Top 5 Things to watch

1. Stephon Marbury: Made bold move of walking into Lenny Wilkens' office on first day of camp and told coach he was ready to be captain. Now it's on him to right ship when waters are turbulent.

2. Allan Houston: Said all he needed was rest, not another microfracture surgery, to heal arthritic knees. Still waiting to see if rest worked.

3. Mark Aguirre: Knicks' most vocal assistant coach and most hands-on. Also Isiah Thomas' childhood buddy. If team falls apart, he's strong interim coach candidate.

4. Isiah Thomas: Still believes Knicks need help at center, so he'll forever be on prowl.

5. Early Schedule: With five of first eight on road, easily could lose all of those (at Minnesota, Indiana, San Antonio, Houston, Dallas).

OUT LOOK

A lot depends on how much Allan Houston plays. The bet here is he gives the Knicks 45 games and guts it out in the playoffs after 44-win season.

this and an analyse on pour team for the season, right here.

also...

All I have to add is how well this team will mesh. Having Jamal Crawford and Stephon Marbury always needing the ball and trying to get everyone else involved seems like it will be difficult. Also Allan's comeback will also cause problems with the team's meshing process. Allan changes alot, even for the better could be hard to get used to. Remeber, that's what caused the issue last season, no meshing together to form a cohesive unit. They now have the ample time, it's just a matter of if they can do it. That could make or break this team.

And Isiah could make a trade mid-season again and possibly mess the meshing together process up, lol.... :?