Well.....

Would you guys say the Knicks are starting to show a balanced inside outside attack?

The dump it down to Curry and Zach at all cost scheme hasn't worked......yet......from that scheme failing Craw and Nate have feasted on carrying the Knicks over comebacks......

The difference over these wins? Recognition. The post guys are not forcing it. Zach AND eddy both love to barrell and chuck even if they don't have a chance in hell at scoring.......wins? Big guys are passing the ball out. The perimeter guys in turn are doing their job as far as penitration, passing back in and moving the ball around....

All of this is stuff they absolutely refused to do all year......until now.

I remember telling DJ at one of the games we went to that all they had to do was swing it to the other side cuz guys are open......dude that's all they are doing right now.....and the bigs are learning that the ball will come back. They are also learning that Craw and Nate are going to make stuff happen for them.

Also like nixluva has been saying.....curl plays! Oh my God what a revelation. The guards are as important as the bigs.

Go Knicks! Just win man.....play like this and dont give up. We see you man......keep on playing good ball. The record and season may be a wash right now but RESPECT is way more important that a stinkin draft pick. If you guys were playing like this from jump street.....nobody would be talking about a draft pick.

Go Knicks.......(I got my EnySpecs on!)

Nate Robinson 9 to 2 A/TO last night and Crawford 8/16 FG. So those numbers above just get better.

Nate's been the biggest reason for this team's resurgence the past few games... i used to consider him a throw in on any trade to unload a contract... i'm beginning to think he could be part of the solution instead of the problem going forward... good for you, Nate... keep playing like this & you're gonna prove a lot of us wrong about you.

Can we call this the "Marbury Theory"? :)

i loved that putback dunk he threw down, but he'd let out that primal scream whether we were making a comeback in a close game or if we were down by 30 in all likelihood... sometimes i think he's just wound completely too tight for my taste, but i have to admit he simply plays at a different speed than anyone else on the floor most of the time... i've never seen a player w/as much stamina running around like a madman like he does... we definitely could use more players w/that type of energy on the floor.

Nate is gonna make those primal screams and it's just something you're gonna have to accept from him. He's still been playing very well though so you gotto take the good with the bad.

He's NOT a fulltime PG. He's still a scorer and he's not really someone who can direct an offense for a full game, BUT he can do it in spurts and when he does, he does a nice job.

If Isiah wanted to go after a vet, I think Isiah should have gotton someone like Darrel Armstrong last Summer, instead of bothering with Fred Jones (Useless) because while he wouldn't be getting much playing time, he could have taught Jamal and Nate A LOT!

Posted by TMS:

i've taken a liking to Fred Jones actually... he's no impact player but he knows his role & gives it his all whenever he's on the floor... still, i'd much rather see Mardy getting his minutes instead.

I have no dislike for Fred Jones either. He can be a role player for any team, but I just say useless b/c what's the particular point in having him? He's not particularly skilled in one area and he never really made a mark in the league besides in the dunk contest. He plays hard all the time and plays OK defense and can make a nice move or nice shot now and then, but he's the most replaceable player on the team.

Darryl Armstrong would make an even lesser impact but he used to be a very very good PG and was quite versataile and he can teach Jamal and Nate a lot about that.

Posted by Allanfan20:

He's NOT a fulltime PG. He's still a scorer and he's not really someone who can direct an offense for a full game, BUT he can do it in spurts and when he does, he does a nice job.

If Isiah wanted to go after a vet, I think Isiah should have gotton someone like Darrel Armstrong last Summer, instead of bothering with Fred Jones (Useless) because while he wouldn't be getting much playing time, he could have taught Jamal and Nate A LOT!

Why not? He's making a lot of plays for others and is taking care of the ball. He's clearly playing with a different mentality than the one dimensional scorer he was coming in as a rookie. He's not a traditional PG because he can score and because of his size, but he's clearly shown a dedication to playing it the right way.

Posted by VDesai:

He's convinced me he can be a PG now. Or at least share a PG role. His value is about twice what it was before the season.

+999,999,999

Nate looked like a clown before this year, but he's proving many wrong right now. I hope he continues to improve, because right now (on a good team) he is a above average bench player. He keeps working on his point skills, he could elevate into sixth man status or potentially a starter. The key here is he ain't there yet, and he has to continue to want to improve. Meaning, he has to approach each offseason like he approached last offseason.

BTW, my non-scientific approach tells me that TS% is roughly between 8-10% higher on scale than FG%- so around 58-60% TS is roughly where you'd normally see the cutoff of 50% FG shooters. Anyone over 3 to 1 A/TO is around "excellent" to "elite" in that category- so Nate's numbers are really terrific.

Just to give you context, here is their career numbers:

Jamal:

14.2 ppg, 41.6% FG, 34.7% 3pt, 83.5% FT, 4.1 AST, 2.7 TO

TS%: 51.4% 1.95:1
A/TO: 1.95:1

Nate:

10.2 ppg, 42.2% FG, 38.19 3pt, 76.1% FT, 2.0 AST, 1.4 TO

TS: 53.7%
A/TO: 1.42 to 1


Here are the NBA leage leaders in TS%:
http://www.knickerblogger.net/stats/2008/jh_ALL_TSP.htm