New York Knicks
Team Outlook-
Hoping to bounce back from a disastrous 2014-15 season the New York Knicks managed to almost double their win total from 17 to 32. The good news is that they drafted a legitimate big man in Kristaps Porzingis, who has spent the offseason improving his shot and refining his game. The Knicks also added point guard Derrick Rose and guard Justin Holliday from the Chicago Bulls. Add in new head coach Jeff Hornacek and the Knicks look like they might actually make the playoffs after a three-year drought.
Of course, the team has to be worried about Rose’s health (and off-field issues) as well as Joakim Noah’s and the lack of depth and experience on the bench. This was a team which was bottom of the barrel the last two years though, so anything is an improvement. But if everyone is healthy, the Knicks could surprise some people.
Projected Starting Lineup
Point Guard- Derrick Rose
Acquiring Rose was a huge upgrade for the Knicks and their point guard position, but it comes with many risks. Certainly, Rose is no longer the MVP-caliber player he was during the 2010-2011 season and now you also have to worry about his health. Rose played in 66 games last season, the most since his MVP year and the only time he’s significantly been on the positive side of 50 games played in that span. Consequently, his numbers have come down each season as well. Can he stay healthy for another 66 games this year? That could impact the Knicks’ win total significantly.
A piece of good news though was the second half of last season was really productive for Rose. After the All-Star break, Rose averaged 17.4 points and 4.6 assists in 30 minutes. Further, once he ditched a protective mask his shooting percentage jumped from just under 36 percent to 44.9 percent and averaged 17 points a game. If he can stay healthy—and it’s a not inconsequential if—he could produce close to that 17 points per game, a big improvement for the Knicks at the position.
Shooting Guard- Courtney Lee
Arron Afflalo decided not to stick around, so the Knicks picked up former Memphis Grizzlies and Charlotte Hornets guard Courtney Lee. While he is similar to Afflalo in many ways, Lee is a far superior and consistent defensive player as well as more versatile one. Lee was called upon to fill a more offensive role for the Hornets, while he focused more on defense for the Grizzlies. He’ll likely do a little of both for the Knicks. Lee is a consistent player, if possessing little upside. One thing about Lee’s game is that he is one of the more efficient 3-point shooters in the NBA. With a career 3-point field goal percentage of .384, it’s a good bet that the Knicks will try to utilize him in this capacity. While his career average is 1.0 3-point field goals made on 2.7 attempts per game, we might see the attempts pop up, while his midrange shots could go down, as that’s where Carmelo Anthony, Brandon Jennings, Kristaps Porzingis, and Derrick Rose could do more effective damage.
Small Forward- Carmelo Anthony
For the first time in a long time, it feels like Anthony has some proper weapons around him and won’t have to do everything himself. Further, he’s now 100 percent back from his 2015 knee surgery and will get back to being the efficient shooter he is when he’s at his most successful. We could see a bit of a resurgence of “old” Melo this year. Now that Courtney Lee and Derrick Rose have solidified the guard position, coach Jeff Hornacek wants Anthony to drive the lane more. That’s something he definitely does well and could help drive his production back up. Rose especially will increase the pace, and could help create more points for Anthony in transition. It’s hard to imagine Anthony changing up his whole game this late in his career, but it does seem like even a few adjustments could make him a useful play night to night.
Power Forward- Kristaps Porzingis
Coming off a unanimous selection to 2016 All-Rookie First Team (only one other player, Karl-Anthony Towns, did that), Porzingis didn’t rest on his laurels, instead he worked hard to improve all aspects of his game this offseason. His ball handling, shot selection and execution and overall post play are reportedly all improved, and Hornacek has talked a lot about using him on the pick and roll quite a bit. “Pick-and-roll situations, pick-and-pop, guys are going to expect me to pop, and then I can roll and then switch it up. And it’s going to be really good,” Porzingis told ESPN.com. The power forward also got a bit bigger and stronger this year which might allay some of the injury concerns big men often get saddled with. Porzingis will also see some work at the five spot this year, but unless new addition Joakim Noah gets hurt, forward should be his home. Coming off a big rookie season, Porzingis will likely be a consistent play in DFS this year and his upside is huge.
Center- Joakim Noah
The Knicks signed Noah to a four-year, $72 million deal in the hopes that he won’t be hindered by shoulder injuries which prevented him from playing more than 29 games for the Bulls last season. His physical style of play lends itself to injuries, though until last season it was rarely an issue. Noah’s physicality and toughness are just what the Knicks need to help give the team some backbone, but he’s already dealing with a hamstring issue. Noah is also a tremendous distributor and while he averaged 3.8 assists per game last season, he is more frequently in the 4 to 5 per game range. The Knicks took a little bit of a gamble here, and it remains to be seen how reliable Noah will be for them or DFS players.
Key Bench Players
Brandon Jennings
Jennings’ stats for 2015-16 don’t look impressive until you find out he ruptured his Achilles tendon in January of 2015 and returned to action in December 2015. Even playing in 48 games is amazing, forget the stats. Jennings averaged 16.6 points, 6.2 assists, 3.2 rebounds, 1.4 steals, and 1.9 3-point field goals made over the first six seasons of his career, so with a whole offseason of recovery, he should come closer to that this year. It could take time though, so this is a guy to watch for so you can take advantage of a cheap price if his production trends upwards.
Justin Holiday
A guy who was originally assumed to be just a throw-in piece in the Derrick Rose deal, Holiday is reportedly ahead of Sasha Vujacic for the backup shooting guard role. He’s not a prolific scorer, but he is a very good defender and will likely see more work and accolades for that than anything else, making him a dubious DFS player on many nights.
Sasha Vujacic
Sasha Vujacic will come off the bench, but nothing about him lends itself to excitement in either Cash or Tournament games for DFS players. He does rack up some assists, but he doesn’t put enough of anything together to make him worth adding to a daily roster barring injury.
Lance Thomas
Last season saw forward Lance Thomas hit 40 percent of his 3-point attempts and as he signed a four-year, $27 million deal this summer, it seems as though he will see a larger role. As long as Carmelo Anthony is healthy, Thomas won’t see much burn but on the days where Anthony is hurt or off, Thomas could end up being a strong play, especially in tournaments where he may be under-owned.
Mindaugas Kuzminskas
Kuzminskas is one of four rookies on the bench and is an athletic guy who can cover multiple positions. He’s not a good shooter, isn’t a huge passer but does play solid defense. He’ll see some time, but any value he has will solely come from blocks and steals with a few rebounds thrown in.
Maurice Ndour
Maurice Ndour is a rookie who played with Real Madrid last season, but didn’t get a whole lot of minutes. Unless something happens to Kristaps Porzingis, he will rarely see the floor. He does do a good job on defense and can block shots, but his production is going to be limited by his minutes just as it was in Spain.
Kyle O’Quinn
O’Quinn could see some regular work if Joakim Noah continues to be banged up, which makes him one guy DFS folks need to watch. His per-minute production is pretty good, so if he gets serious minutes he is a guy who could be under the radar initially, but one who can also produce. O’Quinn has had conditioning issues in the past, though, so more minutes might not work out the way we’d like it.
Willy Hernangomez
Like Ndour, Hernangomez played with Real Madrid last season and didn’t get a ton of minutes. A big project for the team, Hernangomez got a few minutes in the preseason opener but didn’t do a ton with them. He’s an OK shooter, who does well around the basket, but a lot of the rest of his game needs significant work.
Marshall Plumlee
Plumlee is the third string center, at best, and even if he grabs that role, he won’t have much of an impact unless there are several catastrophic injuries ahead of him. An average shooter, passer and defender, there’s very little to Plumlee to get excited about right now.
Key Offseason Acquisitions
Derrick Rose, Courtney Lee, Joakim Noah – adding these three to the starters could make this Knicks offense a lot better than it has been in years. The downside is both Noah and Rose have injury concerns and if they end up on the bench because of that, the depth behind the Knicks is shaky.
Key Offseason Departures
Arron Afflalo
If Courtney Lee works out, this won’t amount to much and may not anyway due to how unhappy Afflalo was in New York and how often he made it known. The Knicks upgraded their shooting guard position, if just by getting a guy who won’t be complaining in the locker room.
Langston Galloway
Galloway has been sporadically good, but not often enough for the Knicks to miss him. He’s a backup at best, right now and the move to Derrick Rose and Courtney Lee is an upgrade for the Knicks.