The Knicks are a team with zero confidence right now...Down the stretch, no one wanted to have the ball except Steph and Randolph...Zack hit some big shots...They needed the win to build on...It wasn't pretty at all but a win that can boost some confidence...So we run with that....

The bulls shot 34% and still beat us every quarter but one. They had a disastrous 12pt 2nd quarter and that lost them the game. And they couldn't buy a jumper down the stretch.

Lets face it, that Bulls team is off, but when Deng is out and Gordon has a bad game they're not beating anyone.

We'll see what happens, but no question the concerns about the team linger. I think we did see more cohesiveness in terms of team chemistry, and it was nice to see Balkman back in action. Marbury played a good game and like oohah mentioned in the game thread, when the Knicks get good guard play (he referred to Steph) they tend to do better as a team.

Problem is our guards have not been consistently dependable at much of anything. By next year we have to have someone who can consistently shoot from the outside, defend, and create/penetrate from the guard spots.

I thought Nate showed some of the same promise in these areas we saw early in the season and in SL, which could bode well, but he is not enough, and hasn't either been consistent enough or healthy. Would be great if we had a our floor leader be a leader as well, and as much as I like Nate's promise, is he that person?

As we all know this team has too few quality set 3 point shooters at any position. Nate and Marbury are probably the best at it, with Nate being better and showing some ability to hit a mid-range jump shot of the dribble.

Then, our starting 2 guard does neither of these well with any consistency, and as many feel, should be someone that comes off the bench on a good team. I appreciate Jamal's effort to improve himself this year, but what happened to the penetration we saw in the first few games that was getting him to the FT line?

In the Cavs, T-Wolves and Denver game Jamal went to the line 8 times in each game. We have yet to see Crawford go more than 4 times to the line since.

Look at the assist totals he had in those 3 games too. 6, 7, 8. I found that he was creating a lot of havoc for teams with his penetration and now that's completely invisible, and his Assist-TO ration has suffered. He always turns the ball over too much, but at least he was creating more than turning the ball over, AND getting to the line where he is very effective.

If we're not moving him, Isiah needs to bring those numbers up. I mean are they not? What's going on? Who's talking to Jamal about this?

Anyway, we have a host of problems, but it could be a baby step towards getting back to playing .500 ball, which is not good enough considering the awful losing streak, or a blip on the radar before Isiah's removal.

[Edited by - PresIke on 11-24-2007 5:30 PM]

[Edited by - PresIke on 11-24-2007 5:31 PM]

like today, when you leash Crawford and give Steph the vote of confidence to make plays for this team NY will fair much better.

ultimately a replacement for Stephon has to be found but as JVG put it, he isn't on this current roster.

Posted by PresIke:

In the Cavs, T-Wolves and Denver game Jamal went to the line 8 times in each game. We have yet to see Crawford go more than 4 times to the line since.

Look at the assist totals he had in those 3 games too. 6, 7, 8. I found that he was creating a lot of havoc for teams with his penetration and now that's completely invisible, and his Assist-TO ration has suffered. He always turns the ball over too much, but at least he was creating more than turning the ball over, AND getting to the line where he is very effective.

I agree with your whole post, but this part is super disturbing to me. Jamal was invisible out there tonight. If he drives and goes to the line, the game changes dramatically for us. We need him badly and its tough to rely on a player so inconsistant.

chicago, is awful, and we barely beat them. I still think they need a PG and to address this SF spot. I will take the win, but 3-9 is nothing to jump up about..

Posted by tkf:

chicago, is awful, and we barely beat them. I still think they need a PG and to address this SF spot. I will take the win, but 3-9 is nothing to jump up about..

Chicago's main problem is they do not have Deng. Who I feel is the most underrated player in the league. Another problem the Bulls have right now is adjusting to the fact that they do not have P.J. Brown. Remember Brown was one of the main reasons they were a good team last year. They should have just paid him the money he wanted. P.J Brown was so good last year that he made Ben Wallace irrelevant.



[Edited by - BigC on 11-24-2007 9:28 PM]

What I saw was a better defensive effort. Yeah our offense is still broken, but I think eventually that will right itself. The encouraging thing is that the last few games the team has been trying to get better defensively and tho they aren't good, they have gotten visibly more committed to defending. It was a big plus to get Balks energy back on the floor. We needed an infusion of energy and he provides it. The key of course is more consistency.

As was pointed out already our perimeter players are not as aggressive as they need to be. Jamal is best when he's attacking. Someone needs to show him the film of the 1st 3 games, cuz that's how he needs to play. Steph is the same, he needs controlled aggression. Q has had a bad start to the season and his shot has abandoned him. Without those 3 really contributing to the offense, teams will pack it in like that have, cuz Zach and Curry aren't gonna pass it if they don't have confidence in our shooters. They're reluctant passers as it is, so they don't need anymore incentive not to pass the ball. We all know how important perimeter threats are to a good post game, so that has to improve. If we can get Zach to be more patient with his post game and look to pass, both he and Curry will be much more successful. I think Zach started to get the idea as I saw late in the game he took his time to look around before making his move and it paid off.