Will the Knicks make it to the playoffs?

by Jordan Fickling, Christopher Petronella, and Mohammed Kazmi, Sports and Managing Editors.

Following a disappointing season, the New York Knicks look to rebound back after successfully signing the new contract of their Franchise player, Small Forward Carmelo Anthony.

Recently acquiring new talent, the New York Knicks have created a fantastic arsenal of stars with players such as Small Forward Cleanthony Early, Small Forward Quincy Acy, Point Guard Jose Calderon, and their newest pickup, former St. John’s forward, Orlando Sanchez.

These pickups did not come without a few losses. Point Guard Raymond Felton and Center Tyson Chandler were traded to the Dallas Mavericks. Chandler won a NBA championship in Dallas back in 2011.

“I’m glad the Knicks picked up Jose Calderon, He is way better than Raymond Felton, however I am sad that we lost Tyson Chandler.” junior Jonah Sampedro said

New York  has a lot of competition with the rebuilt Cleveland Cavaliers and other tough eastern competitors, it will be tough for them to squeeze into the playoffs. The problem with the team is that they are lacking a strong big man.

Center Samuel Dalembert is a decent big man, but he isn’t a star player. He is a great backup player but definitely not a starting center with power and stamina like Tyson Chandler was.

Their previous coach, Mike Woodson was fired towards the end of the season. Coincidentally Point Guard for the Oklahoma City Thunder, Derek Fisher retired and quickly pursued the now vacant Coach position for the Knicks.

Derek Fisher hopes to push the team into the playoffs but largely through hardcore defense which was in crucial need of improvement after last year’s season.

“Defense is the anchor. That’s the foundation to all good and great teams,” Knicks head coach Fisher said.

Knicks President, Phil Jackson has been working with Head Coach Fisher. They both plan on implementing the “Triangle Formation” within the Knicks’ offense.

“[The Triangle Formation is] an offensive system relying on both ball and player movement in order to improve players that lack the ability to create their own shot,”  This allows the Knicks offense find more opportunities to score in the crucial moments of the game.

Last year, New York’s offense relied primarily on threes and passing the ball to Anthony which proved not be the most reliable and efficient game plan.

“New York’s offense began to become complacent and stale in my opinion. Many teams already had Anthony well scouted which is why they weren’t successful this season,” sophomore Mohammed Shah said.

The Triangle Formation can really benefit the Knicks because they will no longer need to excessively rely on Anthony’s scoring. They can use a plethora of players regardless of position or playing style.

If the Knicks manage to use Jose Calderon effectively in the triangle formation, the Knicks can potentially make it to the playoffs. They also need to be able to use the rookies effectively, such as Small forward  Thanasis Antetokounmpo.

Using him as a backup power forward or small forward is the perfect position for him. Small forward Giannis Antetokounmpo, brother of Thanasis, is able to play effectively on the Milwaukee Bucks. Therefore the team has high hopes that his talent will be matched with Thanasis Antetokounmpos’.

The Knicks have certainly improved their roster with the new young talent. However it seems that the undeveloped team still has a long way ahead of them. Although Fisher has been working with the team in the defensive end it begs the question if the new tactics will stick to the team when it counts the most.

The way things look now it is uncertain that they will reserve a playoff spot but there is still hope for them yet.