It’s that favorite time of year for Knicks fans. Opening Night is amongst us as the Knicks are set to face off against the Hawks. But, what can fans expect this upcoming season?
There are lots of reasons to be excited if you’re a Knicks fan- the team has a new promising coach by the name of David Fizdale and many are claiming that the team’s newest piece, Kevin Knox, will win the prestigious Rookie of the Year award. Although Knox will not be starting as he lost that starting lineup spot to Frank Ntilikina, Knox will certainly have an opportunity to show us what he’s got. More importantly, let’s not forget about the other rookies who have caught our attention: Mitchell Robinson and Allonzo Trier.
“Sometimes just a little change might help a guy get his rhythm, take a little pressure off of him,” Fizdale said. “He can see the game developing first before he subs in. But you know he’s determined to get back to the starting lineup. Don’t think for one second he’s taking it light. But he understands how I operate: fairness. And he’s on board with that. Hell, he’s the first layer of our culture, so he has to understand.”
My bold prediction- with virtually no real predictions going on in the East, this one will be fun to play out, besides the Celtics of course. In many places, you’ll see that it’s best that the Knicks don’t have a successful season, pretty much tank. While some of those cases made might convince you, I believe they might just miss the 8th seed opportunity. Fizdale isn’t about tanking but just missing the playoffs might help this team learn from their errors and thus grow.
I know you guys are tired of the word rebuild but that’s the reality of it. The Knicks are still in rebuild mode. Many are still holding their breath for 2019’s free agency as the team may be able to land a big name. Realistically speaking, Porzingis might not be back till March and that’s a bit of a stretch.
The Knicks’ preseason performance had lots of people tuning in and also going to MSG. They finished 3-2 as all 5 of these games were pretty close. That’s usually how the Knicks operate but the fact that they managed to close some shows some improvement.
So, to answer the question poised in the title- what can Knicks fans expect this season? Fans can expect the team to fight hard against those strong teams. They will suffer some tough loses. But if we’re looking at the bigger picture, you can expect the team to learn how to grow together as Fizdale’s vision is one that’s actually promising. There’s a lot of good young talent here and now, it’s all about putting the right pieces together.
Don’t lose your faith, as cliche as it sounds.