It's quite possible that no other team is looking forward to starting the new NBA season more then Isiah Thomas and the New York Knicks. The sexual harassment trial and the fallout from it has worn Isiah Thomas down to the point where he hardly smiles anymore and gives short vague answers in response to the media's questions. The team has had a year together under Isiah's system but has had to readjust again this year due to the addition of Zach Randolph. Many question how the tandem of Eddy Curry and Randolph is going to work. Both are considered low post players who are explosive offensively but neither passes the ball well and both are very bad on the defensive side of the ball. It's up to Isiah to figure out how to get the most out of both of them. Several media members are predicting Isiah won't last the season and the Knicks will miss the playoffs once again. Only Sports Illustrated has the Knicks making the playoffs this year. I thought I would look through the Knicks' schedule and give my prediction on how well they will fare and whether they are good enough for the playoffs.

Last year the Knicks started off slow and eventually recovered to play slightly above .500 but then injuries decimated the team and caused them to fall well below .500. To get a better idea of how many games this team can win, we need to look at the games on a month-by-month basis. If you look at November, the schedule looks favorable for the Knicks to get off to a good start. They play 8 games at home and 7 on the road. Looking at their opponents, I see them going 9-6 in the month of November. More specifically, I see them starting off 4-1, going 2-2 on their West coast trip, and then finishing up the month 3-3 against some good playoff caliber teams. The game of the month in my eyes will be the Nov. 29th game with Boston on national television. This would be a great statement game for the Knicks if they could come out and play well and beat the revamped Celtics.

In December, they play 9 games at home and only 5 on the road. They have some tough games at the beginning of the month and I see them coming out of those games with a 2-4 record. Their next 8 are mainly against teams in the East and I see them going 6-2 to finish the month at 8-6. The game to look at in this month will be the first game with New Jersey on the road on Dec. 5th. New Jersey has owned the Knicks since Jason Kidd has been in town and this would be a huge boost for the Knick players if they could go on the road early in the season and beat the Nets.

In January, the schedule gets a little tougher. The Knicks have 7 games at home and 9 on the road. This will be the month that makes or breaks this team in my opinion. With a tough Midwest road trip and some tough games at home, I see them starting out the month at 3-4. After that, I feel like this is where the team will hit their stride and will begin to gel as a team. They will finish up the month going 6-3 and a record of 9-7 for January. The Knicks will play 6 games in 9 days from Jan. 13-21. They will play Boston on Jan. 21st to wrap up that string of games. Again, if they can find a way to win this game, it would be a great building block for the second half of the season. In February, they play 5 games at home and 8 on the road. I do see them struggling a little bit this month with the tough January and rust from the All-Star break. I think they will finish 6-7 for the month of February with back-to-back games with Toronto on the 22nd and 24th being the big games of the month.

In March, the schedule has them playing 8 games at home and 7 on the road. I see them going 7-8 during this month as things starting getting a little tighter and teams in the East will be playing tougher. On March 7th, the Knicks will host Detroit in what could be a good test for the Knicks to see where they stand with one of the top teams in the East. In the month of April, with 4 games at home and 5 on the road, the Knicks should be able to finish the month with a 5-4 record as they try to hold on to a playoff spot. I hate to keep bringing Boston up, but the next to last game of the season with them on April 14th could be huge. A win in that game could set the tone going into the playoffs and give the Knicks that extra push to make some noise.

If you add up the records for each month, you will see that the Knicks would finish at 44-38 for the season. This is about what I expected from this team before looking at the schedule on a monthly basis like this. With a 44-38 record, that should be good enough for a 7 seed in the playoffs. If the Knicks can do this and grab a spot in the playoffs, maybe then Isiah can smile again and get some of his critics off his back...for a little while anyway.

First I apologize guys, I have been away some time. I haven't had much time these days to write. I had been thinking about writing a few times but never got around to it. But after another amazing game by the Knicks, I couldn't hold back any longer. Its probably too soon to get into what this triple overtime win over the East leading Pistons could mean for the Knicks, but it's an hour later while I write this and I still can't believe the Knicks pulled this win out. I know there are alot of Knick haters and Isiah haters out there and they don't want to hear me gush about how good the Knicks have looked lately. Whether you are a hater or just a pessimistic Knick fan, everyone should agree that this team is at least exciting to watch. Just that alone should give Knick fans hope as we haven't had a team to get behind really since they made that magical run in the playoffs in 1999. There are so many good things to like about this victory that I'm not sure where to begin.

 In my 20 years as a Knick fan, I honestly can't remember feeling this way about a Knick team. Sure the teams of the 90's were great and will always be the teams that I became a die hard Knick fan with. But with those teams, after Pat Riley arrived, there was a certain expectation of the team for many years. While there was some great moments during that time, because they never won the championship, fans came away stilll a little disappointed. Knick fans have gone through a tough period these last 5 years as the team has slowly and painfully become the laughing stock of the league. There was momentary excitement when Isiah came aboard and traded for Stephon Marbury right away. That team rebounded after the trade to make the playoffs but never really stood a chance against a superior New Jersey team. Since that time, most fans and the media especially have aimed their frustration at IsiahThomas and 11 days ago that frustration boiled over.

With the Knicks reaching rock bottom with the brawl with the Nuggets, the NY media and other journalists bashed the Knicks and Isiah for becoming such a disgrace. It likely reached its pinnacle with the front page image on the Post of Isiah and his "donkey ears", in reference to George Karl's comments the day after the brawl in which he called Isiah among other things, a "jackass". Did Isiah resign or complain about the treatment he was receiving? Did the team fold or start pointing fingers? No, they did not. Instead they have taken Knick fans on a wild ride for a week and a half that has seen them beat 3 of the top teams in the league going 4-1 in 5 games. 3 of those 5 games went into overtime with the Knicks seemingly out of everyone of them, only to persevere and find the will and a way to win the game. The fact that this team has found a way to win these games should speak volumes about what kind of coach Isiah is for this team. Would they have won these type of games last year. Absolutely not. Isiah has molded this team into A TEAM. You can see it in these last few games. You can see it on the court, in the huddle, on the bench. Many times while watching the games, I have noticed little things about the players and their body language that suggests to me that this group is becoming a tight nit team. During timeouts, players are talking strategy to each other, players have their arms draped around each other often times around Isiah too. You see players laughing and cheering their fellow teammates on the floor.

Every time the media tries to divide the team with negative stories, the team seems to ignore it all and battle on. Just yesterday, a couple of articles spun Francis's absence from practice as a disinterested player trying to get out of practicing and trying to poison the team . That seems like a reasonable assessment given Francis' past but if you watched the game Wednesday night, you saw a hobbled Francis giving it his all and cheering on his teammates while on the bench. Maybe Francis is more mature now or maybe Isiah has gotten Francis, along with everyone else, to buy into the team concept or maybe the public bashing Isiah has received lately has made this group of players really go with a "us against the world" mentality. Whatever it may be, it is clear to me that Isiah has already done more with this group of players then Larry Brown done all of last season. Stephon Marbury is playing great basketball now AND fitting in to the schemes that Isiah has put into place. Eddy Curry has become a lethal low post presence and the central focus of the Knicks offense. David Lee is an automatic double double every night. Channing Frye has gotten his stroke back and is becoming a valuable 3rd or 4th go to guy. Jamal Crawford has become equally important with his instant offense and knack to hit the big shot at the end of the game. The other players are all finding their places and meshing with the others to make a very nice rotation of solid players. I admit, optimism is high right now after this great win, but the Knicks these last 11 days have been showing New York City and the league that they are not as bad as many thought and may finally be on the right path.

As usual, NBA fans rolled their eyes when they heard the Knicks had offered Jared Jeffries their mid-level exception over 5 years.

"Another ridiculous signing by Isiah."
"When factoring in the luxury tax penalty, this will cost the Knicks over $10 million next season."
"What where they thinking?"

It has become the chic thing to do these days in the media. Bash Isiah and the Knicks regardless of the deal. Some of it is well deserved given the Knicks record on and off the court the past few seasons. But this is one signing that makes sense for three good reasons.

1. This signing would make the Knicks better. Jared Jeffries is 6-10 and can play 4 positions on the court. He is not worried about offense and has proven himself to be a very good defender in his first 4 seasons in the NBA. Some have compared his game to Tayshuan Prince and say he is has the potential to be as good as Prince. This is exactly the player Isiah needs if he intends to have the Knicks defending better and getting up and down the court more. He can plug Jeffries in at different positions and doesn't have to worry about him taking shots away from the other players. Jeffries is another player that has looked up to Isiah while he was growing up, so Isiah gets a guy that will heed his advice and give 110% on everything Isiah asks of him. Some say the Knicks overpaid as usual, but that is not the case. Washington offered Jeffries $33 million over 6 years just a few weeks ago and he turned it down. $30 million over 5 years is a reasonable contract for Jeffries given his versatility and potential.

2. It is never a bad thing to stockpile versatile defensive-minded young players. Even if you think Jeffries will not help the Knicks, he is a player that will give the team more flexibility if a trade for a superstar becomes an option at some point. The Knicks now have several players that can play multiple positions. Not only is this valuable for them as a team but it also would be helpful if they had to move several players in a blockbuster trade. If the Knicks can play close to .500 ball or better by February, you know Isiah will be looking around to see who might be able to put them over the hump. This signing would help make such a trade a little easier to do. Jalen Rose and Quentin Richardson are already available for the taking. Rose is a valuable piece with his expiring contract and Richardson will be next to impossible to move with his history of back problems. But with the savings Rose would bring a team, maybe Isiah is looking at packaging Richardson with Rose in a trade. This is now possible with the signing of Jeffries.

3. As some media sources have reported, Jeffries agent is Andy Miller. Yeah, that Andy Miller. The agent that represents Kevin Garnett. Let the conspiracy theories begin. But in all seriousness, it doesn't hurt to be on the good side of as many agents as possible. I mentioned earlier that Jeffries turned down Washington's first offer and was looking at accepting their qualifying offer for one year. Isiah may have done Miller a favor by giving his client a guaranteed 5 year deal. But if Garnett ends up angling for a trade, you can now put one more stack of chips in Isiah's pile. It's a move that doesn't hurt because of the first two reasons I just wrote about. The best case scenario is Isiah gets a versatile player that will help his team and he also gets on the good side of Miller. The worst case scenario is Washington matches the offer, but even then Isiah will be in Miller's good graces for forcing Washington to give his client a 5 year deal.

This would be a win-win situation for Isiah and the Knicks. Obviously, the Wizards have 7 days to match and reports indicate that there is a good chance they will. If they do, Isiah still has done Andy Miller a favor. If they don't match, Isiah adds a defensive-minded versatile player to a team that finished 27th in points allowed last season. With Jeffries in the mix and Isiah's new gameplan, defense is one area where the Knicks should improve next season.

AFP (Associated Fabricated Press) , November 1, 2010

The New York Knicks kicked off the 2010 NBA season with an impressive victory over the Boston Celtics as Lebron James had the Garden crowd on their feet most of the night. The game was never really close as the Celtics looked overwhelmed by the energy in the building from the start. James led the Knicks with 31 points, 8 assists, and 9 rebounds. Channing Frye picked up where he left off last season and registered a double double with 25 points and 12 rebounds. Knick fans arrived early for the game, a game they had been anticipating for 4 years. It was clear the last two seasons, that the Knicks were at least going to position themselves to make a run at Lebron when his contract was up.

Lets take a look at how the Knicks arrived at this point. They finally did what everyone had been screaming for and allowed some of those ridiculous contracts of the past to expire. Last summer, the Knicks allowed Steve Francis' and Stephon Marbury's contract to expire, cutting their payroll by a third and getting them 7 million dollars under the salary cap. With Mardy Collins and Jamal Crawford coming into their own, the Knicks were content to let Francis and Marbury go. Marbury ended up resigning for 2 years at the veteran's minimum as he didn't receive much interest from any other teams due to another knee injury that kept him out most of the season. Other then Frye, the Knicks were able to lock up all their young players at a reasonable price the last 2 years as well. Frye with his all star play the last few seasons, deserved the max deal he got in 2008.

Give credit to Jim Dolan and Isiah Thomas for staying the course and allowing several big contracts to expire over the past few years. Unfortunately or fortunately, depending on who you ask, Isiah's luck finally ran out after two seasons as coach. After a promising first year run into the playoffs, the Knicks took a step back in the 2007-08 season and missed the playoffs. Isiah made a quiet exit as he took the coaching job at Indiana St. University after the season was over, avoiding being officially fired by Dolan. This opened the door for Dolan to start over and he finally has been recognized for making a smart move by bringing in Mark Jackson as coach and Kiki Vandeweghe as GM. Jackson in just two years in the hot seat, has shown that he knows how to run a basketball team and guided them into the playoffs this past season.

Finally, Vandeweghe made the move that Knick fans were looking for by putting a package together that Cleveland would agree to. James had indicated that he would sign with New York, but wanted to go via sign and trade so Cleveland wouldn't be left empty handed. In the end, the Knicks traded all-star Eddy Curry and his expiring contract, their 2011 and 2012 first round pick unprotected, Nate Robinson, and 3 million in cash. Curry and Robinson were vital parts of last season's playoff team, but were expendable when Lebron's name popped up. Cleveland likely could have gotten a much better deal elsewhere but Lebron made it clear to Cavs management that his preferred location was New York, otherwise he would sign with the Knicks straight up. Now, on this cold, rainy night in the city, people walked out of Madison Square Garden with high hopes. It was as if they could already smell a long overdue championship coming back to New York. If tonight was any indication, 38 years of frustration may come to an end next June.

Draft day is finally here. I decided to keep a diary as I watched the draft. Here is how it unfolded...

7:39 - Is it just me or did Sam Mitchell not look that enthused in the war room when the Toronto pick was announced? Something tells me he didn't have much input on this pick.

7:40 -  Stu Scott just became an enemy of NY fans as he pointed out that they boo everything while he is talking to Bargnani.

7:44 - Aldridge does something new  and gives Stern a Longhorn hat and Stern plops it on for a split second and then takes it back off for the pictures.

7:50 - All of a sudden, when The 'Stache is picked and I see his highlights and he talks, I finally decide that this may end up being the best pick of this draft. He should be able to step right in and contribute. He's all heart and a scorer and will be put in a good situation. Just weird, that I felt he was overrated this whole time, but for some reason I have this gut feeling that he may be the jewel of this draft. On a side note, its really unnerving that Dick Vitale makes fun of all European players. Should we really value his opinion if he obviously is biased against foreign players?

7:56 - Tyrus Thomas, another player that I think will be a good player for the Bulls, slowly they are starting to look scary, especially with their cap space now.

8:02 - Hawks take Shelden Williams, pass up another chance at a pg.

8:08 - Minnesota gets Roy, I think this is the steal so far, he will help Minnesota immensely. A leader, good size, great shooter, can get to the ft line.

8:15 - Rudy Gay sure looks nervous, somebody is gonna get a good pick at 8 or 9 with him.

8:23 - Rockets are crazy if they trade Gay for Battier. West is a genius if this goes through. But this is better for Gay cause he would have wasted away under Van Gundy.

8:36 - What was the point in the Roy-Foye trade? Makes no sense. A deal must have fell through somewhere. Why trade for Foye when they could have gotten him at 6?

8:42 - Redick to Orlando, don't know if he can succeed at the next level but he does fit nicely with Nelson and Howard and Milicic. Could do well there. According to the analysts, Redick can absolutely shoot the ball. Wow, no one knew that.

8:54 - Wow, Sefolosha looks good on film at least, Chicago has made two nice picks now as they trade with Philadelphia for the 13th pick.

8:59 - Wow, Stern did it again. It seems at least once every draft Stern gets a good jab in on the commentators. Dan Patrick actually had the nerve to come back with his Tagliabue comment. I guess that will be the end for Patrick now. Good pick by Utah, Brewer could be a steal here.

9:18 - Wow, Marcus Williams is falling. Surely, Washington takes him at 18. Or maybe Rondo?

9:23 - Hey, its the European version of Keith Van Horn(Pecherov), sounds promising eh?

9:40 - Uh ok, Renaldo Balkman. I will give Isiah the benefit of the doubt here given his record with drafting but even as an optimistic Knicks fan and a Isiah believer, I am very disappointed with this pick, it makes no sense whatsoever. Marcus Williams was available but he doesn't make sense for them with them already having 5 guards.

9:46 - My boy Rajon Rondo finally goes at 21, to the Suns, but may be heading to the Celtics, again this does not make sense for the Celtics if they already have Telfair. Some weird things going on here with these last two picks.

9:50 - Williams finally goes to New Jersey at 22. A good pick for the Nets here, they fill a need and possibly someone to take Kidd's place once he is gone.

10:09 - I think this is a good pick for the Lakers, Farmar will fit in well with the Lakers and the triangle offense.

10:26 - Mardy Collins, a good pick here, but where does he fit in with the Knicks? Very disappointed with the Knicks draft at this point. It remains to be seen if they make some more moves for these moves to make sense. The best excuse I can come up with is Isiah just didn't see anyone that would help the team at 20 or 29, so he picked some sleepers and will stash them away in the D league. Otherwise, the Knicks get a grade of F tonight.

10:35 - Russ Granik mania takes over. On to the second round.

Some grades as the second round continues.

Bulls get an A. Tyrus Thomas and Sefolosha should just make them more versatile and athletic.

Bobcats get an A with the pick of Morrison.

Portland gets an A for getting Aldridge and Roy especially, but they really seemed uncertain about what they wanted to do.

Rockets get an F, trading Gay and Swift for Battier is ridiculous and West will be called a genius once again.

As mentioned above, Memphis with Gay and also Kyle Lowry get an A.

Knicks, I stated earlier they definitely get an F right now. History says to give it some time to see if the players pan out. But it doesn't look good.

Orlando gets a B for Redick.

Nets get a B for being able to get Marcus Williams at 22.

Lakers get an A with Farmar.

Twolves get an A for getting Foye but I would have preferred Roy.

I don't believe I have ever seen so many trades in a draft. Just demonstrates how unpredictable this draft was. There were so many trades that I am not sure of where all the players ended up without looking them up.

I went into this draft looking forward to where Rajon Rondo would end up and who the Knicks would pick. I came away disappointed and confused in both cases. Rondo goes to a team that could use him, but he now sits behind Delonte West and Sebastian Telfair. The Knicks right now have just had a draft that only reminds me of the Frederic Weis draft pick. The picks just do not make any sense at all.

11:59 - And to wrap it up, Mr. Irrelevant, Will Blalock goes to Detroit at pick number 60.

Like Russ Granik, I'm out.