Power Ranking New York Knicks Players Heading into 2014-15 NBA Season

With game 1 two weeks away, the New York Knicks' power rankings look like this: Power forwards bringing up the rear. Swingmen deadlocked. Former Mavericks leading the charge. An undrafted rookie looking to unseat a veteran. A star searching for his place. It's all about as sturdy as quicksand.

A wise woman never puts much stock in preseason stats and hardly any in preseason losses. Nevertheless, the Knicks' four recent match-ups have much to tell about who's committed, who's improving and who's making the coaches happy. 

Despite all the attention on the triangle offense, head coach Derek Fisher has made it abundantly clear that defense and team unity are his highest priorities. With those things in mind—paying particular attention to defensive intensity, passing frequency, passing ability and overall attitude—here's how the Knicks players stack up right now.

Three players invited to training camp are unlikely to make the New York Knicks' final roster; maybe the Westchester Knicks' roster.

Langston Galloway: The 22-year-old undrafted guard from St. Joseph's has only played one preseason game so far. In 11 minutes, he created one assist, allowed one turnover, grabbed one rebound and scored zero points.

Orlando Sanchez: A 26-year-old undrafted power forward from the Dominican Republic, Sanchez played for St. John's University in 2013-14. He averaged 7.4 points and 5.6 rebounds per game and shot 51.1 percent from the field for St. John's last season. He made only a brief appearance at the tail end of the Knicks' win against the Philadelphia 76ers last night.

D.J. Mbenga: A 33-year-old seven-footer, Mbenga bounced around the NBA from 2004 to 2011, then played in Asia, most recently in the Phillippines. He logged five minutes in one Knicks preseason game, sinking one bucket and nabbing one rebound.

The Knicks obtained 11-year forward Travis Outlaw in the trade with the Sacramento Kings that brought Outlaw and Quincy Acy to New York and sent Jeremy Tyler out west.

Outlaw is certainly capable of scoring big numbers—he dropped 24 on the Oklahoma City Thunder in April—but has yet to show those skills while wearing blue and orange. In 15 minutes of Knicks preseason play, Outlaw has attempted six shots, and missed every one.

If Outlaw impresses Fisher at the next opportunity (assuming there is one), he may hold down his seat on the bench. If not, he's at risk of losing his job to the next guy on the list. 

If Outlaw squanders his preseason opportunities, the Knicks may send him packing and content themselves with Travis Wear, a 6'10" and 230 pounds undrafted forward out of UCLA, who's already winning fans in New York. 

Crowds have been impressed by Wear's hustle, court vision and 50 percent field goal average during his four preseason appearances. If he keeps stealing the ball as well as the guards do (he's averaging 0.8 per game), New Yorkers will welcome this California boy with open arms.

Unfortunately, the Knicks' frontcourt roster is a bit crowded right now, so Wear is probably headed to the D-League—hopefully bound for Westchester.  

Andrea Bargnani wasn't bad in the Knicks' first preseason match-up: 8 points, 5 rebounds, 42.9 field goal percentage and a demonstrated effort to move the ball.

Yet, after the bone-headed plays and spotty shooting of last season, Bargnani has a lot to prove—but he hasn't had a chance to prove anything, because a new hamstring injury has kept him off the court the last three games. Fisher expects to have Bargs back on the hardwood soon, but for now, he's relegated to the bottom of the list.

At the end of the 2013-14 season, Cole Aldrich had a chance to prove that he deserved his place in the NBA and could handle playing more than just garbage minutes. In two preseason match-ups, Aldrich has averaged 5 points and 4.5 rebounds. Plus, he is the only true center available to back up Samuel Dalembert.

Regardless, Aldrich will probably not be Fisher's go-to center when Dalembert takes a break. Fish will more likely call upon Amar'e Stoudemire...but that might change if STAT doesn't pick up his game.

Amar'e Stoudemire's attitude is, as always, excellent—focused, optimistic, entirely committed to system and enthusiastic about the mindfulness expert the Knicks have employed.

"Everyone has thoughts that creep into their mind. But you want to make sure you eliminate those as quickly as you can," said Stoudemire, per ESPNNewYork.com's Ian Begley. "It will definitely help, for sure.

STAT could still prove to be the Knicks' best starting center. At the moment, though, he's still learning how to pass the ball. Once ball movement becomes more natural to him, Amar'e will climb up the ranks. He still has the right combo of power and finesse to muscle to the bucket—better than anyone else on the team. 

Jason Smith is new to the blue-and-orange, and still shaking the rust off, after an injury in January ended his season with the New Orleans Pelicans. He is not a fantastic defender. He doesn't own the rim in the way that Amar'e does. Yet Smith's passing prowess alone inches him above STAT and Bargnani in the power forward category.

In last night's game, Smith pulled some sleight-of-hand, tricking the Sixers' defense with quick behind-the-back dishes. J.R. Smith returned the favor, with a beautiful behind-the-back Smith-to-Smith assist. 

Jason Smith has also shown off a variety of sweet jumpers, shooting 50 percent from the field.

The Knicks were lucky to grab rookie small forward Cleanthony Early (6'8", 219 lb) in the second round of the draft. Some fans have been clamoring to see the Wichita State kid leap off the bench as soon as Carmelo Anthony takes a breather—but before Early can be 'Melo's understudy, he needs to smooth out some rough edges.

Early is shooting well—47.1 percent from the field, 36.4 percent from behind the arc—but he's been sloppy in other areas. Overzealous defense is getting him in early foul trouble and careless passes are causing him to turn the ball over twice per game.

Everyone loves Pablo Prigioni. Never in the course of history has he allowed an opponent to inbound the ball peacefully, without an Argentinian point guard in their way. He chucks up shots with all the grace of a sixth-grader, and surprises fans when they miraculously go through the bucket.

Prigioni's place as a back-up point guard is pretty much set in stone. He's pesky on defense and loves passing, to a fault—just the sort of guy Fisher is looking for.

Yet, there's another point guard itching for some of Prigioni's playing time, and he just might get it... 

Shane Larkin, the 5'11" sophomore guard the Knicks picked up in the Dallas trade, is playing big minutes in the preseason—plenty of time to convince Derek Fisher that he might be a better option than Prigioni when Jose Calderon sits down. Larkin has the potential to do just that, but he needs to settle down and tighten up his game.

Larkin's uncanny speed is exhilarating to watch, but sometimes his legs are too fast for his mind. Occasionally, he'll zip down the court like lightning, but won't think to shoot or pass until he's about to run right through the courtside photographers. 

On the defensive end, he's got the hops to snatch rebounds and steal cross-court passes that nobody his size has any business reaching. Plus, he has the speed and tenacity to annoy three players at once. Unfortunately, like Early, he can get overzealous with his defending and get into foul trouble.

I could shuffle the Knicks' three swingmen back-and-forth all night. J.R. Smith, Tim Hardaway, Jr. and Iman Shumpert are all playing well and any one of them could be sitting in the starting 2 spot on Oct. 29. 

At this particular moment in time, Tim Hardaway, Jr. is on the bottom. Yes, his average scoring stats are great—12.8 points per game, behind only 'Melo (13.0)—and he's gotten to the line more than any of his teammates. Yet the averages are a bit misleading; Hardaway's shooting efficiency has been inconsistent (which, admittedly, doesn't mean much over the course of only four games).

More importantly, Hardaway seems on edge; impatient to become a star and a starter. The look in his eyes bears too much resemblance to that of Iman Shumpert's during his frustrating 2013-14 season. Hardaway's playing angry—and that can be dangerous. Already, he's tied with Quincy Acy for most turnovers (2.5 per game).   

J.R. Smith hasn't begun shooting the ball with the beautiful precision he's capable of (38.9 FG%). Yet he's showing his value in other ways.

At those gut-squeezing moments when the old J.R. would hurl up an ill-advised contested shot, the new J.R. (usually) passes the ball with an ease and willingness many Knicks observers would find shocking. 

Smith is also stepping up on the other end of the floor. His help defense is improving and he's averaging one steal per game. 

The big surprise of the preseason is Quincy Acy, the 24-year-old, 6'8" power forward the Knicks obtained from the Sacramento Kings in the offseason. Derek Fisher put Acy in the starting lineup, and it's quite possible he'll stay there when the regular season kicks off.

Acy's real value is on the defensive end. He's tied with Jose Calderon for most steals per game (1.3) and he's blocked some shots; but it's the intangibles that make him so useful. Acy just has a gift for being exactly where defenders don't want him to be: in the way. 

Unfortunately, Acy is far more effective without the rock than with it. He turns the ball over quite a bit (2.5 per game). Turnovers are high across the board—a tolerable symptom of passing the ball so often—but Acy's are coming both from sloppy passing and weak ball handling.

Remember when I said that Iman Shumpert's shaky confidence could be the Knicks' worst weak spot this season? Well, if Shump's attitude this October is any indication, that won't be a problem.

The scrappy, happy-go-lucky neophyte New Yorkers fell in love with has returned. As NBA announcer Mike Breen said during last night's game, "Shumpert's playing with that joy again."

After taking a solo vacation and handing his social media accounts over to his agents, Shump seems free of distractions and ready to ball. As he said after the win over the Celtics Oct. 11, "New offense, new system, everything's fresh. Your mind's fresh. You're not thinking about other things. All you're thinking about is playing hard, trying to stay consistent, and stay within the offense. So, everything was fun today."

Shump currently leads the team in assists, with 4.0 per game. Even better, he hasn't parked in the corner waiting for a three ball even once.

Not only is Samuel Dalembert blocking more shots than anyone else (2.5 per game), he's also got a smooth mid-range jumper that's falling through the hoop with more ease than his teammates' attempts. The 33-year-old center who came over in the Dallas trade is shooting over 70 percent from the field during the preseason. That's not unheard of for a center whose bread-and-butter is dunking, but quite impressive for a big man taking so many jumpers.

Dalembert may not be as athletic as Stoudemire, nor able to rain down threes like Bargnani, but his improving jumpers might spread the floor a wee bit more, and that wee bit may be just enough for the offense to thrive. On defense, Dalembert is the clear winner at the 5 spot. 

Who said Jose Calderon was too slow (other than me)? The Knicks have not been troubled by the veteran point guard's slow feet, because his hands and mind are plenty quick.

Calderon completes passes and launches shots with minimal hesitation and keeps the offense moving. He's also the only point guard on the roster who's a serious shooter (45.5 FG%, 50.0 3FG%).

He's been praised by both his teammates and his coach. “We’re proud to have Jose’s leadership, his personality, as I’ve said before, his composure his poise under duress and stress," Fisher said, per Peter Botte of the New York Daily News.

"Jose does what he wants to do on the floor. He doesn’t allow defenses or players to speed him up and force him to do things he’s not comfortable with doing. To have a guy like that in control of the basketball in a lot of situations for us is going to be an invaluable asset ... I think he does everything well."

The Carmelo Anthony Shooting Gallery has not opened yet this season—he's only leading the team with a measly 13.0 points per game and 46.3 field goal percentage. (Tragic!) Nevertheless, 'Melo is still the only guy whose place in the starting lineup is never in doubt. 

Nor should it be. This new offense is an enormous change for Anthony, and he's showing nothing but commitment to it. Oh there have been a few possessions when he dribbled and shot when he should have passed, but compared to playing the isolation ball of yester-season, this play from 'Melo is positively hands-off. 

Anthony scored 17 yesterday in front of his old Syracuse University crowd with hardly any fanfare at all, and helped his teammates make their own shots. It's a different sort of leadership role than he's used to, but it could be precisely what his team needs to win the division. 

Follow Sara Peters on Twitter @3FromThe7.