Predicting Surprises

I'm predicting 40 wins this year.

Tonight the Knicks will need to re-establish a tradition of winning at home. My guess is that they beat Miami with a superior offensive game.

Because the Knicks are not odds favorites to win anything, fans will be keeping a close eye on the injury situation of teams that need to win now and there are plenty of them. In the current economic climate few teams can afford to get off to a lousy start. Those that do will either trade for help or think about moving to Seattle.

Tonight the Knicks field a team that will never look back. Eddy Curry is going to have to work very hard to play again. I doubt that Zach, Lee, Gallanari, or Jeffries will let up their desire to play. That leaves Curry in a position to shape up or consider becoming an over-sized comedy duo with Jerome James in a Big Momma sequel.

Curry's benching has a strange sense of deja vu to it. Last year, Curry informed Marbury that he was being benched which set off the entire Marbury/Thomas disaster.

Yesterday, Curry was told by the press and not D'Antoni that he would be guarding the Gatorade. My guess is that Curry is traded at the first opportunity.

****************************************************************************

If TNT and ESPN have decided to eliminate Knicks games from the schedule their sponsors should accept the fact that nobody will be buying their product. Love them or hate them, the Knicks draw an audience that few other teams can claim.

Barkley will be howling to a lonely studio. I sure as hell am not tuning in if the Knicks aren't featured.