[S.E.A.]

Wow, the Knicks beat the Wizards.

They finally started playing D haha.

I'm pretty disappointed at Steve Francis.

He's only averaging 9ppg and around 4.8apg.

[gary]

^ i don't think the knicks winning is a product of their D. in fact, they don't have a player on that roster who is known for their D.

[S.E.A.]

They won against Washington because they played D.

They shut down Gilbert Arenas and forced the Wizards to shoot a dismal 30 something percent from the field.

Of course, they also were decent on offence.

Well the Knicks have Renaldo Balkman, David Lee and Jared Jefferies (who is injured atm).

Hmmm...apparently Jamal Crawford is a decent perimeter defender (according to Larry Brown) but I doubt it after watching him play.

[gary]

shooting 30% is not only defense. i'll give them credit. getting a team to shoot less than 50% is decent d. less than 45% means really good D. but shooting less than 40% means that the other team was missing a lot of shots too, and probably taking a lot of bad shots.

and again, who are you defensive stoppers? if you really want to call a rook, a sophmore and a guy on the ir, your teams defensive stoppers, you're looking too hard

[edit] yeah,i just looked. renaldo balkman, aka new yorks defensive stopper, avgs about 9 minutes a game. i guess its bad coaching to not put the best defensive players on the court.

[S.E.A.]

lol, it's because he's a rookie I guess.

They compared him to a poor man's Dennis Rodman.

But he has looked good in limited time.

Against Washington he was everywhere -diving for loose balls, rebounding, trying to block shots, scoring, playing D, etc.

The Knicks play a very....inconsistent style of basketball.

Throughout the first 2 weeks of the season, the Knicks have seemed like two different teams. One team starts off slow, getting behind by double digits in the first half every game this season. This is the team that gets booed by the people at Madison Square Garden.

This is the team the opponents want to see and would love to exploit.

This team is hesitant on offense and lacks effort on defence. The opposing team takes advantage of this and like a wolf among sheep, pounces on them, establishing an early lead.

All of sudden, something clicks inside of these Knicks. They start to transform into something different. They begin to play defence. The ball is moving to the open man. Loose balls are caught, rebounds are grabbed and hustle plays are made.

The Knicks that were once hearing boos are now hearing cheers. The opponents are now scrambling trying to make a basket, trying to keep their composure and they’re feeling the pressure. These Knicks make a dramatic comeback, almost erasing the mistakes the first team made.

As I watch Knick games, I see the potential. On paper, this team is one of the most talented teams in the league. While there have been some disappointing performances with Channing Frye (he needs to get his head out of his arse) and the Marbury-Francis starting backcourt, there has also been some surprising signs of life. The comeback of Quentin Richardson has been very encouraging. Isaiah will have a tough decision to make when Jared Jeffries returns. Richardson has been the Knicks best player offensively and defensively. He is their leading scorer, 2nd on the team in rebounding and often defends the opponents toughest wing player. David Lee has been better than expected, leading the team in rebounding and providing his all out energy and hustle. I also believe that Steve Francis would be playing better if he wasn’t injured after his breakout performance.

They have to do two things:

1) They have to play better defence. The Knicks team defence lacks stability. They must play defence for 48 minutes. The Knicks can score. No doubt about it. They just let the other team score more. The guards have to keep opposing guards out of the paint and their big guys have to make people feel sorry they got that close to the rim.


2) They need to cut down on turnovers, they can stay in the game. The Knicks allow too many points off of turnovers. If they take care of the ball, they will be able to hold their opponents to fewer points.

But honestly, I don't think they'll be a playoff team.

One player that is seriously pissing me off is Eddy Curry. The guy is decent on offence but his D is just............hmmmm....

He doesn't rebound well for a big 7 footer and he seems to lack that killer instinct which is necessary for big men to dominate in the paint at both ends of the court.

[xkrndreamer]

baron davis' 36 points with 16 assists is just SICK!

[S.E.A.]

Chris Webber wants out of Philly.

lol, that guy should just accept facts that his time is over and should just take on a limited role.

[BoSoxdirtdog]

As I watch Knick games, I see the potential. On paper, this team is one of the most talented teams in the league.

Is your last name Thomas?

[S.E.A.]

There is potential.

Especially from the young guns on the team.

But on a team level, they gotta work on the fundamentals -taking care of the ball, playing defence and cutting down on turnovers.

They have the talent to make the playoffs but right now are not really cohesive at all.

And yes, the Knicks look like a good team on PAPER, one of the reasons being because they have players who are good INDIVIDUALLY.

If one was to ignore their dismal state (3-6 atm I think) and just imagine what it would be like seeing Starbury and Stevie Franchise taking the ball to the rim, crossing over opponents, pulling up for the J and kicking the ball out to an open Jamal Crawford or Quentin Richardson; Eddy Curry overpowering weaker big men and scoring at will, Jared Jefferies and Renaldo Balkman playing tough D, then the Knicks definitely look like a very good team.

Of course, on the court it's another issue as there are chemistry problems and they don't really mesh that well on D.

[BoSoxdirtdog]

If one was to ignore their dismal state (3-6 atm I think) and just imagine what it would be like seeing Starbury and Stevie Franchise taking the ball to the rim, crossing over opponents, pulling up for the J and kicking the ball out to an open Jamal Crawford or Quentin Richardson; Eddy Curry overpowering weaker big men and scoring at will, Jared Jefferies and Renaldo Balkman playing tough D, then the Knicks definitely look like a very good team.

You can pretty much say that about any team in the league. "IF" Starbury and Franchise aren't passers. Curry is not tough enough. Qrich, Crawford, Franchise and Starbury all need the ball in their hands and you didn't mention the two best players for the knicks right now, David Lee and Nate Robinson. I'm sure there will be a trade sometime soon, probably for a undersized PF or a shooter.

[S.E.A.]

Well I said 'young guns' and they're definitely part of that group.

David Lee and Nate are both exceeding expectations which is a positive sign.

I really like the way David Lee plays a lot. He plays with heart and always does the little things.

As for 'best two players' I wouldn't say that but they're definitely playing well atm. Quentin Richardson is arguably the best player at both ends of the court in the Knicks right now.

Hmmm....I wouldn't be too surprised to see Chris Webber in a Knicks uni soon ROFL.

Well they probably won't trade for a shooter since they've got plenty already. Maybe an athletic four would help hmmm....

[AznTigerx78]

baron davis' 36 points with 16 assists is just SICK

It was actually 18 assists, I dunno why it got recorded as 16. He was 2 rebounds away from a triple double.

[DOVAHKIIN]

Kobe's not gonna drop 81 on the Raptors tonight. He's gonna drop 82 ;O

[plusone]

^nah
but he did drop 31
raptors let it slip away in the end
otherwise lakers D ->

[joonage]

Is your last name Thomas?

lol.

Well, they do have Marbury, Francis, Crawford, Frye, Richardson, Curry, and James.

Pretty good players there ..... they're just horrible as a team.

Hmmm ...

at 4-5 the Sonics are tied for second ... what a surprise. Utah is 8-1 ... I hope Sonics do good ...

Before they get shipped to OK City. >.<

[EYJAYJAY]

knicks did pound heat up pretty bad

[S.E.A.]

^ Impressive win by the Knicks.

But keep in mind the Heat did not have Shaq but nevertheless, well done Knicks.

[EYJAYJAY]

^but shaq has also not been much of a force this season and probably wont be until the end of the season or start of playoffs.

[S.E.A.]

He's still a big part of the team and is definitely an intimidating force when he's on the court even though he's old and only has a few seasons left.

[DOVAHKIIN]

Kwame Brown clearly committed an offensive foul on Bosh. Raptors fans know it, Lakers fans do too (hopefully.) But the officials gave Bosh the defensive foul, and soon he ended up sitting on the bench with 4 fouls in the third quarter.

Now imagine if the referee didn't screw up, Bosh COULD'VE had just 2-3 fouls and still play. The outcome of the game COULD'VE been different.

Geez. Nice job by Kobe though.