Knicks will make a strong run for the 1 seed， though I'm not saying they are the best team in the East. The across the board depth，player experience with teammates， and Thibs coaching in general means no day offseason from day one. Nets/ Heat/ 76ers lack depth，so injuries are more damaging record wise. If Randle missed a month，the Knicks are deep enough that they won't fall apart.
gradyandrew wrote:Knicks will make a strong run for the 1 seed， though I'm not saying they are the best team in the East. The across the board depth，player experience with teammates， and Thibs coaching in general means no day offseason from day one. Nets/ Heat/ 76ers lack depth，so injuries are more damaging record wise. If Randle missed a month，the Knicks are deep enough that they won't fall apart.
In a funny sort of a way, I agree with you. I don't think we have the best talent either, but Thibs being Thibs is going to play every game (again) like a playoff game. The top teams won't run themselves into the ground imo. They will play with the playoffs in mind and going deeper. That ain't Thibs unfortunately. Wouldn't it be great to do that AND give extra minutes to the kids?
We will over achieve again but with a MUCH MUCH better team imo. I just hope Thibs doesn't overplay our guys, in particular Kemba and Rose. I'd like to see an 11 man rotation (Deuce and Grimes get minutes, maybe some for Knox as well) but I'm afraid that won't happen.
Regardless, we have a very fun season ahead of us imo. Just removing Payton and replacing him with either Kemba or Rose is a HUGE upgrade. Our bench now is a whole lot better.
And hopefully Mitch plays the whole year. If Mitch was in the playoffs, I say we had a good chance of getting by Atlanta as Mitch would really change things on both sides of the ball.
I rarely get league pass but I'll do it now as this team is worth it. 
gradyandrew wrote:Knicks will make a strong run for the 1 seed， though I'm not saying they are the best team in the East. The across the board depth，player experience with teammates， and Thibs coaching in general means no day offseason from day one. Nets/ Heat/ 76ers lack depth，so injuries are more damaging record wise. If Randle missed a month，the Knicks are deep enough that they won't fall apart.
Chips are won or lost on the training table no matter how deep the roster.
But your not paying attention to Nets depth either. Paddy Mills is amazing off the bench!
I doubt we elevate to contend for the top seed unless RJ really takes a big step up. Its doable.
The Chemistry will be a huge part. Fournier and Kemba are the new back court.
I can see knicks winning 45-55 games. Thats a big spread. Fact is Miami is retuning with new “old” blood, Boston cannot be counted on to roll over, ATL is thinking much differently after last season. I expect Indy to be improved.
PHilly has to resolve its issues but if Simmons returns with a decent attitude they pretty much return the same top record team as last year. I expect them to not eclipse last year but likely still ahead of us.
RJ will be the big wildcard for us.
gradyandrew wrote:Knicks will make a strong run for the 1 seed， though I'm not saying they are the best team in the East. The across the board depth，player experience with teammates， and Thibs coaching in general means no day offseason from day one. Nets/ Heat/ 76ers lack depth，so injuries are more damaging record wise. If Randle missed a month，the Knicks are deep enough that they won't fall apart.
I think realistically we are the 5th or 6th seed next year
As much as I love the offseason acquisition, I'm not sure our defense will be as potent as last season and it was a big plus for us. Payton for all his warts is a better defender than Walker and Bullock is a slightly better defender than Fournier.
Will the better offense outweigh the worse defense? Most of our guys are coming back and chemistry boosts offense and defense. I expect the same amount of wins in a much tougher conference, that's a feat in itself.
shinmen wrote:As much as I love the offseason acquisition, I'm not sure our defense will be as potent as last season and it was a big plus for us. Payton for all his warts is a better defender than Walker and Bullock is a slightly better defender than Fournier.
Will the better offense outweigh the worse defense? Most of our guys are coming back and chemistry boosts offense and defense. I expect the same amount of wins in a much tougher conference, that's a feat in itself.
Yeah would have liked keeping Bullocks over Burks given the new acquisitions. But Thibs defense is always greater as a whole than the individual defenders so we will see.
Checking Spotrac's positional spending pages，these are my best guesses for team depth charts. I think it's pretty clear that the Knicks starters are much more competitive than last year，while the bench should be just as good. This is without accounting for injuries. My feeling is depth is a good measure of injury risk. In the playoffs teams will rely more on their starters and the style of play is different.
Knicks:
Walker/ Rose
Fournier/ Quickley
Barrett/ Burks
Randle/ Toppin (Gibson)
Robinson/ Noel
If Topping struggles，Gibson steps in.
The Heat:
Lowry / Gabe Vincent
Butler/ Tyler Herro
Robinson/ KZ Okpala
Tucker/ Markieff Morris
Abedayo/ Dewayne Dedmon
Knicks will run the floor here.
The Nets:
Kyrie/ Mills
Harden/ Bruce Brown Jr
Joe Harris/ DeAndre Bembry
KD/ Nick Claxton
Griffin/ Jordan
Limited creators.
The 76ers:
Ben Simmons/ Maxey
Seth Curry/ Milton
Denny Green/ Thybulle
Tobias Harris/ Niang
Joel Embiid/ Drummond
No experience creators
The Bucks:
Jrue Holiday/ George Hill
Pat Connaughton/ Donte Divecenzo
Khris Middleton/ Rodney Hood
Giannis Antetokounmpo/ Bobby Portis
Brook Lopez/ Semi Ojelaya
Ojelaya and Hill are questionable
gradyandrew wrote:The Heat:Lowry / Gabe Vincent
Butler/ Tyler Herro
Robinson/ KZ Okpala
Tucker/ Markieff Morris
Abedayo/ Dewayne Dedmon
The Nets:
Kyrie/ Mills
Harden/ Bruce Brown Jr
Joe Harris/ DeAndre Bembry
KD/ Nick Claxton
Griffin/ Jordan
The 76ers:
Ben Simmons/ Maxey
Seth Curry/ Milton
Denny Green/ Thybulle
Tobias Harris/ Niang
Joel Embiid/ Drummond
Cam thomas Is gonna be a top 9 rotation player for the nets. The c will get pt as well
BRIGGS wrote:gradyandrew wrote:The Heat:Lowry / Gabe Vincent
Butler/ Tyler Herro
Robinson/ KZ Okpala
Tucker/ Markieff Morris
Abedayo/ Dewayne Dedmon
The Nets:
Kyrie/ Mills
Harden/ Bruce Brown Jr
Joe Harris/ DeAndre Bembry
KD/ Nick Claxton
Griffin/ Jordan
The 76ers:
Ben Simmons/ Maxey
Seth Curry/ Milton
Denny Green/ Thybulle
Tobias Harris/ Niang
Joel Embiid/ Drummond
Cam thomas Is gonna be a top 9 rotation player for the nets. The c will get pt as well
Griffin I see off the bench and deep in the 4th quarter. Interesting you have him at the 5? Is that to be?
I think the Nets had Griffin starting in the playoffs. For some positions it's kind of a crap shoot of minimum salary players. I'm not familiar with Cam Thomas's game.
Those 4 teams will have to rely on their big 3 playing extensive minutes against the Knicks bench because none of those bench lineups looks competitive vs. the Knicks. That need to dilute the starters plays into the Knicks hands this year， because the Knicks starters are more competitive.
I honestly think people are sleeping on how good the Kemba/ Robinson combo can be.
Knixkik wrote:shinmen wrote:As much as I love the offseason acquisition, I'm not sure our defense will be as potent as last season and it was a big plus for us. Payton for all his warts is a better defender than Walker and Bullock is a slightly better defender than Fournier.
Will the better offense outweigh the worse defense? Most of our guys are coming back and chemistry boosts offense and defense. I expect the same amount of wins in a much tougher conference, that's a feat in itself.
Yeah would have liked keeping Bullocks over Burks given the new acquisitions. But Thibs defense is always greater as a whole than the individual defenders so we will see.
Bullock is inept on offense. All he can do is catch and shoot and if he’s not hitting shots he might as well be Mitchell Robinson on the perimeter. Burks is a much more dynamic offensive player who can create his own shot and probably will be running point quite a bit for us next season
gradyandrew wrote:I think the Nets had Griffin starting in the playoffs. For some positions it's kind of a crap shoot of minimum salary players. I'm not familiar with Cam Thomas's game.Those 4 teams will have to rely on their big 3 playing extensive minutes against the Knicks bench because none of those bench lineups looks competitive vs. the Knicks. That need to dilute the starters plays into the Knicks hands this year， because the Knicks starters are more competitive.
I honestly think people are sleeping on how good the Kemba/ Robinson combo can be.
Can’t wait to see Kemba break down the defense and then throw the alley oop to Mitch. Gonna be fun to watch
gradyandrew wrote:Checking Spotrac's positional spending pages，these are my best guesses for team depth charts. I think it's pretty clear that the Knicks starters are much more competitive than last year，while the bench should be just as good. This is without accounting for injuries. My feeling is depth is a good measure of injury risk. In the playoffs teams will rely more on their starters and the style of play is different.
Knicks:
Walker/ Rose
Fournier/ Quickley
Barrett/ Burks
Randle/ Toppin (Gibson)
Robinson/ Noel
If Topping struggles，Gibson steps in.
The Heat:
Lowry / Gabe Vincent
Butler/ Tyler Herro
Robinson/ KZ Okpala
Tucker/ Markieff Morris
Abedayo/ Dewayne Dedmon
Knicks will run the floor here.
The Nets:
Kyrie/ Mills
Harden/ Bruce Brown Jr
Joe Harris/ DeAndre Bembry
KD/ Nick Claxton
Griffin/ Jordan
Limited creators.
The 76ers:
Ben Simmons/ Maxey
Seth Curry/ Milton
Denny Green/ Thybulle
Tobias Harris/ Niang
Joel Embiid/ Drummond
No experience creators
The Bucks:
Jrue Holiday/ George Hill
Pat Connaughton/ Donte Divecenzo
Khris Middleton/ Rodney Hood
Giannis Antetokounmpo/ Bobby Portis
Brook Lopez/ Semi Ojelaya
Ojelaya and Hill are questionable
Knicks have Bacon. I too have forgot him to our depth at the wing.
Divenchenozo started for Milwaukee before he got hurt.
Drummond on PHilly is interesting. Embiid embeds what Drummond attempted in his career.
