SPANISH HARLEM – Thank you Kevin Durant for telling people the New York Knicks aren’t cool. 
There is nothing better than a player quoting the words of a ten-year-old to describe why free agents don’t want to play in New York. I totally agree that stars have shied away from this organization and they will continue to do that until this organization can produce athletes to compete for something other than draft lottery position. That said, the NBA is back with the start of preseason games and many fans in New York got their first look at the players that will represent the team this up-coming season. The Knicks got the win in their first pre-season game and there was a couple of things that caught my eye and I will address them in this article.
First and foremost, I was really pissed off when the Knickerbockers failed to land any big free agents this past off-season. But that feeling is gone now and it’s time to move on with the positives. Adding veteran talent will help the young players because they will have to work hard in practice to show the coaching staff that they deserve to get minutes. The addition of Marcus Morris and Taj Gibson will help add a defensive mentally and toughness that was absent last season. You saw some of that on Monday night with Morris getting kicked out of the game. In the post-game interview he stated that the Knicks won’t back down to anybody. How can you not like that type of person on your team?
Frank Ntilikina (spelling fixed) looked like a totally different player. I have read a bunch of articles with scouts raving about his progression in the off-season; that his shot looked cleaner than in the past. All things I looked for when watching his play. I must say… I agree with the assessments. He was aggressive with the ball, jumping into the lane looking to score, rather than pass. He didn’t hesitate when he had an open shot and there a stretch where he missed a couple of shots in a row but he didn’t let that get to him. Soon after, he made a shot that he would have passed on last season. I really hope they give him an opportunity to succeed because it seems Nitilkina has taken the necessary steps to possible reach his potential.
Have you seen how strong Kevin Knox looks? He looks like he added ten pounds of muscle, and at 6-9 that will help him score in the paint more effectively. I believe in his jump shot and I think it will only get better with time and experience. When that shot is not dropping, though, he must go to the rim and score. It seems he has taken that to heart and has come into training camp with more bulk, which will only help when he has to go up against veteran NBA big men.
Speaking of scoring in the paint… RJ Barrett showed an assortment of up-and-unders and Euro-steps to the rim that allowed him to score at will. He will only become more dangerous when he is able to consistently hit jump shots. Defenders will have to play him closer on the outside and that will open the court for him and others. Barrett also showed a knack for getting rebounds and with this ability to push the ball and pass. The Knicks will certainly be better in transition as a result.
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