New York Kazoos
The Knicks ranked 24th in points allowed per possession, and they’re going to give huge minutes to a bunch of defensive liabilities — especially if both Amar’e Stoudemire and Andrea Bargnani earn core rotation spots.
Iman Shumpert is the only plus defender among the perimeter core, and even he loses his head at times. But you can see something here. The Knicks have looked more coordinated on defense in the preseason, having ditched Mike Woodson’s helter-skelter switcheroos for a more conservative system. Samuel Dalembert makes you think about it at the rim, and Jason Smith can work his way into being a neutral presence — while raining midrange jumpers on offense.
Charlotte proved last season that a smart scheme can hide a few weak defenders at once, but that’s a hard trick to pull off with limited personnel.
It will take time to learn the triangle, and New York has to grapple, again, with Anthony’s proper position. New York sports a historically great shooting point guard in Jose Calderon and enough rotation wings to mimic the killer 2012-13 team by sliding Melo to power forward and surrounding him with shooters.
But that could harm the team’s defense and limit playing time for some veteran bigs who might grow ornery. Triangle teams have tended to play big — it is the triple-post offense, after all. It will take New York time to find the right balance, and the team will have to fight for the no. 8 spot if it can’t construct a workable defense.