Can anyone beat GS & nine other questions for NBA this season

In an ideal world for the Knicks, Frank Ntilikina would be ready. But he’s not. The 19-year-old missed Summer League and all but one preseason game because of a sore knee, bringing up early questions about his durability. He is expected to return from the injury for the opener, but off the bench. It means Ramon Sessions will likely be the starting point guard, and he’s a stop-gap journeyman playing on his ninth team in 10 years. After letting go of Derrick Rose, the Knicks are on their fifth starting point guard in five years.

Tim Hardaway Jr. got the big contract and he’s going to have the opportunity to live up to it. At four years, $71 million, most people thought the 25-yearold was not worth the risk. But on this Knicks squad, he represents either the No. 1 or 2 scoring option, depending on the opponent. Defense is still a concern, but Hardaway Jr. is much better for having developed in the Hawks system, rather than suffering through the final two seasons of Phil Jackson’s tenure. He can shoot, for sure. But can he create his own shot? Can he defend? Those are two big questions as Hardaway Jr. transitions into a featured player.

The Knicks don’t have a surefire starter, but Courtney Lee seems to have the edge heading into the opener at OKC. He’s small for the position and will have problems against the likes of Carmelo Anthony. But Lee is a gamer. He defends, plays within his limitations and can hit an open 3-pointer. He’s also in the second season of a four-year, $50 million deal. deficiencies. O’Quinn is more of a bruiser. Either way, we can imagine Hornacek agonizing over how to divide the minutes. It’s why a midseason trade wouldn’t be surprising.

Since two or three starting positions are fluid, it’s difficult to assess the bench. But the Knicks are fairly deep with Doug McDermott serving as a sharpshooting forward backup, Ntilikina as the defensive-minded point guard and whoever isn’t starting at center. An influx of wings to the roster — including rookie Damyean Dotson — seems to have left Mindaugas Kuzminskas out of the rotation. At least for a little while, we probably won’t be hearing the “Kuzzzzz” chant from the Garden crowd.

Jeff Hornacek didn’t exactly earn much esteem with last season’s 31-51 squad. There were issues with the offense, the defense, the direction, the locker room and layers of chaos. But he did have an excuse: Phil Jackson. Now free from the triangle shackles and everything else that accompanied the Zen Master, Hornacek will get a chance to show that he can lead a team — or at least keep it together during what will certainly be a losing campaign. His previous stop in Phoenix was a mixed bag, and he’s operating now in New York in the tenuous position of being the previous team president’s hire.

— Stefan Bondy

It seems like only yesterday that Kevin Durant and his mother Wanda were standing on a podium inside Oracle Arena lifting the Larry O’Brien trophy. That’s how the 2016-17 NBA season ended and barring any unforeseen mishaps, this year should conclude in similar fashion.

“The Warriors are gonna win forever if everything stays the same… this season is over,” Jeff Van Gundy told me on SiriusXM NBA Radio recently. “We’re gonna play it out, and the Warriors are gonna win. And then the next year it’s gonna be the same thing.”

The Golden State Warriors are odds on favorites to repeat as NBA Champions so the question of “who will win the title” is fairly straightforward. But there are other pressing issues that need to be addressed in advance of Opening Night on Tuesday. Here are the most pressing questions:

1. Is there anything — an injury, complacency, locker room turmoil, tidal wave — that can stop the machine that is the Warriors?

The short answer is, no. Consider this: on Feb. 28 Durant suffered a knee injury 93 seconds into a game against the Wizards. Durant then missed the Warriors next 20 games, including four losses in their first six games without him. But once Golden State settled in, they ran off 14 straight wins. When Durant returned, they went 20-2 including a 16-1 playoff record.

So the best team lost its best player for a mere month and didn’t skip a beat. The Warriors, with Durant, Steph Curry, Klay Thompson and Draymond Green leading the way, are the very definition of a super team.

So the long answer is they may be unbeatable.

2. Is this LeBron James’ final season in Cleveland?

The regular season, the playoffs and the offseason will be hijacked by James, the league’s best player who knows how to create and control drama better than anyone.

The Cavs, having traded Kyrie Irving to Boston, are deeper than last year’s team that reached its third straight NBA Finals. The key will be when and if Isaiah Thomas comes back from a hip injury. For now, Derrick Rose is the starter but a healthy Thomas gives Cleveland a puncher’s chance against Golden State.

It has been speculated for months that James will leave as a free agent next summer and that his preferred destination is the Los Angeles Lakers. But why move into the same division, much less same conference, as the mighty Warriors? The smart play for LeBron is to re-sign with Cleveland for at least one more year and then move west. You’ll be hearing plenty about this all season.

3. Can Carmelo Anthony and the revamped Oklahoma City Thunder pose a legitimate threat to Golden State?

Few executives had a better summer than Sam Presti, the OKC president who acquired both Carmelo and Paul George in trades. Presti then capped his offseason by resigning Russell Westbrook, the reigning MVP who averaged a triple-double last season.

Westbrook has the talent he needs to make a deep playoff run and this is a great opportunity for Anthony to prove that he’s still one of the league’s top forwards after sitting home for four straight postseasons. The Thunder should be in the Western Conference Finals.

4. Can Kristaps Porzingis emerge as a franchise player on a team that is clearly tanking?

This is Porzingis’ show now for