Carmelo Unhappy! Another Year of Nothingness for NY Knicks in the NBA Odds?
Posted by Alex Murphy on Wednesday,August 5, 2015 11:39, EDT in
The New York Knicks had a disappointing season in 2014/15 with a shameful 17- 65 record and a last-place finish in the Eastern Conference. The list of things the Knicks lacked last season was quite extensive, ranging from solid shooting to good defense. To solve such issues, the Knicks came away with a number of good offseason moves in their NBA odds, including forward Derrick Williams, Center Robin Lopez and guards Kyle O’Quinn and Arron Afflalo. Of course, they missed out DeAndre Jordan, LaMarcus Aldridge and Greg Monroe whom they intended to sign, but so did 25 other teams in the league, so there’s no need to cry about water under the bridge.
Still, with many other gaps in the team and Carmelo Anthony, the heart and soul of the New York tea, being reportedly unhappy about the offseason, then there is reason for concern for the Knicks fans.
Carmelo Unhappy! Another Year of Nothingness for NY Knicks in the NBA Odds?
Walt “Clyde” Frazier, a household name in the Knicks fraternity, recently addressed questions about the Knicks and, amongst his answers, he had this to say about what he thought Melo felt about the New York offseason:
I’m sure Melo wasn’t happy. His future is now. You know, he’s not getting younger. This is going to be a pivotal season for him to see really how he fits into the Knick plans and how this is going to go from here. Will he ask out, you know what I mean, if he sees that this is not happening? Because right now the Knicks, [it’s] going to be tough to make the playoffs. They are a few years away and Melo knows that his days are numbered, so stay tuned.
Now, before we digest Clyde’s words and give our NBA betting predictions about the Knicks in the 2015-16 season, here are a few things you need to know about the New York franchise:
The Playmaking Point Guard Need
One of the Knicks biggest worries headed into the new season should be at the point guard position. Jose Calderon did not work well as New York’s starting point guard last season, and both Langston Galloway and Shane Larkin don’t look the part of being capable of solving that type of playmaking point guard role in 2015. As there are still some solid free agents available this offseason, the Knicks needs to sign a point guard who is more interested in making plays and opening up spaces for his teammates score decent points. Moreover, getting a solid point guard could take the pressure off the usually over-marked Anthony. The new pair of Kyle O’Quinn and Arron Afflalo can help out the team in this area, but the team will still need to get someone more befitting for the role.
Scoring Options
Part of the main reasons why the Knicks had a dismal 2014 season was the lack of a formidable scoring option other than Anthony. A couple of years ago when the Knicks were among the best teams in the Eastern conference, the team had the likes of J.R Smith playing at an extremely high level and taking a lot of pressure off Anthony. That was not the case last season because New York traded Smith away to the Cleveland Cavaliers, and the next high-scoring option behind Anthony was Alexey Shved, who (as we all know) wasn’t that much of a lights-out shooter.
To succeed in 2015, the Knicks will need to find a remedy for their anemic scoring. Derrick Williams looks like a good option, but only time will tell if he can be equal to the offensive task.
A Dominant Big Man
The Knicks need to improve in the frontcourt. After trading Tyson Chandler last offseason, New York got completely lost in their center position. Getting big man Robin Lopez was a step in the right direction, and if he can acclimatize to the team quickly, things could get better, especially inn offering protection and creating spaces for their number one scorer, Carmelo Anthony.
Developing a Winning Attitude
One of the major disappointments for the Knicks as a team last season was lack of winning attitude. If the Knicks were losing games at the rate they did last season, but were still working hard to turn things around, things might have ended a little differently, probably with more wins. Unfortunately, they went through the season barely psyched up to give their best, something that soon affected the likes of ‘Melo, who somehow felt demoralized and resorted to just playing rather than winning.
If the Knicks can change that losing attitude, things might change for the better whenever they take to the floor in the coming campaign. And it’s not just with the players, the managers and all the stakeholders will need to work on the team, helping them to shun the losing mindset even before the games begin in the new season. This way, we may at least get to see a better showing, whether or not they win games in 2015.
Improved Leadership
The coaching aspect of the basketball is extremely underrated, and New York head coach Derek Fisher failed in his job last season, with Phil Jackson, the Knicks president, also not doing much to offer viable leadership to the team. Obviously, Fisher has the mind and skill to coach in the NBA, and admittedly, the Knicks did not have a very talented roster last season, so giving Fisher another season to figure things out in New York was a good decision. Even so, the head coach will need to work very hard if he is to get the Knicks to higher success levels.
Conclusion and Predicting the Knicks in 2015
Whereas there is some element of truth in Frazier’s opinions that the Knicks could have probably done better in the offseason and ‘Melo may be unhappy, the truth is that Fisher and his team has done a lot of hard work in both free agency and draft. Offensively, Williams and Afflalo can help out Anthony, while top draftee Kristaps Porzingis and Lopez could help out with the defense, which ranked 22nd in points was allowed last season (giving up 101.4 points per game). Nonetheless, it’s hard to see the team making a run for any titles or the playoffs in 2015, even though they have the potential to improve to around 30-or-so wins in the new season.
Sources:
ESPN.com: http://espn.go.com/blog/new-york-knicks/post/_/id/62787/clyde-on-carmelo-will-he-ask-out
Wikipedia.com: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phil_Jackson
