Just wanted to do some research on the NBA's best 3pt shooters and Kapono won the 3 pt. contest this year and finished with the highest percentage, stroked over 50% from downtown! thanks in no part to Shaq's double teams.

To me, this is the most important thing this offseason. If the Knicks can find a reliable dead-eye shooter (I love Q but he hasn't played more than half a season in quite a while, and that probably won't improve) that can relax the pressure on Eddy, then everyone improves. If EC is facing single coverage b/c teams know that the Knicks have a sniper in, then his game would blossom.

Kapono (http://www.sportsstats.com/jazzyj/greats/03/kapono.htm)was a 4-year player at UCLA. For his career he averaged 44.6% on NCAA 3. Discounting Almond's freshman year, he shot 45% over the last 3 years of his college career.

I know we have talked about this ad nauseum but I thought it was interesting to note that Almond shot basically the same percentage from downtown as the best shooter in the League last year in Kapono, on a far inferior team facing double and triple teams.

I trust Isiah's drafting instincts but I think Almond will contribute right away.

Regardless, I think due to the injury-prone Q and the erratic Nate, the Knicks need to add a shooter to fully utilize Curry's sick post up game.

You hit the nail right on the head. The knicks need a shooter period. The ONLY way the knicks were stopped last year was by double and triple teaming Eddy Curry. Instead of taking it on the chin like last time we should punish teams for that with a rainstorm of 3's.

I believe that Isiah already realizes that we need the catch and shoot factor on this team. With Q being the only true catch and shoot guy and Nate being able, but lacking in size and common sense, it makes perfect sense to add a shooter with size to this roster. I personally love the idea of Almond. He seems like a perfect H2O clone in terms of scoring. He could also look to sign Kapono or Carroll with the MLE and then draft Sean Williams. That to me would be a good use of our options.

Posted by franco12:

Q is a career 35% from 3 land- that isn't going to win games.

Nate is shooting 39%, which is good, but not great.

The problem with Nate is he is a situational role player- not someone you can count on full time.

We need a someone who can shoot 40%+, and isn't a midget and is a strong defender.

Whaaaa???? The average shooting percentages in the league is around 45%....... you shoot 39 perncet from 3 and you are a great 3 point shooter. 35% is pretty good too.

Well that means they shoot above 45 percent the closer they get to the rim. Their three point shot average brings it down for most shooters.

Ether way 39 percent from threes is a great percentage. Shooting about 40 percent from threes is elite in the NBA.

[Edited by - anji on 05-21-2007 11:04 AM]

Posted by Anji:

Well that means they shoot above 45 percent the closer they get to the rim. Their three point shot average brings it down for most shooters.

Ether way 39 percent from threes is a great percentage. Shooting about 40 percent from threes is elite in the NBA.

[Edited by - anji on 05-21-2007 11:04 AM]

ahhh, thanks for that. I didn't grasp the falling average part of the equation.

We should seriously think about Almond, then maybe trading someone useless for Kapono... Miami would be looking to make a change, any change. Hmmm, also is Houston cleared to comeback to the league? All we need him to do is just stand there at the three point line.

player    fg%   2fga-fgm  2fg%  3fga-3fgm  3fg%

nate      43.4   2.3-4.9  46.9   1.3-3.3   39.0
steph     41.5   3.6-8.2  43.9   1.7-4.7   35.7
quentin   41.8   2.7-5.8  46.6   2.0-5.3   37.6
francis   40.8   2.2-5.3  41.5   1.0-2.5   37.8
jamal     40.0   4.2-9.5  44.2   1.8-5.5   32.0

nate is our best shooter.

steph, with the evolution of the curry offense, as well as being hampered by injuries, is no longer getting those easy layups at the same frequency as he used to.

quentin basically had one of his best shooting years in the league.

francis...i have no idea what the hell he's doing on the team.

jamal needs to stop taking 3's.

Thanks for posting the bulls- highlights the difference between good shooters (bulls) and bad shooters (knicks)

Posted by Anji:

THe Bulls are the number two in the at 388%. They are'nt good scorers they are the best. I feel aslong as you are shooting 35% from threes youare doinga good job. We need one more, but I don't think our shooting is bad.


DJsunyc Crawford picked uphis threepoint after he stopped coimg off bench behind Francis... I think he needs to have more real plays run for him, less of the one on one stuff.

we shot 35% and were 23rd in the league- is that a good job?

We have Curry sucking in defenders with loads of wide open outside looks, and we shot 35%- how is that good?

Knicks found out a lot about themselves this past season. If the knicks made no moves and just stayed as healthy as any of the playoff teams then they would be right their looking at being in the playoffs. My reasoning is next year there won't be any adjustment period. The knicks should be able to come into next season confident about what they are supposed to do. They could only get better.

With a clear head, isiah should approach the team with care and not make any massive changes. Francis has to go and channing needs to be benched or traded as well. Isiah should look to sign Matt carrol to fill in the hole left by getting rid of francis. Houston coming put of retirement would make more sense though, but how likely is that and how long would it take for a dude like him to get used to the nba again?

As far as the front court, I think lee with malik backing him up would be ok. Malik finally showed his worth down the stretch of last season. That would be a nice balance. Balkman should be better next year and force isiah to make Jared the 3rd option at the 3 behind Q and balkman. Curry has a kid in Morris to get his minutes along with James. That's fine.

The knicks are gonna be fine. Adreniline filled and frustration based comments aside, the knicks should be alright going forward.