29-year old Tyson Chandler is going to be the Knicks’ starting center again in 2012-13.  Chandler played in 62 games (all starts) for the Knicks last year and he averaged 33.2 minutes, 11.3 points, 9.9 rebounds, 0.9 assists and 1.4 blocked shots per game.  He has now played in 724 games (527 starts) in his first 11 years in the NBA and he is averaging 28.1 minutes, 8.6 points, 8.9 rebounds, 0.8 assists and 1.4 blocked shots per game.  38-year old Marcus Camby will be Chandler’s caddy in 2012-13.  He played in 59 games (53 starts) for the Rockets and Trailblazers last year and he averaged 22.9 minutes, 4.9 points, 9.0 rebounds, 1.8 assists and 1.4 blocked shots per game.  Camby has now played in 949 games (782 starts) in his first 16 years in the NBA and he is averaging 30.0 minutes, 9.7 points, 9.9 rebounds, 1.9 assists, 1.0 steal and 2.4 blocked shots per game.

PROJECTED GRADE FOR THE CENTERS IN 2012-13:  B+

29-year old Amare Stoudemire is a key player for the Knicks this year.  He needs to get his scoring average up 3-4 points this year if the Knicks are going to be a true force in the Eastern Conference in 2012-13.  Stoudemire played in 47 games (all starts) for the Knicks last year and he averaged 32.8 minutes, 17.5 points, 7.8 rebounds, 1.1 assists and 1.0 blocked shot per game.  He has now played in 641 games (624 starts) in his first 10 years in the NBA and he is averaging 34.5 minutes, 21.6 points, 8.8 rebounds, 1.5 assists and 1.4 blocked shots per game.  39-year old Kurt Thomas might be Stoudemire’s caddy in 2012-13.  He played in 53 games (3 starts) for the Trailblazers last year and he averaged 15.2 minutes, 3.0 points, 3.5 rebounds and 0.9 assists per game.  Thomas has now played in 1,071 games (633 starts) in his first 17 years in the NBA and he is averaging 25.0 minutes, 8.3 points, 6.8 rebounds and 1.1 assists per game.  29-year old James White was signed in the off-season to compete for a bench job.  He last played in the NBA back in 2008-09 with the Houston Rockets.  White has played in 10 games (2 starts) in his first two years in the NBA and he is averaging 14.8 minutes, 5.7 points, 2.0 rebounds and 0.6 assists per game.

PROJECTED GRADE FOR THE POWER FORWARDS IN 2012-13:  B

The Knicks are expecting more out of 28-year old small forward Carmelo Anthony in 2012-13 than he gave them last year.  Anthony played in 55 games (all starts) for the Knicks last year and he averaged 34.1 minutes, 22.6 points, 6.3 rebounds, 3.6 assists and 1.1 steals per game.  Anthony has now played in 646 games (all starts0 in his first 9 years in the NBA and he is averaging 36.2 minutes, 24.7 points, 6.3 rebounds, 3.1 assists and 1.1 steals per game.  29-year old sharp shooting Steve Novak is going to be Anthony’s caddy in 2012-13.  He played in 54 games (0 starts) for the Knicks last year and he averaged 18.9 minutes, 8.8 points, 1.9 rebounds and 0.2 assists per game as he shot an amazing 47.2% from three point range.  Novak has now played in 279 games (4 starts) in his first six years in the NBA and he is averaging 11.5 minutes, 4.9 points, 1.3 rebounds and 0.3 assists per game.  Novak is shooting 43.6% from three point range so far in his career.  It looks like Novak has finally found an NBA home in New York with the Knicks.

PROJECTED GRADE FOR THE SMALL FORWARDS IN 2012-13:  A

With 22-year old Iman Shumpert going to miss the first couple of months of the 2012-13 season, the Knicks really need 26-year old J.R. Smith to step up.  Smith will be the starting shooting guard for the Knicks when the 2012-13 season opens up.  He played in 35 games (1 start) for the Knicks last year and he averaged 27.6 minutes, 12.5 points, 3.9 rebounds, 2.4 assists and 1.5 steals per game.  Smith has now played in 538 games (130 starts) in his first 8 years in the NBA and he is averaging 24.2 minutes, 12.5 points, 2.9 rebounds, 2.0 assists and 1.0 steal per game.  27-year old Ronnie Brewer will be Smith’s backup when the 2012 season begins.  He is a solid defensive player, who can also help out offensively….if called upon.  Brewer played in 66 games (43 starts) for the Bulls last year and he averaged 24.8 minutes, 6.9 points, 3.5 rebounds, 2.1 assists and 1.1 steals per game.  He has now played in 418 games (267 starts) in his  first six years in the NFL and he is averaging 25.2 minutes, 9.0 points, 3.0 rebounds, 1.8 assists and 1.4 steals per game.  22-year old Iman Shumpert is targeting a January return for the Knicks.  He played in 59 games (35 starts) for the Knicks as a rookie last year and he averaged 28.9 minutes, 9.5 points, 3.2 rebounds, 2.8 assists and 1.7 steals per game.

PROJECTED GRADE FOR THE SHOOTING GUARDS IN 2012-13:  C+

The Knicks have rebuilt themselves at the point guard spot for the 2012-13 season.  They traded for 28-year old Raymond Felton to replace Jeremy Lin (signed with the Rockets) to be the new starting point guard in 2012-13.  You might remember Felton as he played for the Knicks before being dealt to the Nuggets in the Carmelo Anthony deal.  Felton played in 60 games (56 starts) for the Trailblazers last year and he averaged 31.8 minutes, 11.4 points, 2.5 rebounds, 6.5 assists and 1.3 steals per game.  Felton has now played in 534 games (479 starts) in his first seven years in the NBA and he is averaging 34.8 minutes, 13.4 points, 3.3 rebounds, 6.7 assists and 1.4 steals per game.  39-year old Jason Kidd was signed over the summer and he will be the #2 point guard in 2012-13 for the Knicks.  Kidd played in 48 games (all starts) for the Mavericks last year and he averaged 28.7 minutes, 6.2 points, 4.1 rebounds, 5.5 assists and 1.7 steals per game.  Kidd has now played in 1,315 games (1,302 starts) in his first 18 years in the NBA and he is averaging 36.6 minutes, 13.0 points, 6.4 rebounds, 9.0 assists and 1.9 steals per game.  The Knicks are hoping that Kidd can give them 15-20 solid minutes per night.  The Knicks also signed 35-year old Pablo Prigioni over the summer.  He played in 42 games in Spain and the Euroleague last year and he averaged 27.9 minutes, 6.8 points, 3.3 rebounds, 3.8 assists and 2.0 steals per game.  He will be sitting near the end of the bench.

PROJECTED GRADE FOR THE POINT GUARDS IN 2012-13:  B

The New York Knicks will be on the hunt for center help when free agency and trading begin on December 9th.  If the season started today, 28-year old Ronny Turiaf would be the starting center.  He played in 64 games (21 starts) for the Knicks last year and he averaged 17.8 minutes, 4.2 points, 3.2 rebounds, 1.4 assists and 1.1 blocked shots per game.  Turiaf has now played in 358 games (90 starts) in his his NBA career so far and he is averaging 17.9 minutes, 5.3 points, 3.8 rebounds, 1.5 assists and 1.4 blocked shots per game.  22-year old, second round pick Josh Harrellson would be the likely #2 center for the Knicks right now.  His game is built around rebounding and blocking shots.

29-year old power forward Amare 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 has now played in 594 games (577 starts) so far 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 so far in his career.  The Knicks need Stoudemire to keep up with his very solid presence in the paint both offensively and defensively in 2011-12.  27-year old Renaldo Balkman might get a chance to backup Stoudemire in 2011-12.  He played in 8 games (0 starts) for the Nuggets & Knicks last year and he averaged 7.8 minutes, 2.0 points, 0.9 rebounds and 0.3 assists per game.  Balkman has now played in 207 games (12 starts) in his NBA career and he is averaging 14.2 minutes, 4.1 points, 3.6 rebounds and 0.6 assists per game.

27-year old small forward Carmelo Anthony is ready for his first full year with the Knicks in 2011-12.  Anthony played in 77 games (all starts) for the Knicks & Nuggets last year and he averaged 35.7 minutes, 25.6 points, 7.3 rebounds and 2.9 assists per game.  He has now played in 591 games (all starts) in his NBA career and he is averaging 36.4 minutes, 24.8 points, 6.3 rebounds, 3.1 assists and 1.1 steals per game.  I look for Anthony to score close to 30 points per game for the Knicks in 2011-12.  24-year old Bill Walker will backup Anthony this year.  Walker played in 61 games (1 start) for the Knicks last year and he averaged 12.9 minutes, 4.9 points, 2.0 rebounds and 0.6 assists per game.  He has now played in 125 games (14 starts) so far in his NBA career and he is averaging 14.1 minutes, 5.7 points, 1.9 rebounds and 0.7 assists per game.

The Knicks are pretty young at shooting guard, but they aren’t without a lot of talent there.  23-year old Landry Fields stepped into the starting lineup for the Knicks last year as a rookie, and he did a great job.  Fields played in 82 games (81 starts) for the Knicks last year and he averaged 31.0 minutes, 9.7 points, 6.4 rebounds, 1.9 assists and 1.0 steal per game.  The Knicks have enough scorers to cover for Fields while he does a lot of the dirty work.  25-year old Andy Rautins didn’t get on the court much for the Knicks as a rookie last year.  He played in 5 games (0 starts) for the Knicks last year and he averaged 4.8 minutes, 1.6 points, 0.2 rebounds and 0.6 assists per game.  His game is shooting the ball, so he might get more of a shot this year for the Knicks.  21-year old Ian Shumpert was a first round pick out of Georgia Tech last June.  He only shot 39.6% from the floor in his career in college, so he might take some time to develop in the NBA.

The New York Knicks appear to be in solid shape at the point for 2011-12.  35-year old Chauncey Billups will be the starter once again in 2011-12.  He played in 72 games (all starts) for the Knicks & Nuggets last year and he averaged 32.1 minutes, 16.8 points, 2.6 rebounds, 5.4 assists and 1.0 steal per game.  He shot 40.2% from three point range last year, proving he can still knock down a open jumper.  Billups has now played in 982 games (888 starts) in his NBA career so far and he is averaging 32.3 minutes, 15.2 points, 2.9 rebounds, 5.6 assists and 1.0 steal per game.  25-year old Toney Douglas is currently the backup point guard and shooting guard for the Knicks right now.  He played in 81 games (9 starts) for the Knicks last year and he averaged 24.3 minutes, 10.6 points, 3.0 rebounds, 3.0 assists and 1.1 steals per game.  Douglas has now played in 137 games (21 starts) in his first two years with the Knicks and he has averaged 22.3 minutes, 9.8 points, 2.6 rebounds, 2.6 assists and 1.0 steal per game.