The New York Knicks have reloaded and retooled. With a new head coach, three new starters, and a new sixth man, what exactly is the Knicks’ new identity?
For the second consecutive season, the New York Knicks will start three new players. The 2016-17 crew appears to be more methodically built, but the point remains; there’s a sense of uncertainty in New York.
The Knicks’ new players are quickly becoming acquainted with one another, but no one quite knows what to expect.
If New York can stay healthy, there’s reason to believe that it can make the NBA Playoffs in 2016-17. Carmelo Anthony and Kristaps Porzingis have been surrounded by capable playmakers and plus defenders.
There’s also reason to be concerned, as the likes of Brandon Jennings, Joakim Noah, and Derrick Rose have all suffered major injuries within the past three seasons.
Regardless of how healthy they manage to be, the Knicks won’t make a deep playoff run without an identity. Five likeminded individuals will prevail against a team with five players who are in it for themselves.
The question is: what exactly is the Knicks’ new identity?
Next: The City
5. The City
The 2016-17 New York Knicks may be the most New York team since the 1990s. It embodies the traits of New York City, and not those seen in movies or the media—the true traits that actual New Yorkers know.
High-profile a squad as it may be, the 2016-17 Knicks are made up of blue collar workers looking to make a living in New York.
Four players on the Knicks were born in New York City: Carmelo Anthony, Joakim Noah, Kyle O’Quinn, and Lance Thomas. Anthony and Thomas were born in Brooklyn, Noah played high school ball in both Manhattan and Brooklyn, and O’Quinn was born in Queens.
If nothing else connects these players, it can be the fact that two starters and two key reserves have New York roots.
More important than where the players were born is the mentality that they and their teammates play with. There’s an underlying sense of discontent and dissatisfaction with where the players’ careers currently are.
If that’s not a feeling that New Yorkers can relate to, then what is?
Next: The Will
4. Never Say Die
The New York Knicks aren’t going to give up on many games, let alone on many possessions. If nothing else can be said about this group, it certainly possesses the work ethic to fight until the rewarding or bitter end.
With a never say die mentality, the Knicks have an opportunity to compete with every team in the NBA—great or otherwise.
Joakim Noah firmly embodies the never say die mentality. During his time with the Chicago Bulls, he won the Defensive Player of the Year award for his unrelenting approach to the defensive end of the floor.
Noah is just as likely to dive into the crowd for a loose ball as he is to make a defensive rebound; and no, that isn’t hyperbole.
Beyond Noah, the likes of Justin Holiday, Courtney Lee, Maurice Daly Ndour, Marshall Plumlee, and Lance Thomas are all revered for their work ethic. Kristaps Porzingis is becoming the same way, as evidenced by just about everything he does on and off the court.
With Carmelo Anthony, Brandon Jennings, and Derrick Rose possessing the elusive killer mentality, this Knicks team should be ferociously competitive.
Next: The Relentlessness
3. Nothing Comes Easy
When Joakim Noah played for the Chicago Bulls, his impact was felt whether he was on the floor or not. He held his teammates accountable by protecting the rim, crashing the boards, and setting a high standard for effort by putting his body on the line.
The theme from Noah’s Chicago days should carry into The Mecca: if you’re playing the New York Knicks, nothing will come easy.
Noah isn’t the only player who’s willing to put his body on the line to make a play. Lest we forget, Kristaps Porzingis’ didn’t injure his shoulder at the end of the 2015-16 season on a routine play.
Porzingis injured his shoulder by blocking a dunk attempt at the rim in a meaningless game—and that’s why Knicks fans love him.
Throw in Courtney Lee’s tenacious on-ball defense and New York has three competitive high-level defenders. Lance Thomas is cut from that same cloth, and the likes of Maurice Daly Ndour, Kyle O’Quinn, and Marshall Plumlee can say the same.
The Knicks may not have a surplus of traditionally elite defensive players, but they have competitors who will make everything difficult.
Next: The Hunger, Part I
2. Something To Prove
Technically speaking, every player on every team has something to prove. The New York Knicks take that to the most extreme end of the spectrum, however, with players whose careers and legacies are riding on the 2016-17 season.
The other traits of Knicks’ identity are intriguing, but it’s the’ need to prove they still belong that makes this team special.
Carmelo Anthony is out to prove that he’s still a superstar in the modern NBA. Derrick Rose and Joakim Noah are looking to prove that they can remain healthy for long enough to reclaim similar status.
Brandon Jennings has to prove that he can fully recover from a ruptured achilles tendon and start again for a team in the Association.
Beyond those four, it’s all about players establishing that they belong. Kristaps Porzingis is out to prove he isn’t a fluke, while Courtney Lee and Lance Thomas are looking to prove they can stick with one team.
Even head coach Jeff Hornacek is trying to prove that he can sustainably succeed in the NBA, and that’s exactly why this Knicks team has so much potential: the hunger for more.
Next: The Hunger, Part II
1. Hunger For More
As previously established, the New York Knicks have something to prove. Every player on the roster is out to prove they belong in one way or another, but that only scratches the surface of the hunger this team is fighting to fill.
The true testament to the Knicks’ identity is that the core players have a hunger to finally achieve what they’ve come so close to achieving before.
Carmelo Anthony led the 2009 Denver Nuggets to the Conference Finals, but has never made it back. Derrick Rose and Joakim Noah led the 2011 Chicago Bulls to the Conference Finals, but neither has made it back.
Courtney Lee helped the Orlando Magic reach the 2009 NBA Finals, but he shares that common trait of having never made it back.
In other words, four of the Knicks’ five starters have vast postseason experience and a hunger for more. Just as Kristaps Porzingis is trying to prove that he can be a franchise player, the other four starters are trying to ascend the mountain again.
Four of the Knicks’ five starters have been so close to championship glory that they could taste it.
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In 2016-17, those players, as well as their teammates and coaches with something to prove, will band together to make the Knicks a contender again.