his spot which is highly unlikely.

Also this preseason is a chance to possibly showcase Randolph, Marbury, Curry, and Collins for potential trades. No matter how the front office spins things they'd like to make a trade involving one of those guy.


Kiya you haven't responded yet.... If the season started tommarrow who would be your starting five? And who would be your top 3 or 4 off the bench?

 

[datruth]

better then last season, thats all i say

 

[New New York]

I honestly cant call it! Every season I think we are going into the playoffs, and ofcourse we never do so it would be just plain dumb of me to anticipate a playoff run out of the same group that only managed 23 wins last year. But we all know that we are a talented team and Mike Dantoni is one of those coaches that have maximized the potential of all the players he has coached. So there is reason to think that we can win significantly more than last year.I think this is the first year when most Knick fans are realistic about team expectations and just want to see us competitive and I think that much is certain.

I imagine we will lose early on and we look ugly at times trying to play this new style. But make no mistake about it we have the type of talent that can thrive in this offense and could start to click around the All Star break... or not!

My prediction is vague; anywhere between 29-40 wins, no playoffs, 8th pick in the draft. And hopefully next year we are playoff bound so we dont give up a lottery pick.

 

[naterob4]

there is one very huge intangible in the east this year...d'antoni brings a different style to this knicks ball club....in phoenix he ran that run and gun O and i think we got the guards and more importantly the big men to run his offensive system....with nate rob, duhon, crawford, and steph bein in the best shape of his life i believe we will have the speed to fit perfectly into d'antoni's system...i believe that if they bring curry off the bench when randolph or david lee needs a breather than he will run the floor nicely with this bunch as well....d'antoni will get them ready its all a matter of them executing and with starbury leading the way the east better watch out...i'm not saying we'll be a top squad but with a couple east playoff bids being up for grabs don't be surprised if d'antonio brings W's and possible a playoff spot to the big apple.

 

[Kiyaman]

I honestly cant call it! Every season I think we are going into the playoffs, and ofcourse we never do so it would be just plain dumb of me to anticipate a playoff run out of the same group that only managed 23 wins last year. But we all know that we are a talented team and Mike Dantoni is one of those coaches that have maximized the potential of all the players he has coached. So there is reason to think that we can win significantly more than last year.I think this is the first year when most Knick fans are realistic about team expectations and just want to see us competitive and I think that much is certain.

I imagine we will lose early on and we look ugly at times trying to play this new style. But make no mistake about it we have the type of talent that can thrive in this offense and could start to click around the All Star break... or not!

My prediction is vague; anywhere between 29-40 wins, no playoffs, 8th pick in the draft. And hopefully next year we are playoff bound so we dont give up a lottery pick.

I have to co-sign this.
The Knicks do have some athletic chemistry players if given the playingtime early in the season may gain the confidence to compete strong around the All-star season.
I do want a 8th pick in the 2009 draft, after using our 6th pick on a player that will take two seasons to be NBA ready.

My starting 5 at the start of the regular season would not consist of Marbury, Crawford, Q.Rich, and Zach.
These 4 players nonleadership has earned them to be the first 4 players off the bench at the start of the season.
If they can handle comming off the bench and playing at a full performance, then and only then..... will their trade value go up sky high.

 

[Niko39]

Another "eh" season, unfortunately.

We'll definitely improve -- I'm confident in that.