Posted by nattydreadz:

check my prior posts. been saying it. The Knicks will go nowhere with Crawford as "the main guy." Yes, he has won some games for us, but he has also lost many. He is just so eratic & relies too much on outside shot. Marbury has to be primary...and the rest of the team has to fit around him. Period

But......but.....but.....we basically been a .500 team since Craws been gone. Why don't we all just admit that all of our guards simply suck!

I think I will always have a problem with Knickerbocker shooting guards. I didn't like Allan Houston and Crawford never impressed me. Crawford helps the team as much as he hurts the team so IMO, he doesn't have to go. Him going won't hurt us much though.

4949 - I'm witchoo. Now here's where it gets interesting.

The "those who criticize to demand better pieces" see the Knicks as a recreational outlet for their amateur GM fantasies.

"Let's get Rashard Lewis... better yet... let's get Kevin Garnett..."

Without little consideration there are 25 other franchises with the identical agenda, such "know-it-alls" demand this and demand that for whatever their flava of the month happens to be.

Of course the Knicks have flaws. So does every other team to varying degrees.

The buidling process is a gradual climb, not an instant fix where one simply adds boiling water.

After the pain and suffering since 1999, I would offer these Knicks, showing monthy improvement where it counts, in the won-loss column, are on the right track.

nixluva - what you said

I think you have to go ooahh...


no lee for 7 games, we are 4-3 - does he have to go?

no jamal for 5 games we are 3-2.

eaxmine this...with Jamal in the SL, we are 16-16

with steve we are 6-11...

jamal is part of the future whether you like it or not. he is here to stay esp because of curry. curry is shooting 45% from the field without jamal. i think francis has to go and I pretty much will say, he is GONE by the summer.

steve francis is a joke and as much as he it the game winning 3- if he hadnt, he pretty much lost the game for us.

see isiah's comments today, "Without Crawford and Lee, I'm impressed with where we've still been able to manage and hang out," Thomas said before the game. "But with Crawford and Lee, going down these last 20 games with those two, with that group? I think we'd be pretty damn good."

[Edited by - queeniepop on 03-11-2007 12:05 PM]

Posted by 4949:

Posted by NYKresurrection:

But remember fellas, Curry's production is tied to Crawford weither we like it or not. So, we must consider the fact that by trading Craw, are scoring will be effected in 2 areas, so we MUST get someone back that make up that difference in scoring and getting Curry looks.

That's another great point! Forgot about that one. Since Craws missing in action, Curry hasn't done much with scoring, which also brings up another question. It proves that he can't do it by himself, which disproves that he is anything close to being a franchise player.

I would like to site another thing about the value of Crawford. In the last five games, since he went down, Curry has scored above his average just once, thus knocking his season average points scored from 19.9 down to 19.3. When Crawford plays, Curry's more into the flow of the offense. He's been going backwards, since Craws been missing.

Eddy Curry- last 5 games

16.2 ppg
44.4% FG
50% FT

Curry on season

19.3 ppg
58% FG
61% FT



[Edited by - queeniepop on 03-11-2007 11:59 AM]

16.2 ppg
44.4% FG
50% FT

without crawford.

Not to mentioon Marbury had a crap game last nite with Francis starting next to him

INTERVIEW WITH EDDY

Many who cover the New York Knicks knew Eddy Curry's game could possibly struggle after Jamal Crawford went down with a stress fracture in his right ankle back on the last day of February. They just hoped that wasn't the case. After two straight disappearing acts by Curry against Atlanta and Seattle however, it's pretty clear that "Steady Eddy" may have to drop the moniker.

For the next ten to fourteen days, Crawford will need crutches to support his surgically repaired ankle before enduring rehab.

As for Curry? Crawford is his crutch.

"It's a totally different look for me out there," Curry said without having Crawford around. "It's very tough."

Many think the two aren't related-Crawford's season ending injury and Curry's recent lackluster performances. But their stories are far more related than people know. Crawford and Curry consider themselves brothers. And like brothers tend to do, Crawford and Curry look out for one another, both on and off the hardwood. They came up together as part of the Chicago Bulls' youth movement long before Chicago was a postseason shoe-in and arrived in New York within a season of each other. But it wasn't until this year that Crawford and Curry truly understood how their games were intertwined.

Jamal loves to find Eddy with a lob in the post. And Eddy loves to tell how Jamal will risk turnover after turnover just to get him the ball. Curry has even said that no other teammate looks for him as much as Jamal does. No wonder Curry is a bit lost without his brother around .

He sees double-team after double-team, is swarmed when ever he touches the ball in the post and his turnovers continue to build, often killing the Knicks momentum during this time of the season where ever possession is costly. This doesn't bode well for New York as Curry ranks second in the league in total turnovers (210).

"It's crazy," Curry said about the increased double-teams since Crawford went down. "I didn't think it could get any worse. Teams are coming in with the mindset that their not going to let me beat them. I have to fight through it and find a way to be productive. I have to step up to the plate."

During Tuesday's heartbreaking loss to the Seattle Supersonics, Curry committed five turnovers and missed free throw after free throw. It got to the point where assistant coach Herb Williams sat next to Curry after he was pulled in favor of Malik Rose during the third quarter. Williams basically spoke about passing out of the double team before Curry felt the trap coming and offered words of encouragment. It never really sank in.

Curry knows coaches and teammates alike are trying to motivate him. Yet without the comfort level of playing alongside Crawford, Curry's game is undergoing some growing pains.

"I don't think I am in a funk. Teams are paying a lot of attention to me. I'm playing against a defense I haven't had to play before in my career. It's hard for Isiah (Thomas) to coach me out of it because he doesn't know a lot of times what to tell me but to go out there and keep playing and try to find a way to get it done."

In a lot of ways, Curry is getting it done, just not where he needs to. He put up 22 points against Golden State after learning in Crawford was out for the season and would possibly return if the Knicks were to make the playoffs. Ever since the Knicks win over the Warriors though, Curry has only managed to score 24 points, commit 7 turnovers, while going 8-18 from the free throw line in two games.

This doesn't sound like the Eddy Curry who put up 11 straight games with 20 or more points earlier in the season.

Even if Curry doesn't considering himself to be in a "funk", chances are the Knicks will be in one if Curry doesn't assert himself during Crawford's time away. The double teams are coming any time he touches the ball. He has to get rid of it quick and hit the freebies from the line. It's the same nuances of the game Curry has to manage regardless who is on the floor with him.

Stephon Marbury, who has scored 30 or more points his last three games out, has already made the adjustment without his backcourt mate.

"Jamal is a big part of our offense. When he's on the basketball court he makes plays for others just as well as making plays for himself, whether he is getting the assist or not and by scoring he opens things up."

Now Curry has to take some of that pressure off Marbury and adapt to life without Jamal if the Knicks want to keep being mentioned in postseason talks, where every game is a fight for the eighth and final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference.

"With Jamal being out we knew someone would have to step up and carry the load for us," Curry said.

That's all you Eddy.

That's all you.



[Edited by - queeniepop on 03-11-2007 12:02 PM]