2009-2010 New York Knicks Preview

2008 Record: 32-50, 5th in Eastern Conf. Atlantic Division
Head Coach: Mike D’Antoni, 2nd season
Key Additions: F-C Darko Milicic
Key Losses: F-G Quentin Richardson, C Chris Wilcox
1st Round Draft Picks: G Toney Douglas, F Jordan Hill
2nd Round Draft Picks: None

2008-'09 Knicks Review:

Two stretches knocked out the Knicks last season. The first bloodbath lasted from Dec. 15 through Jan. 10, as New York claimed only two wins in 12 tries. Later, after climbing within four games of the .500 mark and stirring talk of a stunning playoff appearance in the Big Apple, coach Mike D'Antoni's men fell hard in February. The shortest month of the year became the longest one for the Knickerbockers, who dropped 10 of 13 to tumble out of the playoff picture. The brand of ball was more attractive than in the tempestuous and short-lived Larry Brown era, but the results, alas, were very much the same in Madison Square Garden.

2009-'10 Knicks Preview:

To be perfectly blunt, the players occupying many of the slots on the Knicks roster don't exactly inspire confidence. Darko Milicic? Eddy Curry? Al Harrington? Health-limited Cuttino Mobley? David Lee? Larry Hughes? It would be somewhat--if not completely--dishonest to say that the Knicks expect big things from their team this year; the run-up to the much-hyped 2010 offseason, and a potential bid for a fellow named LeBron, makes this season feel like one big ticking time clock, which will count down to next year's free agency period and then allow Knicks fans to truly salivate. For now, it's hard to see how D'Antoni's up-tempo system will produce a playoff berth. If everything were to fall just right for this team, it would max out at 38-40 wins and perhaps slip into the eighth seed in the East, provided that the rest of the conference struggles.

Realistically, the Knicks and their fans need to play with a maximum of heart and intensity in 2009-'10, selling out on every possession and sharing the credit for any team achievements. If LeBron really wants to consider donning the home whites at MSG, D'Antoni and General Manager Donnie Walsh need to ensure that the surrounding environment (no, not the night life of the Big Apple, but the Knicks' locker room) will welcome a super-duper-star with open arms. That's the biggest priority for the Knickerbockers in the months to come.

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By Matthew Zemek
DFN Sports Senior Staff Writer

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