New York Knicks: Finding hope within the roster

Carmelo Anthony

Without Anthony, the Knicks are a 15-win team at best. The Knicks struggled last season and were terrible overall, but that wasn’t Anthony’s fault, as he quietly had one of the best all-around seasons of his career.

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After flirting with several teams this offseason and passing up a unique opportunity to join the favorites to win the East, the Chicago Bulls, Anthony decided to stay in New York to try to win a title with the Knicks… and because they had more money to offer, $30 million more in fact.

This season, the pressure is on for Anthony. He took the Knicks’ giant offer, a five-year, $124 million contract, and now has to prove he’s worth it.

We all know how little help Anthony had last season and how much he had to do to even keep the Knicks competitive. I’m interested to see how Fisher, in his first-year as a coach, can utilize Anthony’s teammates and get them involved without sacrificing Anthony’s production. I mean, he shoots 45 percent from the field and 40 percent from three-point range with virtually no help from his teammates. Let the man do his work!

A major question, which I’ve made reference to already, is where is Anthony going to play in Fisher’s offense?

To me, the answer is obvious; Anthony plays much better as the power forward or stretch-4. He’s big enough to play against bigger power forwards, and he’s a great rebounder. Offensively, Anthony’s also creating matchup problems against bigger post players who can’t guard him on the perimeter. Smaller players can’t guard Anthony in the post and midrange. It’s perfect for Anthony.

Playing in the post causes Anthony to take a lot more harder hits from opponents. That’s really the only downside to playing in the post. Obviously, posts are physically bigger and stronger than guards, and each of those players gets six fouls per game. They’ll definitely make Anthony earn some of his points from the free throw line. Over the last few years, Anthony has injured his shoulder multiple times because of playing against bigger, more forceful players.

If Fisher and Jackson are concerned about Anthony’s health, which they are of course, it might be smarter to play Anthony on the perimeter. He’s far less effective player because it takes away his rebounding game and matches him up with smaller, quicker wings on defense. It’s one of the trade-offs of playing on the perimeter versus playing inside. It’s not a terrible problem to have.

Maybe the answer is Anthony splitting time between the wing and the post, like how Miami used LeBron James over the last few seasons. That might be the way Fisher has to go.

Right now, the Knicks might not be contenders in the East. They still haven’t put together a good enough supporting cast for one of the top-ten players in the NBA. This season will not end with the New York Knicks’ championship parade, but there’s a lot to be excited about for Knicks’ fans.

Anthony is is still in his prime and is poised to take the Knicks back to the playoffs after missing the playoffs for the first time in his career. The Knicks have some good trade bait in Bargnani’s expiring contract, Stoudemire’s expiring contract, and J.R. Smith. Even if teams don’t bite on any of those trades, the Knicks will have a ton of cap space heading into the “Summer of Durant.”

On top of all that, most importantly, the Knicks have good, young talent in Larkin, Hardaway, and Early. With Anthony and another max player, the Knicks have the ability to be a possible contender in the East.

There is hope in New York.