Weigh In: Knicks Front Court vs East Elite

A lot of people here are staunch believers that our Knickerbockers are playoff bound.

We disagree on a lot of things, but it's fair to say that we all know the vast importance of a dominant front court, throughout ALL stages of any game. Not just the critical moments of the 4th quarter.

KO.com posters as well as media analysts have the NYK as 7th or 8th seed EC likelihoods. The predicted EC 1-8 seeds are roughly as follows:

1. Orlando
2. Miami
3. Boston
4. Chicago
5. Milwaukee
6. Atlanta
7. Charlotte ▽
8. New York △

So, what follows is a direct comparison of New York's big men against their Eastern Conference front court counterparts.



Stat City - Strong, athletic, aggressive. Can create for himself but not so much for others. Needs to rebound to his potential. Unstoppable in the paint. Has reliable mid range game. Tends to struggle one on one at defensive end.

Ronnie Turiaf - Strong, very aggressive, defensive minded. Needs to refine offense badly.


Anthony Randolph - Length and athleticism are almost unmatched at 7'0". Great ball handler, rebounds at high rate, fast, confident, aggressive, passes well. Built like a straw, doesn't pass as much as he should. Very young.


Orlando:
Dwight Howard - One of the leagues strongest players. His combo of strength and athleticism is second to none in the league. Consecutive DPOY awards.

Rashard Lewis - Excellent shooter, all offense, if hot, Magic are deadly. Defensively bogus. Excels in transition.

Marcin Gortat - Athletic. Strong. Enormous. Excellent shot blocker and rebounder. Offense is a struggle. Rarely plays side by side with Howard.

Head to head

P&R: NYK
Inside Scoring: NYK - marginally.
Shot Blocking: Orlando
Rebounding: Orlando
Strength: Orlando
Athleticism: NYK
Speed: NYK
Shooting: Knicks from mid range - Magic from long range
Passing: NYK
FT Shooting: NYK
Best front court bench: Knicks. Athleticism and depth take the prize.

Miami

Bosh - Hate him or not, he's good. Versatile, has range, deadly triple threat. He's an elite rebounder. Doesn't block many shots and is reputedly soft as kleenex.

Haslem - Gritty, determined, does the intangibles. Has a decent jump shot. Defensive minded. His game has definitely declined since the Heat's championship though.

Jamal Magloire - Shell of his former self, but is still an intimidating presence. He's hard nosed and will do anything he can to gain advantage for his team. Small regard for personal safety.

Big Z - Still useful. Has range and is a good passer. He's at the end of his tether, but he's still 7'3".

Head to head:

P&R: Miami. Not because of their front court obviously.
Inside Scoring: NYK. Not even close.
Shot Blocking: NYK. Another landslide
Rebounding: NYK. Not by a lot.
Strength: Knicks take it courtesy of Turiaf.
Athleticism: NYK. By ****ing miles.
Speed: NYK
Shooting: Miami...Barely. Bosh is a top the list in comparison, Haslem is solid. Magloire is a vegetable. Big Z can spot up from anywhere within the arc.
Passing: Even. If Randolph is in the FC, we surpass them.
FT Shooting: NYK
Best bench: NYK - Miami's front court bar Bosh are living antiquities.

To be continued



DOES ANYBODY WANNA DO A TEAM COMPARISON? I PLAN TO ADD THE REST/MORE, BUT IT'LL TAKE A WHILE.

I have to go and fight crime.

Too early to tell. This thread should wait til' Feb. when we see who's who and what's what.

That's why speculating on our decisions and records and positions is a waste. I mean how many different scenarios can you think of that will sway things from 1 extreme to the next? here's a few:

In training camp AR really solidifies himself as a Diaw type, playing a roaming 5, all over the court, playing help out, basically a JJ but better. Then what.

An obvoius one is an injury to a key player.

how bout' if Azubuike or anyone becomes a diamond in the rough? and really explodes in this system?

I mean... there is so much to consider and that will change and develop we just have to sit back and watch it unfold.

To me, ahead of the bigs or our record is the question: HOW WILL D'ANTONI DO THIS YEAR? AND IF HE UNDERPERFORMS THEN WHAT?

yeah man you cant determine this now, until you see them play, then you can grade them.

there was an earlier post on here stating facts as to how AMARE dominates Howard every time they play, and with the doubles on amare, who knows how tough it will be for rashard to guard randolph. you just never know, our team is going to be very good "if" 'they mesh, if they dont mesh then disaster, if their is chemistry i expect great things this season.

and on defense, people are going to be really impressed with what turiaf will bring, in limited minutes his defensive numbers are great. hell get around 25 mins a game this year, and prob avg 8 ppg 7 reb 2 blks

he can also pass very well

im psyched

you could have a line up of

felton
gallo
randolph
amare
turiaf

and dont tell me gallo cant play the 2

we all know he can handle the rock, hit the three, post up smallers 2s
and has the length and instincts to guard pretty much any position

He would guard rondo sometimes
Dirk sometimes
Carmelo sometimes

3 of the hardest guys to guard in the league in terms of match up problems

and do very well

that is the lineup i would put out there opening day

felton
gallo
randolph
amare
turiaf

douglas
bukie
chandler
walker
Mozgov

bench