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Knicks Report: Opinions on the Knicks Upcoming Season.
By Alex Labidou and Stephen Conoscenti
Aug 9, 2005, 12:08
With the schedules set, and the off-season dying down, its time to talk about the possibilities of this Knicks team. Guest writer Stephen Conoscenti and HOOPSWORLD Knicks' editor Alex Labidou have a conversation about the hottest topics facing the Knicks this season.
Stephen's take:
It’s not easy being a Knick fan. Well, I should say it wasn’t easy being a Knick fan. Isiah Thomas has done all he possibly can to restore what the Knicks used to stand for: defense, excitement, and winning. The acquisitions of Quentin Richardson and Nate Robinson make the Knicks younger and explosive. The signing of Jerome James gives the Knicks some much-needed height in the paint. But Isiah’s greatest accomplishment since taking over the helms has been acquiring arguably the best coach in the game, Larry Brown. Knick fans may feel like they are in heaven right now, but nothing is easy in New York. There will be some disagreements, there will be some questionable decisions, but you have to trust that in the end it’s all for the better. Larry Brown is taking over a team that last year won 33 games and finished last in the lackluster Atlantic Division. With only a few roster changes so far, none made by Brown, some players will be on Brown’s good side while some will end up in the doghouse.
Who will Brown fall in love with? Brown has historically been a coach that preaches defense and works his players hard to make them play the way he wants them to play. When looking at the current Knick roster, David Lee fits the bill of a Larry Brown player. David Lee is a scrappy power forward (who can also play the small forward with some offensive improvements) who loves to play defense and has a nose for the ball. He doesn’t demand the ball or take a shot when he feels the need. It’s also no big secret that Larry Brown loves what he does. He recently said on Stephen A. Smith’s new TV show “Quite Frankly” that once his NBA coaching career is done, he’ll continue to coach high school basketball. David Lee is a rookie with a lot to learn and a great work ethic. Larry Brown loves teaching. Sounds like a match to me.
Who will be in Brown’s doghouse? Tough question. As I previously stated, Brown pushes his players to be the best they can be and has never coached a bad defensive team. With the recent rumors of the Knicks searching for a point guard to take the pressure off of rookie Nate Robinson, it makes you wonder where Jamal Crawford stands on Larry Brown’s list. You would assume that Jamal Crawford takes over the point guard duties while Stephon Marbury switches to shooting guard. Larry Brown might have something else in mind. Jamal Crawford has been labeled a “chucker” by most critics and even some fans. He ranked sixth in the NBA last season in 3-point attempts (512) and sixth in 3-point field goals made (185). If Jamal doesn’t learn how to slow down his offense and pick up his defense drastically, he may find himself on the bench. (Note: many people will say Tim Thomas. I’m under the impression that Tim Thomas won’t be a Knick by the start of the season. Even if he is, he will start in the doghouse, much like how he ended in Larry’s doghouse in Philadelphia.)
First Knick out the door? No real question here. I already stated that I don’t believe Tim Thomas will be a Knick by November 2nd. Tim Thomas is a career underachiever. He’s a 6’10”athletic freak who refuses to use his body to his advantage. He’s been known to shy away on defense, settle for jump shots on offense and let other teammates handle the rebounding. His heart has also been questioned throughout his career. Describing Tim Thomas is almost like describing the type of player that won’t strive under Larry Brown. He was in Brown’s doghouse in Philadelphia and hasn’t changed his game since. Package that with that fact that Tim Thomas has a $14 million expiring contract and you’ll see that Tim Thomas is the likely leading candidate for “first Knick out the door”.
Can Isiah and Larry co-exist? Without a doubt. Isiah Thomas, James Dolan and Steve Mills want to win. New York hasn’t won in over 30 years. Larry Brown is a winner. Many
members of the media have painted Isiah as an egotistical, power-hungry general manager. While he may have an ego, there’s no doubt that he will put it aside if he has the chance to
win. Larry Brown has been in the game for a long time and knows it inside and out. Isiah has a tremendous amount of respect for Larry and Larry has a tremendous amount of respect for
Isiah. They won’t step on each other’s toes. Will Larry come to Isiah and make suggestions and give his input? Of course. You have to assume that things like this were ironed out in
the meetings that took place leading up to the hiring of Larry Brown.
Larry’s starting five? Another tough question. You have to assume that this roster isn’t the roster that the Knicks will go to war with in November. Training camp will bring a whole slew of changes as well. Most recent Knick news is that Marbury and Brown will talk about a switch to shooting guard. Naming a starting five right now is a challenge. I think the only set position right now is center, and that is Jerome James. All other positions will be decided in camp. The starting power forward spot will come down to either Mike Sweetney or Malik Rose. Larry Brown might experiment with Quentin Richardson at the small forward and Stephon Marbury at the shooting guard.
Knicks record and standings? Again, too early to tell because change is imminent. Adding Larry Brown should mean adding another 7-10 wins. The games that the Knicks lost in the last minute by two or three points, or had a lead then blew it late in the fourth quarter won’t be losses anymore. Larry Brown will teach this team how to get a lead and keep it. We also won’t be seeing anymore at-the-buzzer jumpers by Kurt Thomas to win the game. The Knicks will finally have a crunch time plan. Improved defense will also help eliminate those last second losses or blown leads. Right now, I will predict a 42-40 record, second place in the Atlantic, and a 7th seed in the playoffs. If Stephon Marbury becomes a leader, Jamal Crawford plays defense, Quentin Richardson uses his size to his advantage, and Jerome James can come in and play like he did in last year’s first round against the Kings, then we could be looking at 4 or 5 more wins. That’s also a lot of “if’s”…
Alex's take:
While the Knicks off-season has been nothing short than spectacular, the Knicks can't sit on their laurels and expect the season to pan out. There are many strengths and weaknesses to this edition of the Knicks. For one, they are very deep but they have a multitude of their strengths and weaknesses and no real variety to their team. The Knicks have a surplus of slashing guards, and undersized rebounders but are very limited in quality size players (unless either James gets consistent or Frye develops fast), shooters and defenders. Ultimately it is up to Larry Brown, who can maximize any players talent, to decide what direction to go with his team. While many know Brown as a outstanding defensive coach; he can be an outstanding offensive coach (just ask Danny Manning and the Clippers or Reggie Miller and the Pacers). What it'll take is players realizing their roles and trying to fit in. However as with any season, there are the share of difficulties. Often its how a team starts off the season that determines which if that team will buy into their coaches system. Example last year of the teams that started hot, only Toronto didn't make the playoffs. The reason why this is being mentioned is because once again the Knicks have a grueling schedule to start the season. The Knicks have 9 games on the road in Nov (as opposed to 5 home games). To make this even worse, the Knicks have a six game western conference road trip which they face Portland, Golden State, Utah, Sacramento, the Lakers, and Denver. While Portland, and Utah aren't playoff teams, they are considerably improved to the extent that if the Knicks don't play hard in each game; they could come home 0-6 from their road trip. How will this work? I'll will discuss the issues that are facing the Knicks this season.
Who will Brown fall in love with?
Trevor Ariza and Malik Rose. Its easy to see why Brown will love both of these guys. Malik Rose, having won two championships in San Antonio, will be depended on Brown to provide stability within the Knicks locker room and a championship swagger on the court. After getting used to players who have tons of heart or are perennial winners, Rose (besides Quentin Richardson who wasn't a good contributor on the Suns' playoff run) is the only Knick who has any winning playoff experience and will get playing time in the rotation. Many have criticized Larry Brown stating that he doesn't like young players due to his issues with Darko Milicic. Does anyone remember his time in LA or Philadelphia? In Philadelphia, he gave playing time to guys who played hard on both ends of the floor no matter whether or not they were rookies, journeymen, or veterans. With that being said, Trevor Ariza is constantly improving and has had an good off-season in conditioning where he has reportedly gained 20 pounds and consistency to his jump shot. While he didn't exactly set the summer leagues on fire, the fact the Nikoloz Tskitishvili has lit up the summer leagues for two consecutive seasons or the fact that Channing Frye, Andrew Bogut, and Marvin Williams have all been terrible( and at least one of those guys will be an all star) in the summer leagues should show how much to consider the stats that summer leagues produces. Trevor Ariza reminds me of a young Tracy McGrady on defense, back when T-Mac actually cared about defending players. Ariza is the Knicks best perimeter defender and is only going to get better. Brown will start Tim Thomas at the beginning of the season, but there is no doubt in my mind that Brown will use Trevor's work ethic on defense to try to motivate Tim Thomas to keep his starting spot. Once Tim Thomas gets traded (Tim Thomas and Anfernee Hardaway are as good as gone by the trade deadline), it'll be Ariza's time to shine.
Who will be in Brown’s doghouse?
I am predicting a pretty rocky relationship between Jamal Crawford and Larry Brown. Because Brown is strongly considering playing Marbury at the two; Crawford will probably be the Knicks starting point guard. Larry Brown has stated that Crawford has the athleticism to be an outstanding defender, the only thing is getting Jamal to buy into becoming a pass first defensive minded point. While it would be nice to believe that those things would fall in place, Jamal Crawford is as star hungry as Stephon Marbury is. Its hard to picture Jamal 'ankle hustling' Crawford taking on a team first role where he isn't allowed to chuck threes whenever he wants to. What Brown needs is a guy like Eric Snow but Snow is getting too old and progressively worse on offensive to be a solid contributor on the Knicks. If the Knicks could somehow work out a trade with Chicago, Chris Duhon reminds me a lot of younger version of Eric Snow. The only concern with putting Marbury at the two is that Marbury doesn't possess Allen Iverson's amazing speed which baffles defenders. While Marbury has a slightly better shot than Iverson does (or at least higher FG percentages), its hard to picture Marbury having a lot of success at the two. Maybe he'll average 22-24 points a game, but he won't have the tenacity or heart that makes Iverson so unique. Two other players who will definitely be in Brown's doghouse is Maurice Taylor and initially Jerome James. While the reasons why Brown won't play Taylor are obvious, the reason why I mentioned initially for James is complex. While James will have his flashes of capability, he never does it consistently. If there is anyone who can get more out of James than Nate McMillan did; its Larry Brown. It won't take All Star numbers for James to get on Brown's good graces, all it James needs to do is be solid on defense and focused on offense. Even if he averages 7 points per game and 6 rebounds, as long as James is blocking shots and not making stupid turnovers; Brown and James should get along fine. Now if James doesn't follow that system, he'll be on the next flight out of New York with Penny and Tim Thomas.
First Knick out the door?
While it might not be astonishing if Tim Thomas or Anfernee Hardaway get shipped out of New York; it wouldn't be surprising to me if the Knicks deal Quentin Richardson and Michael Sweetney. While there isn't any issues with Quentin Richardson that would severely clash with Brown, it depends on which Richardson the Knicks are getting. Are they getting the 3 point chuckster from Phoenix, or the gritty post player from the Clippers? Maybe both? Plus with the Knicks probably starting Jamal Crawford and Marbury at the guard positions, where will Quentin fit in on the Knicks. If he starts at small forward, all of the advantages (in terms of size) that he gives the Knicks are nullified. If he comes off the bench then the Knicks take away time from both Trevor Ariza and Nate Robinson. With Sweetney, unless he is paying extra attention to his off-season regiment; its going to be a tough sell for Brown who usually likes long athletic power forwards. While Sweetney has the potential to be a very good player in the mold of Zach Randolph or Elton Brand, it'll take hard work and focus on preparation; things he hasn't displayed yet. I wouldn't be surprised if the Knicks made a push on the trading deadline to obtain either Elton Brand or Kevin Garnett if either one of their teams fall out of the playoff picture early. A package featuring Tim Thomas (whose deal of 15 million expires this season), Quentin Richardson, Sweetney, and some future first rounders might make the deal work.
Can Isiah and Larry co-exist?
Having been at the Knicks press conference for Larry Brown and also knowing the long relationship that the two have had over years, this is an relationship that could actually have success. While Isiah Thomas can be awfully inventive when it comes to some of the players he is acquiring, there is no question that he has a thing for old school coaches. He hired Lenny Wilkens over Mike Fratello partially for that reason, and then when Wilkens resigned (or was fired depending on how you look at the situation) he was also looking at Chuck Daly. Isiah respects Larry to let him have complete control over his team. When the losing causes Larry to want to go on a trading spree, Isiah's mellow and charismatic personality will help ease Brown most of the times. When trades have to be made, they will be but it will be because both Isiah and Larry are on the same page.
Larry’s starting five?
Point Guard: Jamal Crawford, Shooting Guard: Stephon Marbury, Small Forward: Tim Thomas, Power Forward: Michael Sweetney, Center: Jerome James. While Malik Rose and Trevor Ariza would be Brown's preference at their respective positions, Ariza is still developing and Rose lacks the inside scoring ability that the Knicks need in their starting five.
Knicks record and standings?
While the Knicks aren't dominant in any position, they are still deep enough to be in the top six in the East. A record of 43-39 seems to be a realistic possibility for this team. While the East has gotten better, the Knicks are definitely a top three team in their division and are arguably better than the Bulls, Sixers, and Wizards. Where they are a lot of questions that Stephen was referring to, there is one certainty with the New York Knicks. Those who play hard will play and those who won't will have courtside seats next to Larry Brown wondering why they aren't seeing playing time. Isiah has provided Larry the control and depth to make things happen with this Knicks team. I am predicting a second round exit for them this year and a continual progression the following season.
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