Before Darko came to the Knicks last season, he worked on his "Blue Steel" look. This summer he decided instead to work on his game. Turns out that was more useful. Go figure.

Former bench boy Knick Darko Milicic returned to New York with his new team, the Minnesota Timberwolves, hoping to issue another beat down.  Antony Marino had this to say about it:

Just sixty minutes before one of the great disasters in American aviation history, the New York Knicks—victorious in nine out of ten games—prepared for payback against the Minnesota Timberwolves. Whether it is more obviously absurd that the Knicks had accomplished this brilliant feat or that any NBA team should have to avenge a loss to the hapless Wolves, I cannot say. Nevertheless, it was sure to be a winnable game, and with the soft underbelly of the 2010 schedule fading fast, it was a game the Knicks had to have.

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Maybe Darko Milicic (R, shooting over Pau Gasol) finally gained the maturity to succeed this year. (Source: Yardbarker.com)

While some speculated that Darko Milicic, the former glued-to-the-bench Knick traded to the Minnesota Timberwolves last year, would seek revenge in last night’s game, instead he showed maturity, acknowledging he was the problem, not Coach Mike D’Antoni.  As the New York Post reported, he even gave helpful advice to the Knicks’ new Russian center Timofey Mozgov:

During Worlds, Timofey Mozgov had this impressive block on the Phoenix Suns' Goran Dragic from the other side of the basket. It's plays like these that has Knick coach Mike D'Antoni giddy. (Source: Yardbarker.com)

As the New York Post reported, Knick coach Mike D’Antoni is gaga for new Russian center Timofey Mozgov.

“I’m trying to hold down, curb my enthusiasm,” D’Antoni said of Mozgov. “I think he can play. I don’t see anything bad.”

D’Antoni has tried to stop himself from gushing over Mozgov like he used to gush over Danilo Gallinari and David Lee. But D’Antoni has already called Mozgov training camp’s brightest light.

[...]  D’Antoni even marveled at Mozgov during yesterday’s light practice.

“I watched him,” D’Antoni said. “He can shot the ball, nice rhythm. He has a learning curve. But he’s smart. He makes foul shots. His confidence is good. He’s definitely not shying away, attacking the basket.”

One quick comment, and this is just something odd I’m pointing out, so don’t put extra weight in this, but since we’ve been talking about race issues this past week, isn’t it kinda odd that all three of D’Antoni’s faves have been honkeys?

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Ronny Turiaf (shown here rejecting Baron Davis, aka Boom Dizzle) could be our starting center. But on the other hand, couldn't he remain glued to the bench? (Source: Yardbarker.com)

Yesterday, in Part I of this preview, we discussed how Coach Mike D’Antoni tends to prefer a shorter rotation (meaning a bunch of our 15 person roster won’t see the court) and what types of players excite or disgust him.  One new note, based on a press conference that D’Antoni and Knicks President Donnie Walsh held (which Buckets reader Brendan linked to in the comments section of Part I, and which Chris Sheridan and many others have reported) is that apparently Coach is enamored with Timofey Mozgov after seeing him practice in person for the last few days:

“Have to see how he adapts to the NBA game, but at 7-1, 270 pounds, he’s maybe our most athletic guy, that runs, that’s a great guy, that has great hands and knows how to play,” D’Antoni said. “(Watching him) I’m like, ‘Yeah, what am I missing?’ So I’m happy with him and excited about the possibility. We have a lot of guys we should be excited about the possibilities.”

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Wilson Chandler, aka Wil The Thrill, has been one of the few good Knicks the last two years. Will he be a starter again this season, or could he >gasp< find himself glued to the bench? (Source: Yardbarker.com)

With a few days before training camp and positional battles begin, today we discuss who will likely be the Knick starters, part of the rotation, and the bench boys.  We have considerable depth, but as we said when discussing previews from other sites, Coach Mike D’Antoni has consistently shown himself to be someone who likes a short rotation.  Why?  A combination of it being easier to develop chemistry amongst a smaller group and the fact that he literally doesn’t seem to trust lots of players.

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Many view Kevin Durant as the Second Coming. We see him and the Thunder more likely coming Third through Sixth. (Source: Yardbarker.com)

On Wednesday we discussed what the Eastern Conference Playoff picture looks like, and today we go west, young man.  We’d already previously examined how much teams improved/regressed during the off-season, but now we’re talking about how they stack up against each other.  Meaning, we gave Orlando a zero for their summer and the Wizards a +2, but now we’re here to tell you that yes, of course Orlando is still gonna be far better.  For those who haven’t seen those posts on off-season grades, click the following links to see what we had to say about the Northwest, Atlantic, Central, Southeast, Pacific and Southwest Divisions.  Also, we’re only gonna be talking about the regular season here.  So even though we don’t think the Celts will be a top two team record-wise, it doesn’t mean we think they’re incapable of making it through the gauntlet again.  Lastly, some teams will be put in clusters ‘cuz they’ll likely end up with similar records and what does a victory or two here and there matter amongst friends?

#1 – Lakers

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Is Stephon Marbury playing in a high school gym? No, that's China. (Source: Yardbarker.com)

With only 5 Knicks returning from last year, if you haven’t been keeping track of things this summer, you may wonder where everyone else ended up?  Here are some one-line updates and links for those answers:

-Al Harrington signed with the Denver Nuggets.

-Chris Duhon joined the Orlando Magic.

-David Lee was sign-and-traded to the Golden State Warriors.  He was trying out for the USA World Championship team but broke his finger and had to withdraw (which is a shame ‘cuz the team is undersized and could’ve used him — plus maybe it would’ve gotten him to focus on his defense more).  The man is still the ultimate mensch, returning to New York to attend the funeral of a Knicks security guard (and alas, the only Knick, er, or former Knick, to do so).  And how did he spend his first full day in the Bay Area?

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On a more interesting note, Nate Robinson is to sit out tonight’s game, implying that a trade for him could/should be finalized for him this evening.

Anywho, the Knicks have been in lots of talks as of late so if you don’t mind I’ll catch you up on some things.

The Knicks are very high on foreign post players this offseason as the Knicks are looking to acquire Darko Millic for Q-Rich and also looking at Martin Gortat.

I like the Gortat move because of how week our frontcourt is, but the Millic swap is virtually useless and really shows how much Richardson has fallen out favor in this system. I’ll really miss Q-Rich if he’s traded, but not quite on the level of Crawford. Both are great players on the court and off and I’ll miss Q-Rich’s upbeat attitude and electricity he brings to the table.

And in other Wizardly Walsh’s daily happenings (lame nickname right?) Stephen Curry may not be the guy for us in the fall. He’s slowly dropping in stock and may not even be chosen if he’s there. It’s clear we’re looking for a PG in the first round and if Walsh can pull off a move that gives us the 2nd or 3rd pick he’ll have sold me forever. Rubio is a fantastic PG and has all the tools to be one of the best in the league. He is much more physical and built then Stephen Curry, but Curry has the edge in the shot department. Shots can be molded overtime but the skills Rubio has in the PG slot are unable to be taught at this stage in a player’s game.

Getting the #2 pick would probably require Chandlers departure along with our pick and possibly David Lee or Nate Robinson in a sign/trade situation.

Jennings has also impressed a lot and high on Walsh’s board. I’d welcome Jennings just as much as Rubio just because of how much Jennings wants to prove himself. He thinks he’s the best available and wants to prove it on the court. Jennings already has experience like Rubio overseas and has a better jumpshot. Jennings would also be a great fit here and would obviously be welcome to D’Antoni’s system.

With all of that said I guess we can assume the next few days are going to be very interesting.