I went to Saturday's game and I think they are pretty good. They can make the playoffs and get a 6th seed in the East. They are better than expected. The Knicks won that game 79-74 and looked as good as the Hornets to me. N'Orleans has one all-star in Baron Davis and a bunch of role players since Mashburn is always hurt.
Baron is good at taking flashy off-balance shots, but a low percentage and takes too many 3s.
The Knicks are a good defensive team with Mutumbo and Thomas in the front court. My picks on the All-Star ballot were Mutumbo as the write-in, Kidd and Iverson at guards, Jermaine O'Neil and K-Mart in the front. In the west I would've picked Murray if I had more than one write-in, but settled for Nash, Francis, Duncan, Garnett, and Shaq.
Dikembe changes the way the Knicks play D. He is a presence. The Nets were fools to let him go. They are now paying $50 million to centers that don't play for them. Even if he doesn't run and can't shoot Free throws, he can bang and board.
Charlie Ward also has good D, is fearless, and a great clutch shooter esp. for 3s. Anderson is a good finisher on the break and Houston is a great pure shooter. If McDyss ever comes back and gives them anything, the defense gets much better and Van Horn can be the 6th man off the bench.
I personally don't put much stock in rankings before conference play starts up, so why not: rank 'em #1. Oh, and I also put no stock in Texas' ranking, because I still think they're overrated.