You can’t blame 29-year old center Tyson Chandler for the Knicks’ failure so far this year.  He has played in 23 games (all starts) for the Knicks so far this year and he is averaging 34.0 minutes, 11.3 points, 10.0 rebounds, 1.0 assist, 1.1 steals and 1.3 blocked shots per game.  He is also shooting the lights out as he is hitting 70.7% from the floor (82 of 116) so far this year.  A lot of his shots come on putbacks and dunks, which helps explain his high shooting %, but it’s still impressive.  Maybe the Knicks should start feeding the big guy the ball a little more going forward, just a thought.

27-year old small forward Carmelo Anthony is playing at a high level despite the team suffering in the win loss column.  Anthony has played in 6 games (all starts) for the Knicks so far this year and he is averaging 35.8 minutes, 27.8 points, 6.8 rebounds, 3.8 assists and 1.2 steals per game.  As good as Carmelo Anthony is, he’s going to need some help….so someone has to step up for the Knicks.

27-year old small forward Carmelo Anthony got his wish when the Nuggets dealt him to the Knicks at the trade deadline.  Anthony played in 27 games (all starts) for the Knicks last year during the regular season and he averaged 36.2 minutes, 26.3 points, 6.7 rebounds and 3.0 assists per game.  He played in 77 games (all starts) overall for the Knicks & Nuggets last year and he averaged 35.7 minutes, 25.6 points, 7.3 rebounds and 2.9 assists per game.  Anthony played in all 4 games for the Knicks in the playoffs and he averaged 38.8 minutes, 26.0 points, 10.3 rebounds, 4.8 assists and 1.3 blocked shots per game.  Anthony has now played in 591 games (all starts) in his NBA career and he has averaged 36.4 minutes, 24.8 points, 6.3 rebounds, 3.1 assists and 1.1 steals per game.  The Knicks have put almost all of their eggs in the basket of Carmelo Anthony, Amare Stoudemire and Chauncey Billups, to they need the veterans to carry the team going forward.

28-year old power forward Amare Stoudemire had a outstanding first year with the Knicks.  Stoudemire played in 78 games (all starts) for the Knicks last year and he averaged 36.8 minutes, 25.3 points, 8.2 rebounds, 2.6 assists and 1.9 blocked shots per game.  He will now likely have to settle in as the #2 option offensively on the Knicks behind Carmelo Anthony, but I don’t think that will be much of a problem as Stoudemire is a team player.  He has now played in 594 games (577 starts) in his NBA career and he is averaging 34.6 minutes, 21.9 points, 8.8 rebounds, 1.5 assists and 1.5 blocked shots as he has had a really good career to date.

With the playoffs nearing, the Knicks have apparently decided to take 23-year old small forward Bill Walker out of mothballs.  Walker has played in 3 games so far this April and he is averaging 16.7 minutes, 8.3 points, 4.3 rebounds and 1.0 assist per game.  He has now played in 57 games (0 starts) for the Knicks so far this year and he is averaging 12.2 minutes, 4.5 points, 1.8 rebounds and 0.5 assists per game.  The Knicks had to get Walker ready because he’s the guy who’s going to give Carmelo Anthony a break when he needs one in the playoffs.

24-year old rookie center Timofey Mozgov is stepping up as of late.  In his last five games, Mozgov is averaging 26.8 minutes, 11.4 points, 7.2 rebounds, 0.2 assists and 1.2 blocked shots per game on 65.7% shooting from the floor.  The amazing thing about his play of late is that it comes after a ten game stretch in which he didn’t play at all!  He has now played in 31 games (11 starts) for the Knicks so far this year and he is averaging 12.7 minutes, 3.8 points, 2.8 rebounds and 0.4 assists per game.  If Mozgov keeps playing like he is right now, the Knicks should be able to get back on the right track.

When the Knicks want to go to a bigger lineup they have been using 28-year old Ronny Turiaf at center.  He has played in 8 games so far this January and he is averaging 20.5 minutes, 5.6 points, 5.0 rebounds, 1.4 assists and 1.1 blocked shots per game.  Turiaf is shooting an amazing 66.7% from the floor so far this month (18 of 27).  He has now played in 33 games (10 starts) for the Knicks so far this year and he is averaging 18.7 minutes, 4.5 points, 3.2 rebounds, 1.8 assists and 1.2 blocked shots per game.  The Knicks should consider giving Turiaf more minutes going forward as he is a good defender and rebounder which are two things they lack.

28-year old power forward Amare Stoudemire has been outstanding for the Knicks this year.  When he signed on their were whispers that he would miss playing with Steve Nash.  But anyone that said that are dead wrong as Stoudemire is playing his best basketball of his career with Raymond Felton running the point for the Knicks.  Stoudemire has played in 37 games (all starts) for the Knicks so far this year and he is averaging 37.4 minutes, 26.2 points, 9.0 rebounds, 2.6 assists and 2.4 blocked shots per game.  The Knicks might have lost out on signing LeBron James last summer but they rebounded pretty well in signing up Amare Stoudemire & Raymond Felton.

26-year old point guard Raymond Felton is the man who makes the Knicks’ offense go.  He has played in 36 games (all starts) for the Knicks so far this year and he is averaging 38.8 minutes, 18.2 points, 3.9 rebounds, 8.7 assists and 1.9 steals per game.  Felton’s game is vastly improved under the tutelage of Mike D’Antoni and his fast paced offense.  Felton also is playing solid D as some of his steals have led to fast breaks.

24-year old small forward Shawne Williams didn’t play last season due to off the court issues.  This was likely Williams’ last shot in the NBA and he’s been taking advantage of it so far.  Williams has played in 13 games (0 starts) for the Knicks so far this year and he is averaging 13.4 minutes, 5.3 points, 1.9 rebounds and 0.5 assists per game.  He is shooting 57.8% from the floor and he has nailed 15 of 22 (68.2%) shots from three point range so far which is amazing.  Here’s to hoping that Williams says on the right path with the Knicks so that he can live up to his potential.