I agree with everything except for the Bibby part. He's gonna get burned often on defense and his ability to create his own shot has diminished over the years. He's not exactly a scrub but he's not even 20% of what he once was. He can hit a 3 or two a game, but I wouldn't expect much else out of him. I do agree with most of the other stuff though. Shumpert has the potential to be a big factor for this team and I can envision him finishing top 5 among rookies in terms of PPG. How many rookies with the kind of role Iman may end up having, play on teams with 2 players as good offensively as Melo n Amare? He's gonna have a few favorable matchups during the season and if he capitalizes on those, he'll have a major impact early.
Baron will be better than most people expect. Yes, D'Antoni does love his fast paced offense, but Amar'e and Melo are still extremely effective in the half court offense. We all know what Melo can do in isolation situations, but Amar'e is one of the best PF at creating his own shot or catching n shooting. For those reasons alone, the Knicks don't have to worry as much about Baron having CP3/John Wall type speed. Not to mention, Davis is very skilled at the outlet pass, so he can just throw those ahead to a streaking Melo/Landry/Amare/Iman/etc. Not to mention, Baron may not have much speed but he does have the physical presence not to get bullied by physical PGs like D Will.
For years, the Knicks had one of the smallest teams in the league..Now, we have one of the biggest teams in the league..It's a great feeling and I think the Knicks have a great shot at cracking the top 3 in the East. Heat and Bulls are obvious #1 n 2, but besides them, I think we are as good, if not better than the rest of the top east teams..The compressed schedule will affect the older Celtics..The Hawks are currently not as good as the Knicks, and losing Jamal was a huge blow to their bench. With all the BS surrounding Dwight, I don't see the chemistry for the Magic being good enough for them to be as good as last year. I think the Pacers are much better than last season but not as good as the Knicks..WORST case scenario, Knicks finish 4th or 5th but best case scenario, they can definitely grab that 3 seed.
