It's Tough
Allow me to put on my Captain Obvious cape for a minute:
It's difficult being a Knick fan these days.
I don't know where to begin. I know I never saw the truly great Knicks of the 70s as my father would say, but I do remember the Knicks of the 90s. I lived and died with those Knicks.
The Knicks of the 2000s have been an embarassment.
Larry Brown is killing me. A couple of weeks ago he said he was going to shorten the rotation. Brown must be using the fuzzy math because 12 still equals 12 for the rest of us. His 12 isn't even the right 12.
David Lee gives the team great energy, a high basketball IQ, hustle, and effort every time he plays. Too bad he's usually in a suit.
Instead, we get to watch Maurice Taylor, Malik Rose, Jerome James and Antonio Davis. None of them should be playing ahead of Lee or Butler. I could see if the team was contending and Brown didn't want to play young players. But the team readily admits they're rebuilding and still keeps the pieces they should be rebuilding with on the bench. What sense does that make? If we have to watch the team struggle and lose, why not watch the guys who play with some heart and intensity? Why not watch the team grow in that struggle so that we can pacify ourselves into believing that our young guys are learning and will be better for it?
If Rose, Taylor, Davis and James are being showcased as trade bait...I have some bad news for Brown and Thomas. Nobody wants them and their stock decreases everytime they play. Hate to break the bad news.
I admit it is a little unfair to lump all 4 together. Rose and Davis seem to provide great leadership. Davis even seems to be serviceable on the court in spurts. Rose's problem is that Brown seems to think he's Rip Hamilton. Rose would be decent if he could just go in for 8 minutes, rebound and play solid post defense instead of coming off screens and spotting up for jumpers that don't go in.
On the other hand, Taylor is the most unecessary player on the roster and James is an abyss whenever he touches the ball unless he's 2 feet away from the basket. However, James is 7 feet and does change shots on the defensive end.
It looks obvious to a whole heck of a lot of people, except Larry Brown, that the post rotation should include Curry and Frye as the starters with Lee, James and Butler coming off the bench.
The Knicks need a small forward. I love watching Trevor Ariza play. Trust me, I do. But he would be great coming off the bench. In a couple of years, he may end up being a solid role player at the 3. Right now, he really doesn't do one thing extremely well. He just does everything on a mediocre level skill wise. His game hasn't caught up to his intangibles and athleticism yet.
Qyntel Woods just got here so I'll spare him.
If I were the Hall of Fame head coach who I am not second guessing, I'd put Lee at the small forward position. Can't be any worse than what's been going on. He's great at moving the ball and it would give the team an added rebounding presence.
Then there's the backcourt. I'm going to give Stephon Marbury a whole separate post, so we'll skip him for now.
I'm no Jamal Crawford fan, but you must admire his effort. He takes bad shots and makes dumb mistakes but it's usually because he's trying to do too much. Sometimes I get the feeling he's trying to play hero too much but at least he's actually trying and isn't afraid to be the goat as well. His inconsistency is what prevents me from wanting to keep him here. At 25, I wonder how much he'll be able to improve. But...at least he's trying. As long as he's trying, at best, he'll turn into John Starks. At worst, he'll up his trade value.
If Nate Robinson was 6 feet tall, he'd be incredible. He's incredible now, but he'd be even better. He plays with heart, effort, toughness, passion, intensity and energy. He infectious. He's a leader. Players like Nate Robinson are the reason why basketball is a team sport. He uplifts the players around him when he's in the game. Even when he does the dumbest things you can think of on a basketball court, he's not getting down on himself or his teammates. You know that he'll put the mistake behind him and move on instead of compounding it by moping.
I really do not know why Quentin Richardson is here. I'm not trying to be mean...I just don't see what purpose he serves. The Knicks don't play the run and gun, three point shooting style that Phoenix did, nor do they use Richardson's post up game which is his best strength. He's not a small forward and he doesn't really seem to have a role on the team. He looks completely out of place. As a fan of his game, it's difficult to watch him look so out of character. Either he or Crawford need to go to make room for the other or the team needs to find a way to highlight Richardson's strengths.
The Knicks need a resolution. They may want to start with a rotation.
It's difficult being a Knick fan these days.
I don't know where to begin. I know I never saw the truly great Knicks of the 70s as my father would say, but I do remember the Knicks of the 90s. I lived and died with those Knicks.
The Knicks of the 2000s have been an embarassment.
Larry Brown is killing me. A couple of weeks ago he said he was going to shorten the rotation. Brown must be using the fuzzy math because 12 still equals 12 for the rest of us. His 12 isn't even the right 12.
David Lee gives the team great energy, a high basketball IQ, hustle, and effort every time he plays. Too bad he's usually in a suit.
Instead, we get to watch Maurice Taylor, Malik Rose, Jerome James and Antonio Davis. None of them should be playing ahead of Lee or Butler. I could see if the team was contending and Brown didn't want to play young players. But the team readily admits they're rebuilding and still keeps the pieces they should be rebuilding with on the bench. What sense does that make? If we have to watch the team struggle and lose, why not watch the guys who play with some heart and intensity? Why not watch the team grow in that struggle so that we can pacify ourselves into believing that our young guys are learning and will be better for it?
If Rose, Taylor, Davis and James are being showcased as trade bait...I have some bad news for Brown and Thomas. Nobody wants them and their stock decreases everytime they play. Hate to break the bad news.
I admit it is a little unfair to lump all 4 together. Rose and Davis seem to provide great leadership. Davis even seems to be serviceable on the court in spurts. Rose's problem is that Brown seems to think he's Rip Hamilton. Rose would be decent if he could just go in for 8 minutes, rebound and play solid post defense instead of coming off screens and spotting up for jumpers that don't go in.
On the other hand, Taylor is the most unecessary player on the roster and James is an abyss whenever he touches the ball unless he's 2 feet away from the basket. However, James is 7 feet and does change shots on the defensive end.
It looks obvious to a whole heck of a lot of people, except Larry Brown, that the post rotation should include Curry and Frye as the starters with Lee, James and Butler coming off the bench.
The Knicks need a small forward. I love watching Trevor Ariza play. Trust me, I do. But he would be great coming off the bench. In a couple of years, he may end up being a solid role player at the 3. Right now, he really doesn't do one thing extremely well. He just does everything on a mediocre level skill wise. His game hasn't caught up to his intangibles and athleticism yet.
Qyntel Woods just got here so I'll spare him.
If I were the Hall of Fame head coach who I am not second guessing, I'd put Lee at the small forward position. Can't be any worse than what's been going on. He's great at moving the ball and it would give the team an added rebounding presence.
Then there's the backcourt. I'm going to give Stephon Marbury a whole separate post, so we'll skip him for now.
I'm no Jamal Crawford fan, but you must admire his effort. He takes bad shots and makes dumb mistakes but it's usually because he's trying to do too much. Sometimes I get the feeling he's trying to play hero too much but at least he's actually trying and isn't afraid to be the goat as well. His inconsistency is what prevents me from wanting to keep him here. At 25, I wonder how much he'll be able to improve. But...at least he's trying. As long as he's trying, at best, he'll turn into John Starks. At worst, he'll up his trade value.
If Nate Robinson was 6 feet tall, he'd be incredible. He's incredible now, but he'd be even better. He plays with heart, effort, toughness, passion, intensity and energy. He infectious. He's a leader. Players like Nate Robinson are the reason why basketball is a team sport. He uplifts the players around him when he's in the game. Even when he does the dumbest things you can think of on a basketball court, he's not getting down on himself or his teammates. You know that he'll put the mistake behind him and move on instead of compounding it by moping.
I really do not know why Quentin Richardson is here. I'm not trying to be mean...I just don't see what purpose he serves. The Knicks don't play the run and gun, three point shooting style that Phoenix did, nor do they use Richardson's post up game which is his best strength. He's not a small forward and he doesn't really seem to have a role on the team. He looks completely out of place. As a fan of his game, it's difficult to watch him look so out of character. Either he or Crawford need to go to make room for the other or the team needs to find a way to highlight Richardson's strengths.
The Knicks need a resolution. They may want to start with a rotation.
posted by universalh8r at
10:45 PM
1 Comments:
Nate Robinson rocks and the Knicks are lucky to have him. I think over time you will see that the height won't stand in his way. I don't think he has fully "got" the NBA game yet.
Jerome James is a conundrum. Seattle could really use him back right now, but not at the salary that Thomas put out for him. We do have an overabundance of SF on the roster in the emerald city right now however. Maybe the Knicks can negotiate a sign and trade for Radmanovich next season. He has sworn to veto any trades in his contract year since it means a loss of his "Bird" rights due to the current CBA.
By
Patrick, at 7:59 AM
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