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New York Knicks lock horns with Chicago Bulls

Will play theiropening game at the Madison Square Garden
New York: For the New York Knicks, the start couldn’t have been tougher. Not necessarily the strongest of the Eastern contenders, the Knicks go up against the formidable and supremely talented Chicago Bulls in their opening game of the season at their home base at Madison Square Garden on Wednesday night. New coach Derek Fisher, entrusted with the task of shaping the Knicks’ destiny for the 2014-15 season knows much of the team’s success will depend on star forward Carmelo Anthony. The 30-year-old ‘Melo’, who doubles up as small forward or power forward was unsurprisingly, the standout performer for the Knicks in the last season playing a career-high 38.7 minutes per game.
The Knicks, who settled on their final 15-man roster just a couple of days ago, traded in veteran Travis Outlaw to the Philadelphia 76ers to find a spot for rookie Travis Wear, who has been impressive during training but with a starter in Jason Smith and back-ups in Quincy Acy and Andrea Bargnani, it remains to be seen how much of active play Wear will put in.That said, it’s the Bulls, who hold all the aces especially with the return of star point guard Derrick Rose to their enviable squad. Roping in NCAA’s fifth all-time leading scorer in Doug McDermott to team up with veteran Pau Gasol and the emerging Joakim Noah, the Bulls go into the season on an expectedly confident note before they run into the Minnesota Timberwolves at Minneapolis.
Rose, who missed the entire 2012-13 campaign before recovering from a knee injury, is seemingly back to his best as evidenced from reports of his sterling show against LeBron James’ Cleveland Cavaliers in a pre-season game last week.The Bulls are also expectedly buoyant with the arrival of Nikola Mirotic, who’s made a big splash in Europe before joining the Bulls from the Wolves after Houston Rockets had initially picked him in the 2011 draft. Coach Tom Thibodeau isn’t yet sold his rotation system, especially concerning McDermott and Mirotic but an inkling of his strategy for the new season will be on view on Wednesday as the Bulls look to tear down the Knicks.
Having been ‘Most Valuable Player’ in the Spanish League at Real Madrid, the 23-year-old Mirotic is already a big hit with the Bulls’ supporters and the 6’10” point guard is equally excited about making his debut in the NBA. Mirotic is tipped for greatness with his shooting abilities and ball-handling and moving to Chicago with his wife and four-year-oild son could well chart his journey on that path.
“It’s tough but we know this is good for us. It’s a great moment for my career to be here because this is the best way I can grow as a player,” Mirotic is reported to have said. A rookie in Mirotic and a nine-year veteran in Kirk Hinrich, the Bulls seemingly have a balanced roster and as the show starts rolling at Madison, the Knicks will be hard pressed to rein in the Bulls.
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