New York Knicks: 5 Biggest Concerns Heading into Next Season

The New York Knicks' biggest concern, along with every other NBA team, is avoiding a lockout that could potentially cancel an entire season. The league's entire philosophy and financial landscape are under fire, meaning the lockout can easily cancel games in the short term.

In the long term, it can damage the Knicks' hopes of adding a third star to their team in 2012.  The harder salary cap that's being discussed would immediately kill fans' dreams of Chris Paul or Dwight Howard suiting up alongside Amar'e Stoudemire or Carmelo Anthony.

Regardless of 2012 dreams and a new collective bargaining agreement's impact on them, Knicks fans know the danger of waiting for free agents all too well after LeBron James left for Miami in the summer of 2010. In the meantime, New York can do little but make a few aesthetic adjustments and try to improve from within.

The following are the Knicks' five biggest concerns for next season...if there is a next season.

Defensive Intensity...from the Stars

Pardon the obvious, but any other concern is a far second to the Knicks' defensive woes. The problem is that this concern can't be rectified. What was the main difference between the four NBA semifinalists and the New York Knicks this season? Watch each of the four teams on defense next season and see how they rotate and run back in transition, as opposed to the Knicks, who get caught standing around with their hands in their pockets far too often.

This is primarily why the Celtics defeated the Knicks so easily in the playoffs: Even without any post presence aside from Kevin Garnett, the C's killed the Knicks from the outside thanks to plays set up by quick passes and off-ball movement on top off excellent off-ball screens, usually ended by a Ray Allen, Paul Pierce or Kevin Garnett jumper.

The Knicks don't have a defensive-minded head coach, nor do they have defensive-minded personnel on the team, to possess a good, quick defense at the moment. The first problem, despite talk of the Knicks possibly bringing in a "defensive coordinator" of sorts and Carmelo's unhappiness regarding the schemes last year, won't be fixed next season. If it does happen, it's hard not to imagine D'Antoni and the new guy not butting heads.

Plus, even if it does, basketball isn't football, when we see stories like the New York Giants winning Super Bowl XLII after they hired blitz mastermind Steve Spagnuolo to be their defensive coordinator.

The second problem is something that Carmelo Anthony and Amar'e Stoudemire have to figure out amongst themselves. The two have been in the NBA for a combined 17 years but have no NBA Finals appearances to show for it. What is the difference between them and Kobe Bryant, LeBron James, Dwight Howard, Dwyane Wade, etc.?

Stars who make, and win, the NBA Finals are largely two-way players. Anthony and Stoudemire are not, and until they realize that they must exhaust their energy on both ends of the floor for 35-40 minutes per night, they have no chance of even coming close to the Eastern Conference Finals any time soon.

Carmelo Anthony can do it. See his block of Danny Granger at the end of the Knicks' 110-109 win against Indiana in April as an example. Amar'e Stoudemire is less of a certainty, as he is routinely the frontcourt's weak link on defense. However, if the Knicks form solid frontcourt depth this offseason, buffering the city's star from last year and helping him stay at his natural power forward position, maybe he'll have more energy for the defensive end.

Frontcourt Depth Alongside Amar'e Stoudemire

Here is the breakdown, by player, of each current big man projected to be on the 2011-12 roster not named Amar'e Stoudemire.

Ronny Turiaf

Signed his one-year team option for $4.4 million. Turiaf can play both power forward and center, but injuries, a propensity to get into foul trouble and offensive struggles will prevent him from contributing more than 20 minutes per night next season. Still, his defense, hustle and smart, mistake-free play (0.6 turnovers per game) are sights for Knicks fans' sore eyes.

Josh Harrellson

The NCAA tournament's breakout star last season, the 6'10", 275-pound center may lack the athleticism and length to become a full-time NBA center, but his relentless defensive play and excellent work ethic could land him a spot in the Knicks' rotation. Depending on how he adjusts defensively on the next level, he could form a platoon of sorts with Turiaf, as they mirror each other somewhat.

Jerome Jordan

According to The New York Post, the Knicks' seven-foot (7'5" wingspan), 235-pound project will likely sign with the team after the lockout. Jordan is still pretty raw—he played only 15 minutes per game overseas last season but still had almost three fouls a contest—but the Knicks can bring him along slowly, like Timofey Mozgov.

It also helps that he claims in the Post article to be adept at shot blocking, rebounding and the pick and roll, basically the top three requirement for any New York Knick frontcourt player. Expect him to make an impact by midseason.

Kwame Brown?

Again according to The New York Post, Kwame Brown is "on the Knicks' radar" if he can be had for a one-year deal. If he can be had at the right price, why should the Knicks say no to a 6'11", 270-pounder who averaged eight and seven last season and can defend?

With 30 teams in the league, one has to wonder if a GM will throw a two-year deal at the 29-year-old Brown after his mini-reformation though.

Big Man X

Which is precisely why Post scribe Marc Berman's picks of Joel Pryzbilla, Aaron Gray and Kurt Thomas seem like more reasonable choices. Thomas is the pick out of those three because of his veteran savvy (17 seasons) and ability to guard both power forward and center. While he will be 39 next year, Thomas did play over 22 minutes a game for the Bulls off the bench, so he still has something left in the tank. Thomas will definitely help with frontcourt defense, while the Knicks' newest first-round draft pick can do the same in the backcourt. The problem with him, though, is offense.

Immersing Iman Shumpert into the Offense...

Drafting Iman Shumpert to fix the Knicks' defense was like curing a shark bite with a Fred Flinstone band-aid. Shumpert may reach his ceiling and develop into a lockdown defender at point guard and shooting guard, but his skill-set won't matter in the lazy, matador Mike D'Antoni defensive system.

As Donnie Walsh implied post-draft, Shumpert stands to run the point on offense and guard the opposing team's two on defense when matched with Chauncey Billups. If he can throw a pass to Carmelo Anthony on the wing for some "iso-Melo" offense, or find Amar'e Stoudemire on top of the key, Shumpert will have successfully performed two of the five-main duties of a point guard in the Knicks' system.

The other three are as follows: Run the pick-and-roll successfully with Stoudemire, lead an efficient fast break and nail the outside jumper when open.

As Ray Felton found out last season, the pick-and-roll took time to develop even for an established veteran, though Shumpert also has the advantage of freakish length (6'9" wingspan) to try and sneak a pass into Stoudemire.

In terms of the fast break, Shumpert has the speed and at least some experience (Georgia Tech was 55th in tempo last season according to Ken Pomeroy) running a fast-paced system, although D'Antoni's Knicks run at a different speed. Still, they slowed down some once Carmelo Anthony came aboard, so perhaps Shumpert won't need to play as much catch-up as thought.

The fifth tenet is most problematic. According to Draft Express, as of February 17 of last season, Shumpert had made just 28 percent of his jump shots and 19 percent of his pull-up attempts. Overall last season, Shumpert shot 41 percent from the field (28 percent from downtown). A jumper can certainly be fixed over time, but in a system where everyone but the center is expected to take the first open shot, it's imperative Shumpert rectifies the issue as quickly as possible.

The bigger picture of Shumpert's immersion into the Knicks' offense brings many question marks on an individual level, though. Will he ever hit a consistent outside jumper, and can he run the fast break and pick and roll? It's unknown, but the bigger problem may be how he fits with other backcourt mates on the team.

Landry Fields Must Step Up, Become the Knicks Fourth Option

Remember Landry Fields? He's still around. So is Toney Douglas, though the rumors sending him to Minnesota for Jonny Flynn are loud enough for one to speculate that the Knicks don't think he's the answer at point guard in the future, let alone backup point guard next season. Bill Walker makes his home in Manhattan for another season too.

The starting shooting guard position is Fields' to lose next season, but where is his mindset after a terrible second half to the season, in which he saw his minutes dwindle down to under 18 per game in the playoffs?

Fields became a quick fan favorite by doing a little bit of everything from the two: knocking down the open three-pointer, hustling for a long rebound, consistently making smart plays, etc.

However, his confidence eroded sometime in mid-March, and looking at the game log, his swoon happened right around the time Chauncey Billups returned from a leg injury that sidelined him for six games. Correlation does not necessarily equal causation, but once Billups returned, Fields fell into a major slump.

Which Fields will the Knicks get this season? If the Knicks start to see the latter Fields, they need to either run plays to him to boost his confidence (a corner three-pointer perhaps) or run with some combination of Shumpert, Douglas and Walker at the two.

Here's the problem there: How many Knicks not named Chauncey Billups, Amar'e Stoudemire or Carmelo Anthony can you trust to hit a big shot right now? Of the twos, Douglas is hot and cold, Shumpert is coming in with a poor shooting reputation and Walker hasn't met a shot he didn't like.

That leaves Fields. It's up to him to re-assert his position, get aggressive, knock down the open jumpers and be that fourth option. It's also up to Mike D'Antoni to recognize that the unselfish Landry Fields, at his best, will be a great complement to a team centered around two stars, a star coach and his system. It's his job to recognize this and not kill Fields' minutes, like at the end of last season.

Tying It Together: Stay Healthy. Also, Your Early Roster Prediction

The Knicks have too many question marks outside their own Big Three, so concern No. 5 is staying healthy. As great as Shawne Williams (he is a free agent, but one would be surprised to see him go anywhere after this New York Post article) was within his bench role last season, seeing him potentially replace Carmelo Anthony or Amar'e Stoudemire in the starting lineup for a significant amount of time would derail the team's season.

New York is built around two superstars and a very good player in Chauncey Billups. As seen in the Celtics' series, any injuries to those three directly puts the offensive onus on any remaining stars (see Carmelo Anthony in Game 2). Unfortunately, New York doesn't have the offensive chops outside those three to bail them out right now.

Still, the Knicks certainly have pieces to form some semblance of chemistry next season, sorely missed after the trade deadline last year. With a couple defensive-minded players, some high-energy guys and needed size, 50 wins can be a ceiling finish for the blue and orange next season.

(Of course, if the NBA has another 50-game season like in the lockout-shortened year of 1999, we could be talking about 30 wins as a goal, which was too high of a benchmark for the Knicks not too long ago during 82-game years. Baby steps to greatness.)

Anyway, here's a very early roster projection. Enjoy the dog days of summer.

2011-12 New York Knicks

Point Guard: Chauncey Billups, Backup PG for Toney Douglas, Iman Shumpert

Shooting Guard: Landry Fields, Iman Shumpert, Bill Walker

Small Forward: Carmelo Anthony, Shawne Williams

Power Forward: Amar'e Stoudemire, Kurt Thomas

Center: Ronny Turiaf, Josh Harrellson, Jerome Jordan

Reserves: Andy Rautins, Derrick Brown, Renaldo Balkman