Watched it on MSG TV last night. Mind you this is admittedly becoming a blog primarily about the Knicks, its becoming clear. I don't mind this however, if you don't mind either.
Well they won by about 20 points last night, even though they were without a set rotation. It seems like everybody on the team got 15-21 minutes last night, which leads me to the first issue: determining a lineup. This is going to be tough for Isiah to figure out, because, you could argue that at least 10 guys on this squad deserve solid minutes, and if he divides all minutes evenly, that means guys like Marbury and Francis are going to get 20-25 minutes a game which would be career lows for each former all-star. I have no solution to this problem. The second unit last night is truly an energizer team. Its like all 5 collectively could be called the microwaves plural, while vinnie johnson of Isiah's Pistons was singularly "the microwave." With James out (the one guy who has not earned deserved minutes since coming to the New York Knicks) look at this 5 coming off the bench
Nate Robinson - A dynamo, learning to distribute the ball in addition to his natural abilities.
Jamal Crawford - Didn't fill up the stat sheet last but you KNOW he can play from the second half of last year. I'm worried that the success of Crawford and Francis is mutually exclusive.
David Lee - Makes things happen on both ends of the floor, an intangibles guy, feisty competitor. won't back down from Nowitzsky or any one else.
Quentin Richardson - Already showing signs of redemption, rumored to have had the best training camp of all the knicks. Shot seems to be falling except the three ball (so far).
Renaldo Balkman - Another intangibles guy. Lee, Balkman and Jeffries are going to help win ball games. Scored 11p and pulled 7r in just 15 minutes. Lee plus Balkman equals a great combination and they showed signs of cohesiveness and compatibility.
As for Mardy Collins, he had a very nice block during the game and also a great ally-oop to Clark, a small 2 guard that should make someone's roster during the regular season.
Paul Miller didn't find his rhythm in very limited minutes, but I know from seeing the summer team that he can play pick and roll with Stephon (remember Steph and Doleac's brief interaction?) if he is kept on the Knicks past preseason. With Jerome James indefinitely questionable, I'd say either Miller or Elton Brown have the best chance of taking that 15th and last roster spot for a guaranteed contract. Unfortunately I doubt Tskitishvili is a player in Isiah's mold.
This Knicks team, which is trying to emulate certain aspects of various offesnive and defensive systems encountered by Isiah over time, coasted to 111 points without relying very much on its starters. This is an athletic team, a team that will turn the ball over but can and will force turnovers and cause fast breaks and layups. Every player on the Knicks scored last night.
Fourty wins seems very possible. Worst case, 30 wins and Isiah gets fired mid-season.
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