The 2019-20 New York Knicks season is finally here. It has been one roller coaster of a summer. The Knicks were suppose to be the big winner this off-season in free agency and we all know how that played out.
The Knicks did make moves to get the right players for this team. They’ve added the likes of Julius Randle, Marcus Morris, Bobby Portis, Wayne Ellington and Elfrid Payton. GM Scott Perry thinks they added to correct players for what the Knicks are trying to accomplish.
The New York Knicks will be battling up-hill all season long. No one is expecting much out of them this season. Las Vegas has put the Knicks season win total at 27.5. The main goal for this season is to continue developing their young core. This consists of RJ Barrett, Kevin Knox, Mitchell Robinson and Dennis Smith Jr.
However, that is not going to be the overall goal for this team. Morris, Portis, Ellington and Payton are on the record talking about their “dog” mentality. That mentality was present for the first preseason game then absent for the following games. Maybe that is going to change once the season begins? Because the Knicks are looking to “shock people.” They got to back up all their talk from this summer, that’s maybe the biggest thing of all.
If the Knicks do play to their potential, as a team, they are capable of winning at least 30 games. The playoffs is a gigantic stretch this season. Anything over 30 wins will be considered a win of a season for the Knicks.
The Knicks also still don’t have a official starting point guard, it’s expected for be announced today. It’s between Smith Jr. Payton and Ntilikina. It appears it’s leaning towards Smith Jr. but he isn’t 100% healthy to begin the season. Not the smartest move throwing him out there.
Coach David Fizdale also mentioned that he will be going with a 10-man rotation. It makes sense to do that once the season gets rolling but not right off the bat. The Knicks talked about having one of the deepest benches in the league. Why would you not rotate everyone and see what works the best? Some of Fizdale’s decisions are questionable.
The Knicks will be better then what they were last year. They just can’t play down to opponents or get down on themselves. Fans already got a glimpse of that in the game against the Washington Wizards at the Garden. The Knicks didn’t starting really playing hard until the fourth quarter was nearly over. All we can say was it was preseason but that look like the old Knicks.
The season should be different and better than last season. The Knicks have to play as a team and grow together. Fizdale needs to coach to his strengths and have an offensive scheme if they want to make any progress this season. Our prediction for the New York Knicks, 31-51.