Swiss Cheese D

The Knicks are losing, and it’s upsetting to watch, but it is also inevitable. The Knicks have ten expiring contracts this season, which alone explains the lack of cohesion. How are you supposed to get your players on board with learning a brand new system in the Triangle Offense, when they know they’re not a part of the future? The Knicks came into this season resigning the great Carmelo Anthony. Playing within an incredibly poor Eastern Conference, many Knicks fans, including myself, came into this season with optimism, but the 2014-2015 Knicks are one of the worst teams in franchise history. The Knicks actually have a draft pick this season, and although it’s early, many fans are thinking about the lottery already. Why are the Knicks bad? Between a lack of ball movement, a lack of any rim penetrators, a lack of leadership and a lack of shot selection, the Knicks have a very boring and sloppy offense. However, offense is not their main problem. About half of the players on the Knicks

The Phoenix Suns very well may be the most forgotten team in the Western Conference, and that’s a damn shame. Last year the Suns missed the playoffs by an inch, with a record of 48-34. If the Suns played for the Eastern Conference last year, they would have tied for the 3 rd seed, which shows how dangerous the West really is. The Suns aren’t going to blow you away with any statistics or even star players, but the style that they use night in and night out is appealing to both basketball junkies, and the casual fan. The style that the Suns have established is simple, they are going to run and exhaust every team they play out of the gym with coach Jeff Hornacek’s quick tempo and deep rotations. The NBA is changing rapidly season by season. Pick and rolls, as well as drive and kicks are overthrowing the old school style of posting and toasting. Can we credit this to the lack of emphasis on scoring bigs or the surplus of deadly point guards? I’d choose the latter. I’m a basketball purist

It’s October again, and we’re two weeks away from the NBA season. One of the most controversial and consistently bad teams of the 21 st century has another rollercoaster season ahead of them. There are many expectations and misconceptions going into this upcoming season for the New York Knickerbockers. Due to the fact that I spend more time watching Knicks film and less time partying than J.R. Smith, I have decided that I am the perfect specimen to straighten some things out: What starting lineup will Derek Fisher come up with? Who cares? The starting lineup for the Knicks is going to change constantly all season, and you can credit that to inevitable injuries, and inconsistency. What I’m curious to see, and what everyone should be looking for, is their crunch time lineup, in other words, the lineup that plays during close games at the end of the 4 th quarter. Our new beloved coach, Derek Fisher, has a tricky job ahead of him in figuring out the best five players that can produce to

The New Orleans Pelicans are a sleeper team worth paying attention to this upcoming season. They also have a good chance of making the playoffs. One may beg to differ, as last season was a brutal one. On paper, the 2013-2014 Pelicans had promise. With a new name, and acquisitions of All-Star Jrue Holiday and former rookie of the year Tyreke Evans, the Pelicans looked like a potential force to be reckoned with. So why did they finish with such an unimpressive record of 34-48? Acquiring a game-changing player or even two is always exciting and can take a swing in the right direction for a struggling team. However, if you don’t have depth, your team can only go so far. Although they had an impressive five in Jrue Holiday, Eric Gordon, Tyreke Evans, Ryan Anderson and Anthony Davis the rest of their team did not help carry the load. Coming off the bench, Austin Rivers looked nothing like his father this season, shooting the ball at 40.5%. If you are one of the slower young point guards, and