Posted by TMS:

Balkman could easily put up better than 12 & 5 right now if given 32 mpg... to think he couldn't progress into a better player than Shandone is really short selling Balkman... defensively Shandon was solid, but give Balkman a year or 2 to bulk up & learn these players' tendencies & he'll be a better lockdown defender.

I just don't see it. He puts up a lot of energy in limited minutes. Can he sustain that if he were to play 35 or would he have to pace himself? Might some of those ratio numbers go down a bit? I like the way Balkman plays, but again... I like the way he plays, I think he could be a very import role player on a good team. If you want to point out numbers, fine, but that's not what I was saying, I meant more on the style of play, importance to a team scale. If you think Balkman's a starter, great. It's surely possible. If you think he's a star, I'm certainly suspicious of that analysis. Quite frankly, until Balkman moves up in the depth chart (e.g.: ahead of Jared Jeffries, Q, etc...) he won't be a starter. Not next year, not the year after... unless Knicks management wants him to be a starter. So I have a tough time seeing that even if Balkman does have more potential that he'll get the opportunity. This organization is not known for playing the best player, but for playing whoever is highest paid or whoever fits Knicks management's agenda at the time. If Balkman doesn't get to start for the next three or four years, maybe he gets discouraged and never hits his potential. I see that as a very very possible scenario.

Posted by MS:

Have you really watched Balkman at all this year?

That is a nitpick snit post. I hate getting challenged by people's insecure bull****. I already explained multiple times in this thread what I meant by my comments. If you can't read, then maybe you should go back to elementary school. I don't have time for snit posts. Thanks.

I just hope he doesn't get traded, and gets the chance to develop. The Knick's sure do need players like Mr Balkman and General Lee.

I agree about his defense and rebounding. He's very good at both. I don't think he has the ability to be a good shooter - even with work, but he can develop his moves to and around the basket.

Posted by bigbeast:

He can be a poor mans Gerald Wallace. Balks explosive but not as explosive as Wallace.

Balk needs to work on his handle in terms of getting around his man. He needs to add a mid range jumper and not worry so much about the 3. He doesn't have a great shooting touch, so he should work on using the backboard (a la Pippen, Nique). The one handed put-shot (similar to Mark Jackson) would help aswell.

Balk is actually a good compliment to Lee and Curry because he adds the shot-blocking tangible that both Curry and Lee lack. He also rebounds like a PF which helps being in the same lineup with Curry.

I disagree about his shooting touch- he has good form and when his shots go in, they look. Unlike Jeffries who just looks terrible.

I see him being able to hit 3's in the 40-45% range. He'll be a threat.

And his handle is awesome. He just needs more work on half court type moves.

Projecting Balkman- I would love to see him develop his shot and move to the 2 for us- perhaps 2 off the bench.

Shannon Anderson? INSULT!

It comes down to if Balkman WANTS to be a stud. If he really wants to be a stud then he will put in the hours and hours of trying to develop his game all yr long. This upside & potential is all based on the hard work he puts in. There is not one stud player in the NBA who got to that level by not putting in hours and hours and hours of work to better his game.

If Balkman is happy to be an role player he will be a role player. If Balkman wanted to me more, and put in the work to be more. He can be more.

Ben Wallace made himself into an allstar, and a championship calibre center. From being an undrafted journey man with no offensive game who was a great rebounder.

Fyre can't be great, he is slow doesn't have great hands and can't jump. He is physically weak, i think he sould just drop the weight he put on, he was much more effective last year with the body he had.....he doesn't have the same rise he did

Posted by Solace:

Btw, people also thought the following young Knicks would be stars: Lavor Postell, Mike Sweetney, Maciej Lampe, Channing Frye, Frank Williams, Erick Strickland, John Wallace, Nate Robinson, Trevor Ariza.

The point being, it's better to err on the side of caution when talking about young players than to be overzealous. Young players are exciting and there is that unknown about how good they will ultimately be, but at the same token, try not get too lost in that. This team still has a long way to go, but if Balkman, Lee, Frye, Nate, Curry, Marbury, Craw, Q, Jeffries, Francis, etc... were all stars, then we would be putting up 230 points a night and would be unbeatable.

to be fair, you've been very high on Marcus Williams' potential, & he hasn't proved a thing in the NBA... we'll pick & choose which young players we see promise in... who i pick might be different than who you pick... it's all a guessing game.

i was right about Sweetney tho.

[Edited by - TMS on 02-23-2007 5:10 PM]