Posted by TMS:

(martin, I'd appreciate if you didn't lock this... no one reads the Game Threads after the game ends anyway)

Agreed.

I agree on all your points, TMS. I'd like to add that I thought the officials need to get better at recognizing flops. It seems like if you fall down in the presence of Eddy Curry it's an automatic offensive foul.

Posted by eViL:

I agree on all your points, TMS. I'd like to add that I thought the officials need to get better at recognizing flops. It seems like if you fall down in the presence of Eddy Curry it's an automatic offensive foul.

jeez, i was screaming at my TV over that dude... it's so unfair how they officiate Curry... Shaq gets away w/mauling guys on the low post... if Curry even breathes on them he gets the whistle... i guess he has to pay his dues.

on another note, that Lowry kid on the Grizz is something else... what an energizer & defender he is... he was all over the place... & Rudy Gay is alot better than i thought he was... Warrick is a beast... i always liked that kid coming out of Syracuse.

Good post TMS. I agree with you. I'm happy the Knicks won, thats always first and foremost. Although they won, this should have been a gimme game. I don't care if your playing on the road or not but the Grizzlies are without their best player and best scorer and the Knicks with all their talent should have been able to handily win this game. Again, they won, but seriously, this should have been a gimme. The defense was terrible in the beginning of the game and from the 4th quarter on. I thought the Knicks played their best ball in the 2nd and 3rd quarters. Great win, but it shouldn't have been this hard. Anyways, on with what I saw.

The Good
I'm excited the Knicks got the win, but this was a piss-poor game. Curry looked good, I wish they'd feed him the ball more. Curry gets position and he calls for the ball, but there were numerous times Marbury neglected to throw the ball down to him.

QRich had a great game. Could he possibly back to his old LAC form? If he is the Knicks are in for a real treat because he will be a huge part of this teams potential success.

What else can we say about David Lee? The guy is just a great rebounder and his motor never stops. He needs to be starting from here on out. In my eyes, Channing has lost his starting spot, he can earn it back, but only after he starts rebounding and playing defense. DLee starts from here on out, I've been asking for it since late last year and I think its now time it happens.

Nate played pretty well. I didn't see him out of control as much as he was last but he seriously has to keep his emotions in check. I think the refs are starting to get a little annoyed with his constant bitching and that might mean some tight calls against him in the near future.

Marbury was kinda good and bad. His offense came alive late in the 4th quarter and OT but his defense was pathetic. I expected this though

The Ugly
Francis looked terrible both offensivly and defensively, theres not much more to say, he just had a terrible game.

Frye looked terrible offensively and defensively. When Frye is not draining those open jumpers he literally does nothing on the court. He has to be moved out of the starting lineup until he earns that right back. He has start rebounding and playing defense. Frye wasn't going up against some savvy vet tonite, he was going up against a guy that came out the same year as him in Warrick and he should not have been handled the way he was. DLee enter the starting lineup.

Crawford was back to his gunning ways unfortunately and he had a terrible night. I don't care how many points he scored, 4-22 from the field is pathetic. I thought the previous coach had finally gotten through to him about whats a good shot and whats not but I guess not because he was absolutely gunning out there. Terrible game.

what the hell was Frye taking 3 pointers in OT for? that one made me want to puke... leave the 3 pointers to the guards Channing... get your butt inside where u belong.

I figured Crawford would go back to chucking up shots now that LB is gone. He tried to fine tune his game to LB's taste but he has not changed. I dont understand why he doesnt drive the ball in more with his superior ball handling and free throw shooting skills. His jumpshot is only on when he is set up and open. Why havent he and the rest of the Knicks realized that?


I hope I am wrong about Crawford reverting back to his old game.

This game was extremely ugly. I would love to see the whole Knicks squad take a hike except for Q rich and D Lee. Q Rich and D Lee are the only 2 players on the Knicks who know what they are doing on the court. They appear to know thier roles and are the only 2 who play any freaken defense. They acutally have some pride even if their offense isnt there. We can build a solid foundation with Q Rich and D Lee. The rest of the team is not committed to winning. Aside from those 2 I dont see any effort on defense. Defense used to be the pride and joy of the Knicks that lead to success and championship contention.

I like what the Bulls have accomplished with the makeup of their squad.

I would take a chance on trading Frye if we can get a big prize back. He has only proven to hit the outside jumpshot and nothing else. We could use a shotblocking, rebound grabbing center and a PG who can lead, play solid defense, give solid effort and set up easy shots all game for our team.

Exactly! At the end of the game Crawford does not have to always shoot the ball, especially if the shot is not there. He can drive and set up a play.

What I saw, was him chucking up shots for most of the game and to me that is not acceptable. We are severely hurting our chances to win with him taking off balance 20 foot jumpshots all game long with a hand in his grill.

I think he tried to please and adjust to LB last year. It appears he enjoys taking/ forcing difficult video game like jumpshots. He's done it his whole career except for last year and today was a replica of his previous seasons.

Hopefully he will be fine like you say but I am doubtful of that.

well, everyone hit it on the head for the positive and negative. that is true that they should have dumped it down to curry more at the end. the only reason i think they didn't was because curry was in foul trouble and the refs were on him. but he has developed even MORE post up moves ( if he can consistently hit that turn around jumper, he is going to be sick). he was aggressive most of the game but the one dunk opportunity at the end when he missed and was blocked reminded me of the eddy of old. before we throw stones at francis, lets see what he does the next game. the one positive sign is that he, as well as the other guards, can drive the lane almost at ease. sure francis miss some chippy shots. however you know if he has those chances consistently, teams will pay. that was the frustrating thing about the knicks the past few years. they were the best in ft % but last at attempts because they gun from outside. isiah put a stop to that by encouraging to drive more. when that happens, the result is more positive than negative. turnovers are still a big problem. memphis is a decent team but lets face it: we played either rookies or second year players in the 4th and overtime periods besides atkins and miller. we should have beaten them by 25 but turnovers and poor shot selection ( crawford and francis gunning) let them back in the game. frye had a bad game but he had some good looks and they will fall eventually. q- rich- WOW. never expected that. he was phenomonal. he was a brown supporter last year but this is by far his best game. i don't know whether he is a consistant scorer like this but he made key plays and did whatever it was needed to win ( 9 rebounds and FIVE off. boards). steph did well especially down the stretch and he was focused. he passed well and scored when we needed it only. didn't become overbearing with the ball and gave it up which is a stretch with him. needs to get better defensively. lee and balkman did their roles to a tee: energy player. lee especially did it well. nate had a great game also. a positive game.

If that game was in the garden we would have lost

just curious what makes u say that? doesn't the home team usually have the advantage late in games?