Thursday, March 02, 2006

Knicks looked good in tonight's loss versus Memphis

The NY Knicks may have lost the last 21 out their last 23 games, but I saw tremendous progress in tonight's loss to the the Grizzlies, and I view this loss actually as a win because the team played together, shared the ball and made the extra pass while playing solid defense despite coming up short(literally short as stephon gave up nearly a foot defending Gasol during that last shot)at the very end of the game.
Tonight we finally saw the Steph that dominated during that 6 game win streak in January. Because of Steph's injury dealt by dirty Wally Szerbiak's moving pick, I take tonight's game as the first real game with the backcourt of Steph and Steve Francis. All the doubters and haters take heed that this backcourt may very well work afterall:
Stephon Marbury 25points(8-11fg)13a 1st 1to
Steve Francis 19points 5a 2st
Obviously there are a glut of guards on this team. I once thought that Q should be traded due his bad back and limited mobility but I've a newfound respect for Quentin since he brings defensive effort to the knicks everynight. We need him to guard the players that are Kobe's size, Vince Carter's size. Orginally Brown thought that Ariza could do this but now he's gone so we do need Q. Its just too bad he can't make a shot during a home game. He does shoot much better on the road though.
It seems clear to me now that the Seattle backcourt of Nate Robinson and Jamal Crawford should both be moved this summer. I love both players but obviously there are too many guards and not enough shot blockers on this team.
I should say there are no shot blockers on this team. Lazy, underachieving Eddy Curry is more of a baby Oliver Miller than a Baby Shaq. I would trade him in a heartbeat for a player like Kevin Garnett. Channing is great in all aspects except shot blocking, and Jackie Butler is too young to garner serious minutes from veteran loving Brown. Jerome James is the most expensive bench warmer in history and I can only hope he gets on a diet this summer so perhaps he can play 15mpg next season off the bench and give us a block or so per game. We need Theo ratliff or Darius or Joel przybilla or one of those portland guys (they must lead the league in shot blocking, right?)on our team to seal up the middle and leave the guards on the perimeter to take bad shots instead of wide open ones.
I liked the two man game tonight between Steph and Qyntel Woods, that was really fun to watch with the perfect alley oops and give and go plays.
Larry Brown, how can you ignore David Lee at this point? If Ariza's departure can be justified it is my hope that it was to get Lee more minutes at the three. The man can rebound, play defense, finish on the break. He plays above the rim and has displayed fierce competitiveness and patience this season. Give this guy 30mpg and he would have been on the rookie team this year with Channing and Nate.
One player that clearly was a negative factor for the Knicks tonight was Mo Taylor. Every time the knicks start to find some chemistry and teamwork during a game, Mo has to start a fight with the player he is trying to box out. I can think of several times this season this has happened (it happened tonight and it also happened the night Antonio Davis went into the stands to help his wife). The time has come to bench Mo (I know Brown likes him because he's a veteran on a 'college' team) and trade him this summer. He tried to play for the Knicks but with Frye, Butler, Lee, and Malik we just don't need him to screw things up anymore.
For the second straight game Jalen Rose did not see an ounce of daylight. Larry Brown can be harsh like that. Sometimes he puts players in for just 7 seconds worth of playing time.

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