NBA: 5 Possible Surprise Teams in 2014-15
By Bryce Olin
5. New York Knicks
While putting the Knicks in this conversation may be my most egregious error so far, there are plenty of reasons why the Knicks could be the eighth team in the East.
By default, the Knicks will be better this season than they were last season. The 2013-14 Knicks were a train wreck. They played zero defense and struggled to get into any type of offensive rhythm. With more ball movement and player movement, the Knicks should simply be able to put some pressure on teams to play some defense instead of locking in on the person with the ball.
Outside of the Bulls and Cavs, no team has a player as good as Carmelo Anthony in the East. That’s not even an argument. People neglect to put Anthony in that upper echelon of the league’s stars, but it only takes one season to flip perception. That will happen within the next two seasons.
Other than Anthony, the Knicks have some good pieces. Shane Larkin, Tim Hardaway Jr., and Cleanthony Early are the future of the franchise and will above average offensive players. I don’t know if any are stars, but Phil only needs two stars and role players, as he’s proved throughout his coaching career.
Above all, the Knicks actually have tradable pieces that could easily turn into a player like Rajon Rondo. Amar’e Stoudemire’ is an expiring contract. Andrea Bargnani is an expiring contract. J.R. Shumpert and Iman Shumpert can be complementary players. There’s a lot of potential trade partners for the Knicks.
If Rondo’s on the team by Christmas, the Knicks have a chance at the playoffs.