Pick a number
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- October
- 29
Jamal Crawford has a head for numbers. He can spit back stat lines from games long gone like nobody I’ve met in this league. And when he’s wrong, it’s never by much. Crawford is also big on setting tangible goals.
The success rate on that front varies.
Crawford is the eternal optimist. He’s played in 532 games without making a playoff appearance, more than any player in the league. Still, there is no dark cloud.
So how are the Knicks going to do this season?
“I’m not going to talk about my expectations because I don’t want to jinx us,” Crawford said with a smile. “We’ll see what happens. I’m upbeat.”
Will the streak end?
“It will finally end,” Crawford said.
We don’t have enough information to rain on his parade, but the Knicks are facing a difficult battle. There’s no way of knowing who’s coming or going in what promises to be another season of change. That instability can be costly. Still, there don’t seem to be too many playoff locks in the Eastern Conference.
Boston, Cleveland, Detroit and Orlando are all safe bets.
The picture gets a little blurry after that group, so there is a chance the Knicks will be in the playoff hunt. For the record, I’m saying 36-46 is a good year for this cast. Mike D’Anotni seems to be getting through. Now, we’ll have to wait and see what happens when the first losing streak hits, but the enthusiasm alone has to be worth something in the standings.
It’s your turn. Give me a prediction. Give me a reason to believe.
This entry was posted
on Wednesday, October 29th, 2008 at 8:24 am by Mike Dougherty.
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38
41 wins
I think the knicks will finally have a full year where the focus is totally on basketball and finally have a season where you will have 5-6 players on the team all playing well at the same time for a full season.That hasnt happened in a long time here .
When I look at this roster, I think to myself, they have 35-40 win talent.
But I’ve felt that way about the Knicks in pretty much each of the last four season openers. And they’ve let me down every time.
The Knicks proved that they can score points in exhibition games. And they also proved that they can’t really defend. I’m not expecting the season to get off to a smooth start, but I think that by season’s end the team will at least be watchable. In terms of a win total, I think that the Knicks are hard to predict about and their chances of winning 23 games is just as good as their chances of winning 40.
It’s true that the East is going to be tough to pick but I think that the Celtics, Cavs, Magic, Raptors, Heat (if Wade stays healthy)and Pistons are all playoff locks.
I also really like Indiana too, because I really think TJ Ford is a difference-maker. But they’re just as iffy as Milwaukee, Chicago or Atlanta. I’m not sold on Philadelphia, but theoretically they SHOULD make the playoffs. And frankly, it wouldn’t surprise me if Charlotte had a good year either.
And I don’t think that the Knicks are better than any of those teams, D’Antoni or not.
45. If you watched the preseason, you can see this team is just gonna get better as the year goes on, and they wont go down easy to bad teams (of which there are a lot in the east)
34. When you think about it, 34 would be a meaningful improvement over last year but there are still too many factors moving against us. Defense will be erratic, Marbury will blow up at least once, there will be trades at the deadline as well as injuries. No, I think this year they will be a lot more fun to watch and might even be playing meaningful games in March but we’re going back to the lottery. Next year will be better as we solidify who’s staying and who’s leaving as well as the youngsters getting used to the system.
I’d say 35. I think the Knicks will actually start strong, and at their best will be playing ball on par for 40-42 wins. But mid-season there will be a major trade, or a series of injuries, that will shake up to ‘groove’ they got going. It will change the dynamic and cause a little hiccup in their flow, and then they will recoup. It will be more than enough to give us hope for next year, and certainly show “significant progress”. We will have a valid excuse for not hitting that 40-mark, but regardless, it will still be an excuse.
Sorry Jamal.
I’d say 37 wins and they squeak into the playoffs as an 8th seed because the East is so weak at the bottom.
Vegas over/under is 32 and a half. I’m going with the under. I’m very optimistic about this squad and this coaching staff, and I’m confident this will be a much more competitive and focused team. However, there will be long stretches where they’re losing games 114-100. All season long, they will be closely examining this roster to find out who are the keepers for the Coach D system. That will lead to some experimentation which will cost them some wins.
Also, to echo Adam L’s comment, I definitely see this team making a mid-season trade, perhaps unloading Marbury or moving the very valuable David Lee, as they play out the string and get one year closer to cap relief.
My prediction: 30 wins. Hope I’m very, very wrong. I’ll be right here at season’s end to eat crow if this team overachieves.
I can’t really put my finger on a win total. I mean, on one level, they’ve only added Chris Duhon and Danillo Gallinari to a 23 win team, so, to pick them to almost double that total would seem unwise.
However, we know they’ve underachieved these last few years and we know they have talent and depth. Also, they’ve added a coach who seems to have some real skill.
However, we know that rarely will they have a player on the court who is the best on the court.
However, guys like Lee, Chandler and Robinson might break out and have all star type seasons. Also, Danillo has huge upside even though he’s been sitting on his back side.
I just don’t know. I think Rod Thorn has the right attitude across the river, playing down expectations and looking for growth.
Realistically, this team is probably going to show improvement but will struggle to make plays at crunch time. I’m thinking right around 40 wins. They won 34 two seasons ago. Getting an handful of wins beyond that total would make me very happy and have them contending for the playoffs.
I would not be surprised if we win in the twenties, however, and would be very surprised if we win in the 40’s.
So, to return to the hypothesis that the NBA is a “Star’s League”. That would say, Dwayne Wade, best player on the floor, beats the Knicks tonight. However, even though I said it before I’m not feeling it tonight. Probably due to Miami’s 15 wins last season. Wade, of course, missed alot of last year with injury and now he’s back with Beasley on the wing. So, they will be better, but I’m not in the same awe as when they had a healthy and motivated Shaq. So, I feel that the Knicks, with their balance, at home, should be able to win.
I need to get a sense of where other teams are. Can the Knicks compete with half of the teams in the league? The other teams in the division? Philly? Maybe. Toronto? Why not?
NJ? Absolutely? Celtics? Probably not. I’ll think about other divisions, and our own more in future posts. I know everyone is breathless.
I say … 40-42; just below 500. I really don’t see it being less than 33 games.