4 More Days

WIth the Knicks' season beginning in 4 days. I thought I would lay down some predictions for the upcoming campaign. I'll leave the rest of the NBA alone, and focus on the Knicks.

• The Knicks will go 51-31, and comfortably make the playoffs as a fourth or fifth seed.
• Amare will be right at his career averages, even without Steve Nash running the show.
• Raymond Felton will have a modest assists increase, and will shoot in the low 40s, hurt mostly by his ill-timed three point attempts.
• However, he will not take enough shots to hurt the offense.
• Danilo will break 20 points a game at 22 years old. He will hit multiple game winning shots (and miss a good amount too).
• Timothy Mozgov will not start for the whole season; he will be benched in favor or Ronny Turiaf or Anthony Randolph.
• Toney Douglas may start to begin the season, but hewill also go to the bench eventually, way for Wilson Chandler (if he improves his shooting) or Kelenna when he's healthy.
• The Knicks won't have the highest PPG average in the League but will be top 5.
• The defense will be surprising, but not that good. Turiaf, Danilo and the guards will keep just enough pressure on the other team to kee the defense competent.
• The eventual starting lineup will be Felton, Azubuike, Danilo, Amare, Turiaf, with Chandler and Randolph playing very significant bench minutes. Mozgov will also play consistently, and will play more against bigger teams.
  
• The Knicks will beat the Miami Heat at least once this year.
• The Knicks will likewise be embarrassed by some truly awful teams along the way.
• THe Knicks will put up a fight in the second round of the playoffs (If they face Boston, they'll beat them, but probably lose to Miami or Orlando).

I realize these aren't the most earth-shattering or hyper specific predictions, but I am comofrtable in them, and will revist them at the end of the year. I'm optimistic, and I expect big things from the Knicks and from Danilo. I think D'Antoni will remind everyone that he is a good coach, which most writers seem to have forgotten over the past few years. His teams can score, can defend, and he can get most players to perform very well and very consistently.