Knicks need injury luck, fresh thinking to end playoff drought

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It was a good joke that made its rounds in the early summer, right around the time the New York Knicks were acquiring Derrick Rose and Joakim Noah - alongside rumors they were interested in the likes of Dwight Howard.

"At this rate, the Knicks should be in contention for the 2011 NBA championship."

Touche.

Alas, New York did not sign Howard, instead adding other backcourt pieces in Courtney Lee and Brandon Jennings. The end result was a Knickerbocker offseason that was high on turnover in hopes of ending the franchise's four-year postseason absence.

How that will pan out remains to be seen. The distance between floor and ceiling of this Knicks team is one of the largest in the league this season, which is what tends to happen when new acquisitions carry the mileage and injury baggage that this crop does.

Related: 2016-17 NBA Season Preview: New York Knicks

Rose and Jennings alone have missed a combined 195 games over the past three seasons, mostly the result of potentially career-altering injuries to ligaments and tendons in the knee and Achilles, respectively. Rose also has a sexual assault lawsuit hanging over him amid word the Los Angeles Police Department is investigating the matter. Joakim Noah, now past the wrong side of 30, missed 53 contests last year and was essentially called washed-up by the 80-year-old owner of the Chicago Bulls.

Then again, motivation should count for something. Rose, Noah, and Jennings all have something to prove. Despite criticism of the move, Rose's game may actually fit with the hybrid triangle of sorts that new coach Jeff Hornacek plans to run. Rose has never been a pass-first point guard - or for that matter, a great shooter - but his penchant for driving and attacking the basket could work here.

Rose hasn't averaged more than five assists per game since 2011-12, when he suffered a torn left ACL in the playoffs. In fact, last season he posted the lowest assist percentage of his eight-year career.

So while red flags may pop up considering he's about to take the floor with Carmelo Anthony, Melo doesn't seem to be having any of it.

"I've never played alongside a guy like Derrick," Anthony told reporters on Monday. "To play alongside an explosive guy like Derrick, someone who can pick the pace up, who can push the pace throughout the course of the game, someone who's a threat at that position ... I haven't felt like this in a long time."

On the flip side, this dynamic exists with Anthony coming off a career year in assists. The 11-time All-Star made a concerted effort to involve his teammates more last season, something undoubtedly helped by the arrival of Kristaps Porzingis. Anthony even dished off a potential game-winning shot against the San Antonio Spurs last season to the now-departed Jose Calderon, something he admitted he probably wouldn't have done previously.

It's also clear that Anthony's best basketball over the last few years has been played as a stretch-four, even though he only saw about eight percent of his minutes there last season, according to Nylon Calculus.

This is where questions about Noah begin to emerge. The 31-year-old center underwent shoulder surgery in January, and has been tasked with the role of interior defensive anchor. It's hard to believe he will play more than 25 minutes a game over 82 nights, so the idea of sliding the skilled, 7-foot-3 Porzingis to the five at times with Anthony at power forward becomes quite palatable, at least offensively.

Hornacek, known for his ability to adapt to the talent he's presented with, will certainly employ this combination more than it was used last season. Even team president Phil Jackson has conceded that his beloved triangle system could use a tuneup in the age of optimal spacing.

Those are the best-case scenarios for this year's Knicks. If the team can stay relatively healthy, simply breaking the playoff drought shouldn't be a problem.

Beyond that, who knows.

But yeah, this would have been a hell of an electric team in 2011.