It appeared that neither team wanted to win this game with all of the bricks that were being tossed towards the rim in this game. The Knicks only shot 38.8% from the floor while the Bobcats only shot 38%. David Lee led the way for the Knicks in this game with 17 points, 18 rebounds, 3 assists and 2 blocked shots in 50 minutes. Al Harrington pitched in with 17 points, 6 rebounds, 2 assists and 2 steals in 45 minutes. Nate Robinson was effective off the bench in this game with 17 points, 6 rebounds and 3 assists. Danilo Gallinari had one of the best games of his NBA career tonight with 16 points and 5 rebounds in 23 minutes off the bench. The Knicks are now 0-2 on the season after losing this heartbreaker.

The Knicks came out flat in the third quarter as they were outscored 34-15 and it doomed them. It also didn’t help that the Knicks only shot 37.9% from the floor while allowing the Heat to shoot 56.6% from the floor. Bad defense and bad offense = a 22 point loss. David Lee led the way for the Knicks in this game with 22 points, 9 rebounds and 2 assists. Wilson Chandler was also effective with 21 points, 7 rebounds and 2 assists in this game. Danilo Gallinari had the best game of his NBA career as he scored 22 points and snatched 6 rebounds in 28 minutes. The Knicks are now 0-1 on the season.

The over/under for wins this season for the New York Knicks is 31.5. I think the Knicks will improve in their second season under head coach Mike D’Antoni who brings a winning attitude with him. Nate Robinson and David Lee both see the pot filled with gold at the end of the rainbow as they will be free agents after this season so look for them to play very well this season. Al Harrington and Wilson Chandler are also going to put up solid numbers this season. I like the Knicks to go over 31.5 wins this season as they will be better than they were last season despite not making many changes in personnel.

Larry Hughes was absolutely pathetic this pre-season for the Knicks. Hughes played in 6 games (1 start) in the pre-season for the Knicks and he averaged 15.0 minutes, 1.2 points, 2.0 rebounds and 0.5 assists per game. The most shocking thing about Hughes’ play in the pre-season is that he only shot 4.3% from the floor (1 for 23). The Knicks are probably looking desperately for a trade partner for Hughes but any scout that has seen him in the pre-season wouldn’t trade even a 2nd round pick for him right now.

The Knicks have released shooting guard Joe Crawford. Crawford was caught in a numbers crunch with the Knicks as far as the roster goes. Crawford is still young enough to hook on with another team but the Knicks won’t miss him.

The Knicks only added Darko Milicic and first round draft picks Jordan Hill and Toney Douglas for this season so it will be up to head coach Mike D’Antoni to improve the Knicks. He was only 32-50 (39%) in his first season with the Knicks. But, he has a career record of 299-222 (57.4%) as a head coach in the NBA. He also has a post season record of 26-25 (51%) in his career. The Knicks hope he can add some wins to his playoff record and it is possible that they could snag the #7 or #8 slot in the playoffs if everything goes well.

26-year old David Lee signed a 1-year deal to return to the Knicks and he will likely start at center for them. He played in 81 games for the Knicks last season and he averaged 34.9 minutes, 16.0 points, 11.7 rebounds and 2.1 assists per game. With Lee in a free agent walk year he could really go off for the Knicks this season and that is exactly what the team is hoping for. 24-year old Darko Milicic will likely back up Lee this season. He played in 61 games for the Grizzlies last season and he averaged 17.0 minutes, 5.5 points, 4.4 rebounds and 0.6 assists per game. Milicic should fit into the Knicks’ running offense so he should help them out this season and he could also earn some minutes off the bench at power forward. 24-year old Eddy Curry will likely also get some backup minutes in the pivot for the Knicks. He played in only 3 games for the Knicks last season and he averaged 4.0 minutes, 1.7 points and 1.3 rebounds per game. last year.

PROJECTED GRADE FOR THE CENTERS IN 2009-2010: A

29-year old Al Harrington fit right in with Knicks’ new playing style. He will start at power forward again this season for the Knicks. He played in 73 games for the Warriors & Knicks last season and he averaged 34.9 minutes, 20.1 points, 6.2 rebounds, 1.4 assists and 1.2 steals per game. He is also a good long range shooter for his size as he nailed 36.4% of his three point attempts last season. He should have another solid year for the Knicks. 22-year old Jordan Hill was the #8 pick of the first round of the NBA Draft last June and the Knicks will give him a chance to back up Harrington this year as he fits the playing style better than Jared Jeffries. Jeffries played in 56 games for the Knicks last season and he averaged 23.4 minutes, 5.3 points, 4.1 rebounds and 1.4 assists per game.

PROJECTED GRADE FOR THE POWER FORWARDS IN 2009-2010: B

22-year old Wilson Chandler really stepped up last season for the Knicks earning him a starting job. He played in all 82 games for the Knicks last season and he averaged 33.4 minutes, 14.4 points, 5.4 rebounds and 2.1 assists per game. Chandler will likely step his game up some more this season as he seems to be a perfect fit in Mike D’Antoni’s offense. 21-year old Danilo Gallinari will be Chandler’s back up this season for the Knicks. He played in 28 games for the Knicks last season and he averaged 14.7 minutes, 6.1 points, 2.0 rebounds and 0.5 assists per game. Jared Jeffries could also get some playing time at small forward this season even though he doesn’t seem to fit in the Knicks new playing style.

PROJECTED GRADE FOR THE SMALL FORWARDS IN 2009-2010: B-

The Knicks have released SG/SF Sun Yue and point guard Gabe Pruitt. This is good news for the Knicks as neither of these players have much of an upside. The re-signing of Nate Robinson pretty much ended the chance of either Yue or Pruitt making the Knicks and that is a good thing.