New York Knicks Bench Preview
While most experts are automatically putting the Knicks at the bottom of the Atlantic Division this year, there are a certain few, a I mean a FEW, who think the Knicks will be able to turn it around this year. These people are the ones who have followed the Knicks preseason so far which included a win over the defending champ Boston Celtics. While it was only preseason, the Knicks were clicking thanks in large part to their bench play which will no doubt be a key factor this year in how many games they can win.
It pains me that I have to write about Stephon Marbury in an article of this nature. I say that because the starter in his position, Chris Duhon, has never proved anything and has played mediocre at best this preseason. His stats have actually been pretty decent in his seven preseason games (10 pts and 5 assists) but if you looked closer at his stats you would see that while he is on the court, the team is being outscored. While Marbury is on the court and for that matter, while the bench players are on the court, the Knicks are outscoring their opponents. While Marbury can at times be a real head case, he knows how to play the game of basketball and will be a huge player off the bench for the Knicks.
Other players that really impressed me this preseason were Wilson Chandler and Nate Robinson. Chandler is an explosive player and can really fight for boards and doesn't have a bad outside shot for a bigger guy. Nate Robinson is just a big spark off the bench. He brings excitement, shooting, and quickness to the team whenever he is out there as evidenced by his 19 pts per game in the preseason which led the Knicks.
The bench is rounded out by players like Mardy Collins, Patrick Ewing Jr., and quite possibly Eddy Curry. Collins shot 64% from the field and averaged 8 pts per game this preseason while Ewing Jr., more a publicity stunt than anything else, has actually worked out nicely. He's only played three games but is shooting 80% from the field and averaging 4 pts and 2 boards in his 8 minutes of play per game. Then we come to Eddy Curry. Curry had an awful preseason shooting 20% from the field and averaging just 4 pts and 3 rebounds per game. Curry doesn't look like hes gonna factor too much this year in D'Antoni's offense and that could really open the door for players like Wilson Chandler and David Lee in the middle.
*Ewing Jr. was just released.
