As sure as the sun rising in the morning and the stars coming out at night, there's another certainty floating around our otherwise uncertain universe: the Knicks, a problematic 30-52 in 2001-02, will be a better team this year.

Probably playoff-contender better.

The reason behind the optimism? Try TALENT. Sure, it may not be perfectly chemical talent (there is an absence of great size and a serious shotblocking threat) and it may be a bit overlapping talent (Allan Houston and Latrell Sprewell are both natural two guards). But, tossing aside all the injury-induced gloom-and-doom so fashionable in the media for the moment, there aren't many teams in the NBA that wouldn't like to have three All-Stars (Houston, Sprewell, and awesome summer addition Antonio McDyess) and another outstanding player who averaged nearly a double-double (forward-center Kurt Thomas, at 13.9 ppg, 9.1 rpg) last year, in the lineup.

"We have some very gifted guys on this team," Houston said, while his eyes took in the team's natty new Training Center on Knicks Media Day. "Sure, some of them will have to play a little out of position. But you know what? This is not a perfect universe. In fact, in the NBA, nothing is perfect. I challenge you to show me one team in this league that has no problems."

Visions of Shaq's toe -- yes, we do have a wide-screen imagination -- prevented us from picking up that particular gauntlet. Fact remains, pro hoops – unlike its college counterpart – always has been, still is, and will forever remain a players' game. Talent rules. Now, in order to make it also rock, the question becomes what do you do WITH that talent?

"There's only one thing I can promise you," Knicks coach Don Chaney said with an emphatic nod. "This year, around here, things will be DIFFERENT."

To which we can only say, vive la' difference.

So, while even the most ornery of observers could come up with at least a hundred good ones, here are the Top Ten reasons why the Knicks will be improved this year:

Coach Don Chaney has a full training camp to merge the talent on this season's Knicks.

1. Have we mentioned TALENT? McDyess is the most powerful post player this franchise has had since, well, Patrick Ewing. With all due respect to Marcus Camby and Mark Jackson – and there is plenty due – Dice is in another stratosphere.

"Mark was a great locker room and floor leader – and Marcus added a certain energy to this team whenever he was out there," Houston said. "But McDyess gives us something different: a legitimate low-post option on offense that this team very much needed. He'll give us another primetime threat from another area of the floor. He'll have to be guarded, closely. With all the double teams Antonio will command, I think Latrell and I should have a much easier time to gear up our game this year."

Which will give the Knicks.....

2. BALANCE, something the great John Wooden swore upon as the No. 1 key to success in basketball – and life. Last year, the Knicks were an almost all-perimeter, unbalanced team. This year, with the skillful McDyess operating like a highflying surgeon in the post and on both baselines, that shall no longer be the case.

Thus the team should have better....

3. CHEMISTRY ON the floor. This is an ever-underrated factor – but basketball, by its very nature, is the most chemical of all games. Which means that the addition of an All-Star threat such as McDyess means far more than "just" adding another great player to the mix. Dice's very presence on the floor should open up all kinds of heretofore unseen driving lanes, creating more open shots, and superior scoring opportunities, for the other players.

And that should improve the...

4. CHEMISTRY OFF the floor. This Knicks team is basically comprised of a bunch of good guys. But last year, between the on-the-run coaching change and the insistent onslaught of injuries, had to be a rather trying one on even the finest of psyches.

This season, if by nothing else but pure mathematical probability, HAS to be a much, much better situation, a far smoother ride...

But that will require...

A fast start will help the Knicks this season, says Shandon Anderson. Jesse D. Garabrant/NBAE Photos

5. A FAST START. "It's crucial," Knicks swingman Shandon Anderson said. "Just look at all the teams that surprised people last season: the Nets, Detroit, Boston. They all got off to a good start."

And the need for a solid beginning goes far beyond just having a good record. "It's largely a psychological thing," Anderson said. "It creates a level of confidence that you wouldn't have otherwise, one that can carry you through the rest of the season. It shows you that whatever you're doing, it works. So it eliminates a lot of the pressure you put on yourself."

To a man, the Knicks players are keenly aware of the importance of putting on some early heat. And, to a man, they say it'll take playing.....

6. BETTER DEFENSE. "A lot of stuff happened last year," Houston admits. "Stuff that no one could have foreseen. But I don't believe for a moment that this team lost its basic personality, its essence."

"And that," adds Houston, "has always been hard-working, blue collar defense."

The Knicks did go from tops to midpack, ranking 14th in the NBA on the defensive end last year. However, much of that was due to the untimely coaching change, according to the players. "Sure, basketball IS basketball," Anderson shook his head. "But there is a tremendous amount of difference between systems. You can't just mix and match – and you certainly can't learn an entirely new one on the fly and be optimum effective."

"I'm telling you, it just can't be done."

And that is why it's so important to have this year's.....

7. TRAINING CAMP UNDER DON CHANEY. "It will mean everything," the coach avers, eyes lighting up from the very thought. "It will mean that I can work with the guys full time from the very beginning, putting in my system."

And new it shall be: under Chaney, the team will emphasize quickness and athleticism on both ends off the floor. "Look, we are not a big, walk-it-up team that can dump the ball into the post and be successful," he said. "We are smallish, but we do have a lot of athletic talent. So, using our quickness, we will run the ball at every opportunity in order to put pressure on the defense. We don't want to give them time to set up. I want good scoring opportunities. I want open shots."

"Defensively, we'll emphasize ball-pressure as well," added Chaney. "We won't be the Rick Pitino Knicks, but we will pick up full court. I want players who'll put pressure on the opponent. If you can't stay with your guy, you have no business being in this league. I want the ball back -- running teams can't succeed without the ball. And if you can't do that by blocking a shot, you can do it by taking a charge or making a steal."

"That's the way I like to play," Chaney said. "And I believe that that is the....."

8. SYSTEM THAT WILL BEST FIT THESE PARTICULAR PLAYERS. Every single Knick we've talked to endorsed The New Way, most more than enthusiastically. "That's the way I've played since grade school," said Anderson, a dreamy look coming over his visage. "I believe that with the coaching change and all, I as an individual, and all of us together as a team, were not put into the best situation to succeed last year. But I love playing like this. In fact, as far as I can tell, most NBA players live that style."

"Count me in," first-round pick point guard Frank Williams said. "This is what I was used to in high school, AND at Illinois. I believe that in the open court I can really show my creativity and athleticism. Which should give me a chance to put up a good fight for playing time."

There should be plenty available at the team's most questionable position. Still, the competition will be Heisman Trophy winner Charlie Ward and athletic Howard Eisley.

Fact is, the new, more run n' stun-ish, system should put all of these players into a better position to succeed. Yet Chaney will surely keep....

Allan Houston believes the Knicks will "keep what was good" and then add to that. Don Echevarria/NBAE/Getty Images

9. THE BEST OF THE OLD STUFF. "There are a lot of good things about Don," Houston said. "But the one I like the most is that he is a coach who listens. Who cares. And he has no ego."

"So, with all the new stuff and all, I don't believe that he'll scrap what we did well," added Houston. "Look, Jeff Van Gundy was one of the best defensive coaches in the league and Don worked under him for years. So I think he'll keep what was good – and then ADD stuff."

All of which could mean playoff-type success in the....

10. EASTERN CONFERENCE. Truth is, the Lakers have won the last three titles. And while the Sacramento Kings forced L.A to a tough seven games last year, the Eastern champ Nets couldn't take a game in the Finals.

So, while there is depth and balance – a lot of good teams – in the East, the Knicks face no unscalable mountain to climb, no Shaq-like colossus to conquer. The smaller East could make a powerful 6-9 post-operator such as McDyess loom even larger. The smaller East could allow a 6-9 center such as Thomas to feel just a little more at home in the paint.

The Knicks of course, need HEALTH – Sprewell's hand, Williams' wrist, and Lavor Postell's knee procedure hurt the most because this trio won't be able to enjoy the benefits of a full training camp. Will that imperil that much-needed fast start? In the end, if those pesky intangibles balance out and begin to break in the right direction for the Knicks for a change, this team is a contender.

In Part Two, a look at changes in the Atlantic Division.