After the New York Knicks’ disappointing season in 2021-22, the front office made many adjustments and improvements to the team in order to try and have a better 2022-23 campaign.
While in all likelihood, the Knicks will be a better team, there is always the situation in which they don’t and have yet another disappointing year. There are many scenarios that could lead to this happening, all of which New York should want to avoid.
There is a good chance that none of these happen and we see a relatively normal season from the team. However, the possibility is always out there and the team must be prepared in case it happens.
3 scenarios the Knicks should desperately look to avoid in 2022-23
3: Another down season from Julius Randle
Don’t get me wrong, I absolutely believe that there’s a chance we see Julius ball out this season. However, in two out of the three seasons Randle has been with the team, he has not been all that good, making the likelihood for another stinker all the higher.
Despite some questionable shot selection, Randle was not all that horrible in the Knicks’ preseason opener on Tuesday. He put up 15 points, six rebounds, and four assists while shooting 60% from the field and 50% from three.
Obviously, it is just the preseason, however, Randle needs the extra confidence to succeed. We have seen just how bad he can be when his mind is not in the right place.
In the situation in which Randle has another poor season, the Knicks front office must look into all options to move on from the veteran forward. If he continues to hold the ball for too long and be extremely inefficient, the Knicks will not win, as we saw last season.
There were already plenty of rumors flying around surrounding a potential Randle trade. While I believe they were just that — rumors — you never know what the Knicks could pull out of their sleeve.
Regardless, I believe there truly is a good chance for a turnaround season out of Randle. Not only does he likely know this is his last chance, but the acquisition of Jalen Brunson will also likely help Randle in many ways, especially with his tendency to hold onto the ball for too long.
2: Injury to key players
Last season, we saw the Knicks lose Derrick Rose for the majority of the year, which was a huge blow to the team. Not only was he the best player off the bench, but Rose is also a huge leader for the younger players. In addition to losing Rose, the Knicks also lost Quentin Grimes for a big chunk of the final stretch of the season.
While these two may not be the most important to the team, they are still big players for New York’s odds at success. The last thing the Knicks need is to have a big-time player deal with a massive injury this year.
Fortunately, many of the key players on the team, such as RJ Barrett, Julius Randle, and Jalen Brunson, don’t have a history of injuries that have kept them out for long periods of time. The only outlier being Randle, who broke his leg during his rookie season in 2014, so there should be nothing to be worried about there.
Regardless, you can never predict an injury, and the last thing this team needs is for one of their stars to miss extended periods of time. We know Tom Thibodeau’s habits of overplaying his star players. It happened last season when in the fourth quarter of a blowout, Thibs left Barrett in and Barrett ended up spraining his ankle.
Obviously, this isn’t a major injury, but Barrett should not have been in the game to begin with. Anyways, no team wants to see any of their players go down with injuries. Unfortunately, it is just a part of basketball.
If this Knicks team can stay healthy this season, I have no doubt that they can make a push toward the playoffs/play-in.
1: Jalen Brunson disappoints and doesn’t live up to his contract
This is without a doubt the least likely scenario to occur, as we all know what Jalen Brunson is capable of. However, with the Knicks’ luck, you never really know what could happen.
In this scenario, the Knicks would likely be stuck paying Brunson’s rather large contract for the foreseeable future. It is unlikely that any team would take on that much money without receiving one, or multiple picks, attached to it.
Personally, I believe that there is almost no way this happens, as even if Brunson does not work well as a starter, we know what he is capable of off the bench with the ball out of his hands more often.
Brunson looked fantastic in the Knicks’ preseason opener, dropping 16 points and five assists while shooting 77.8% from the field and 50% from three. Yes, it is just the preseason, however, there are a lot of reasons to be optimistic about Brunson on this team.
His all-around ability on offense, coupled with his playmaking makes him a seemingly great fit next to Barrett and Randle. If he can live up to the massive contract he was given, he has a chance to be something that Knicks fans have not seen in a very long time… a good point guard.
In all honesty, there are so many reasons to be optimistic about Brunson’s potential on this team. However, New York’s front office must be prepared in the rare situation in which he doesn’t pan out.
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