The Knicks are finally playing at full strength. Their starting five is finally what Coach Woodson and fans expected it to be, and Amar’e Stoudemire is playing a huge and more importantly a positive role for the team. Currently sitting with the 5th best record in the NBA and the 2nd best record in the Eastern Conference, the Knicks are looking to go into the All-Star break either tied with Miami for the Conference lead or even ahead of them. While the regular season is very important, the true measure of the Knicks potential will not be seen until the playoffs begin. With that said, it is important to keep in mind that where the Knicks finish in the Eastern Conference matters a lot because they need to do their best to avoid such teams as Chicago and Indiana in the 2nd round of the playoffs. Going into the season I was content with expecting the Knicks to reach the Eastern Conference finals. But, after watching every single on of their 47 games I firmly believe that the Knicks can make a run to the finals if all goes well.
In order to make a deep playoff run the Knicks will need to improve their consistency. Time and time again in the last 10 game stretch the Knicks have gotten off to awful starts in both the first and second halves and found themselves in early holes. At the beginning of the season the Knicks would always start off hot and build and early lead and then turn their attention to the defensive side of the ball and shut down their opposition. They seem to have lost some of the hunger they displayed in the past. This could be attributed to the rigors of the NBA schedule, but it is cause for some concern.
Another point that must be taken into account is that Iman Shumpert is not even close to being in top basketball shape. Once he is at 100% his offensive game will compliment his defensive prowess and open up the floor for Carmelo, Amar’e, and JR to operate and score at will. Once the defense has to focus more on stopping the flat top, the offense will have a lot more continuity.
Finally, Mike Woodson’s plea to Tyson Chandler for offensive productivity has really ignited him and Chandler is playing with a lot more intensity on the offensive side of the ball, which frankly I didn’t think was possible. Chandler is the Knicks motor and as he goes the Knicks go. In a previous article I proved that Chandler has kept the Knicks in games when they shoot poorly and if he keeps playing with the same intensity on D, even when the Knicks are shooting well, then the Knicks go from just any contender to a very serious contender.
Keep looking for the Knicks to improve on these things and surely good results will follow. Check back here for Knicks news often!
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