1. Can Derek Fisher coach?
Phil Jackson thinks the world of his former Laker guard, who won five rings and was always viewed as a top-notch leader when he played 17 NBA seasons. But Fisher needs to show he can do more than handle X’s and O’s and get this team to play defense as he tries to make the difficult transition from playing to immediately directing a team. He never played in New York, so he’s about to find out how challenging it can be for coaches to survive in the NBA’s No. 1 media market, especially leading a high-profile franchise that hasn’t won a title since 1973.
2. Will the Triangle Offense work in New York?
NBA legend and Triangle expert Shaquille O’Neal, who won his one regular-season MVP playing in Jackson’s offense for the Lakers, said it takes a minimum of two superstars to make the offense click. So the Knicks are one short, with only Carmelo Anthony in the fold. Said Shaq on Monday during an appearance for TNT’s “Inside the NBA’’ in New York, considering the Knicks’ roster, “I’m going to call the names out: Amar’e (Stoudemire) and J.R. (Smith). When you have Carmelo and four guys going well every night the Knicks can finish sixth or seventh. But if one guy is going three for 18, that ain’t going to work. If the other guy is missing 30 games, that ain’t going to work. I hope they don’t think I’m not being respectful, but if the Knicks want to be something this year those two guys are going to have to step up.”
3. How will Anthony adapt to the new offense?
After turning down the chance to leave and compete for a title right away in Chicago or Houston, Anthony seems to have come in with the right mindset. But for his entire NBA career he’s been used to having the ball in his hands and dictating how the offense goes. That has to change, so it figures to be an adjustment at times for the team’s top player. At least Anthony is saying the right things, already dismissing the notion that he will be out to capture a second scoring title as a Knick.
4. What will the Knicks get out of Amar’e Stoudemire and Andrea Bargnani?
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It’s up in the air. Best-case scenario, Stoudemire shows he can stay healthy and gives Anthony scoring help. Preseason was a washout for the oft-injured Bargnani, who will miss the first few games because of a hamstring problem. Looking ahead, both big men come off the Knicks’ salary ledger this coming summer, freeing up money to pursue free agents, starting with Memphis center Marc Gasol.
5. Do you expect team owner Jim Dolan to get involved?
Dolan swears he will change his meddling ways and leave Jackson alone, as the Zen Master tries to show a winning touch in his first full season as a team president. “This is the first time in a long time that I think Mr. Dolan is probably going to stay out of it,’’ Charles Barkley said during TNT’s media day. “He’s been too hands on. They’re going to be better... because they don’t have that chaos and all the noise. Last year, every week it was ‘Is Mike Woodson going to get fired?’ It’s tough. You read the paper every day ‘Is Mike Woodson going to get fired today or tomorrow?’ You can’t play under that. You at least have a window where that’s not going to happen.’’
6. Will Jackson make his mark as a team executive by pulling off in-season trades?
The $60 million president is expected to go about his job very slowly and deliberately. So don’t expect the kind of impetuous moves that marked Isiah Thomas’ tenure when he ran the Knicks. Jackson’s next big moves will likely come in the summer during free agency.
7. Will J.R. Smith bounce back and have a big season?
Not right away, that’s for sure. Dennis Rodman called Smith “the new Rodman,’’ but the 2013 Sixth Man Award winner struggled in preseason with making a positive impact on the floor. He also raised eyebrows when he predicted that it will take “two to three months’’ to play in the new offense without having to think about what to do.
8. Can Jose Calderon help as the team’s new point guard?
He’s a major upgrade from the departed Raymond Felton and should fill the role of the team’s floor leader. Calderon is considered by Jackson to be ideal to run the offense because of his high basketball IQ. On the flip side, he’s always been a defensive liability, in previous stops in Toronto, Detroit and Dallas. Something to watch: The only two times Anthony got out of the first round of the playoffs, he responded positively to having two no-nonsense point guards on the floor, in Chauncey Billups in Denver, and Jason Kidd in 2013 with the Knicks. We’ll see if Calderon commands that level of respect from the team’s No. 1 player.
9. Will the Knicks miss Tyson Chandler?
Not the Chandler from last season, who played poorly and publicly second-guessed Woodson’s defensive strategies before being shipped back to Dallas. But they will miss Chandler, at least the 2013 model, who won the NBA’s Defensive Player of the Year award. Sam Dalembert and the rest of the team’s big men will need to make an impact at the defensive end of the floor for the Knicks to make the playoffs.
10. Will the Knicks make the playoffs?
In the East, they’ve got a legitimate shot, since only Cleveland and Chicago are locks to make the post-season. Despite a new system, a rookie coach and some glaring holes in the roster, they should have a chance to grab one of the final playoff berths.
Longtime New York columnist Mitch Lawrence continues to write about pro basketball, as he’s done for the last 21 years. His columns for NBCNewYork.com on the Knicks, Brooklyn Nets and the NBA, along with other major sports, will appear twice weekly. Follow him on Twitter @Mitch _ Lawrence.
