New York Knicks: 5 Reasons Fans Shouldn't Be Concerned About Slow Season Start

Up to the the last few games, the Knicks' season—despite all the expectation it began with—has gotten off to quite a rough start.

Injuries have played a part, and most notably, chemistry issues have been a problem, especially when it comes to the point guard position.

The season is still young, though, and Knicks fans needn't be so quick to dismiss the team so early on.

Things will get better soon, and I'm going to tell you why...

Baron Davis Is Coming Soon

First of all, New York has yet to see new signing Baron Davis hit the Madison Square Garden floor, and it will be at least a week until he actually does so.

Whilst Davis is not necessarily going to be the superstar he once was in Golden State, he will certainly make a big contribution to this Knicks team. Even last season in LA, and surprisingly, later on in Cleveland, Davis played solid basketball, building good chemistry with Blake Griffin and an awful surrounding cast as a Cavalier.

At this point, it's hard to tell exactly how much of an impact Baron will have, but what we do know is that he's a gifted passer and has the ability to control the pace of the game—exactly what the Knicks need.

He can also hit his jump shot well and can still score from the 1 spot with the best point guards in the league if the Knicks need him to.

The fact that Davis will be joining a cast of former Western Conference players (besides Landry Fields) in the starting lineup shouldn't be overlooked either.

The Eastern Conference isn't what it once was with the likes of the tough Knicks of the 90s. Davis is perfect for the type of players on this roster and the way they'll look to play.

Injuries Have Played a Part

I'm sure no one in the Knicks organization would like to make excuses for their underwhelming start to the 2011-12 season, but to be fair, injuries to key players have played a part in some of these early losses.

Now, in a condensed season, with every game coming in the blink of an eye, injuries can be expected, but injuries to Amar'e Stoudemire and Iman Shumpert have been disruptive.

Everyone has made note of STAT and Melo's inability to play with each other, and each game that either one misses is a missed opportunity to build on their chemistry.

We already know Carmelo and Amar'e's individual games can prosper when either one of them is off the court, but in order to be successful down the stretch, they need to know how to play together.

Besides Stoudemire, Shumpert's injury has also had an impact, albeit a lesser one.

The "Shumpert experiment," as it were, would have started a tad earlier had he not been injured, and the Knicks wouldn't have had to struggle through the early games with Toney Douglas running the point.

Douglas would have been utilised better, the crowd would have been pleased, and most importantly, results would have improved. I'm sure Ish Smith for the Warriors wouldn't have had such a good game with Shumpert guarding him.

The Knicks are still struggling through their third major injury—to Baron Davis—and it looks like they'll be doing so for a little while more.

The previous slide tells you all you need to know about what the Knicks are missing in his absence.  

Chemistry Will Improve

Partly due to the return of injured players and partly due to the simple fact that teams generally build chemistry over time, the way these Knicks play with each other will improve going forward.

Once coach D'Antoni has decided upon a consistent, full-time rotation (unlikely, I know), the Knicks will benefit greatly as the players start to fill their individual roles.

At this point, we still have questions about who's going to do what.

Is Davis going to start, or will Shumpert retain his place? Is Harrellson the premier big man off the bench, or will the return of Jeffries unseat him? Will Landry play at guard or small forward?

Once these questions are answered, the Knicks will be able to move forward confidently. It takes a lot of time for a new set of teammates to mesh.

We all saw how Miami were doing last year, and it's rare for a team to click right from the get-go.

Even in these last few games, we've seen an improvement in chemistry, and it's only a matter of time until this unit comes into its own. 

Knicks Aren't the Only Contender Struggling

Another point is that the Knicks aren't alone in their early-season struggles.

The NBA champion Dallas Mavericks have had their fair share of troubles, and the rival Celtics' 4-5 record tells you all you need to know about their struggles.

This doesn't mean that the Knicks should hold themselves to these poor standards, but rather that it's not out of the norm for a good team to come out of the gates slowly.

Similarly to Dallas and Boston, New York have had quite a bit of roster turnover, and this is obviously affecting all three teams. Unsurprisingly, the most productive players on each of the three teams have mainly been the ones who were there last year.

Early-season struggles aren't exclusive to the Knicks, it just so happens that everything (be it good or bad) is blown out of proportion in the New York market.

There are a lot of teams with tons more problems than the 'Bockers, we just need to trust that things will get better.

Recent Form

As it happens, things haven't been too bad for the Knicks as of late.

A four-game win streak was halted last night by the promising Memphis Grizzlies, and of course, there are still some issues that need to be ironed out, but it's a start.

New York didn't beat any particularly great teams in that win streak, but the good thing is that a lot of things were done right.

TD's tenure as the starting point guard is over, and this has obviously made a difference, and in-turn, so has the introduction of Shumpert—and the energy that he brings—into the starting line-up.

It's also worth noting that all four wins on that aforementioned streak came without conceding more than 96 points—a rarity last season and a good sign for the future.

At the end of the day, it's important not to make too much of this 6-5 start to the season because, frankly, it's just 11 games.

There are 55 games to go, and it's not out of the question to think this team will improve as the year goes on.

We won't have to wait too much longer for our questions to be answered.