Posted by crzymdups:

I expect playoffs. whether they're ready to win more than a game or two remains to be seen.

I would say this:

* missing the playoffs = huge failure

* making the playoffs, one round and done = meets expectations

* advance to second round = huge success

Posted by fishmike:

one note...
last year:
Marbury/Moochie
Houston/Crawford/Penny
TT/JYD/Ariza
KT/Sweetney
Nazr/Baker

Coming off a playoff berth we added Crawford and Ariza. TT had a solid 2nd half before he got hurt in the playoffs. Houston had made one semi successfull comeback before colliding with whoever and hurting the knee again. Vin Baker visited the Wizard of Oz and got a new heart. Ariza had great promise and after SL and camp looked like a 2nd round steal. Sweetney lost weight was looked great in the offseason. Crawford was the combo gaurd we needed next to Marbury and was great insurance for Houston. Penny showed he could still be a valuable bench player.

I heard things like great backcourt, super deep, players with upside, bla bla bla. Hell, I was pretty excited to be 15-12 after 1/3 of the season. Well as we all know we went on to win 33 games.

Now I like what we have done in this offseason but can anyone say have have added a single impact player? We lost our most productive and consistant frontcourt player. We added a SG who's shot < 40% for 3 years in a row, 3 rookies, a 30 year old center that misses tons of games and averages 3.6 fouls per 17 minutes and a HOF coach.

Man.. I REALLY want to believe this team has really turned a corner but why should I?

Good question, but I think we ARE better. Four major holes last year have been filled:

1) Shotblocking - we didn't have anyone averaging even 1 block per game. Now we have James and Frye, who at worst should give us three blocks a game (combined). This will help contain a lot of Marbury and Craw's defensive lapses. When guys come to the paint now, there will be one or two big bodies there to make contact, block a shot, alter a shot, make a slasher think for a second before taking it to the rim. This is huge, in my opinion. Maybe it backfires and James plays like crap and Frye is a bust, but I think they'll combine for about 3.5 to 4.0 blocks a night and VASTLY improve our D.

2) Backup PG - may seem minor, but it led to Marbury playing too many minutes and the +/- for the backup PGs (Moochie and Jackson) was -12!!! If Nate can play even (I think he'll have a very good +/-), then Marbury can rest longer and he won't come back from the bench with the team in the whole. Another big improvement.

3) Depth - We THOUGHT we were deep last year, and we may be wrong again, but bottom line: last year Jermaine Jackson was our backup at PG and SG in Feb, Mar, Apr. Now, we have have Nate, Q, Marbury and Craw to man those spots and they're all in their 20s. In the front court, after the Nazr trade, we had no centers and plenty of small PFs. Now we have one legit center in James, one guy who can play there in Frye. We also have Lee and Frye to play the 4. They're long and athletic and will help the defense immensely. I think the fact that a lot of our depth is young is very big. We're not depending on Allan or Penny anymore, who are two of the big reasons we went in the tank when Jamal got injured.

4) Coaching. I was never a fan of the Lenny move. It reeked of panic. I love the Larry Brown move. I think he'll play the guys who play hard and it will be great for the development of Lee, Trevor, Nate and Frye. Our defense will almost certainly be better.

bonus - we have two huge expiring deals to add a major piece in February after Brown gets a feel for the team.

Now, there is the drawback of losing Kurt and Nazr to deal with, but if you look at the fact that we got Q, Nate, Lee, Malik and a #1 pick to replace them, I think we'll be okay.

I'm not saying we'll win the first round (though, if the rooks develop and we make a deadline move, you never know), but I do think this will be an immensely entertaining team that actually has room to improve from within for once. I'm happy with the offseason. Now if it would just end.

[Edited by - crzymdups on 08/09/2005 13:11:09]

Posted by oohah:

The Knicks will NOT make the playoffs with the current roster.

Unless:

A) Sweetney, Crawford, James, Q play MUCH better than they have in their respective careers.

B) The whole team starts taking steroids.

C)Ariza Turns into a star...

D)Isiah makes some trades to improve the front court.

E)The rookies are the real deal and all 3 make a substatial impact at their respective positions.

If 2 of these things happen the Knicks have a shot at making the playoffs. If 3 do they can make the 2nd round. I separated Ariza from the rest because I think he is a budding star, and will show the most improvement in the front court this year. I don't know that he will be a "star" this year though.

oohah


better hope that ariza does not turn into a star this year [and i dont think he will, his offensive game is way to raw]bUT if he does, he wont be a Knick the following year because we can only pay him, owning just his early bird rights. if a team likes him enough, he is gone.no 20 FA will EVER take LESS. Bobby Simmons made out as a 1 year wonder, we would rather see trevor play well, but not to the level that would put him on the market above an MLE. I read the entire CBA agreement on draftexpress website and while there is a form of the new arenas rule in there, it would not pertain to Ariza. It's up there to read for anyone who wants to. It doesnt say Arenas rule, but there is a slight diversion from the old CBA, but not in trevor's case.

Posted by nixluva:

I think that you can expect that on a LB team there won't be any outrageous scoring years from any one player. The fact that they will play better D and be more conservative on O should lead to a game with fewer possessions. Unless they play uptempo and push the ball a lot. With the amount of team speed we have that is a possibility. I just think that we only need for the TEAM to play solid D and the offense will take care of itself. We have players that will get out on the break off of stops and steals and there will be a lot more easy offense next year.

I just think too many of us are stuck in the past and can't see how this team will have improved over the previous years. We haven't had this much talent and depth along with a great coach since JVG left. You don't always need superstars to win. You DO need solid team play and a lot of really good players. I think the Knicks fit thhat bill.

Posted by Bonn1997:

Posted by BRIGGS:

[quote]Posted by oohah:

The Knicks will NOT make the playoffs with the current roster.

Unless:

A) Sweetney, Crawford, James, Q play MUCH better than they have in their respective careers.

B) The whole team starts taking steroids.

C)Ariza Turns into a star...

D)Isiah makes some trades to improve the front court.

E)The rookies are the real deal and all 3 make a substatial impact at their respective positions.

If 2 of these things happen the Knicks have a shot at making the playoffs. If 3 do they can make the 2nd round. I separated Ariza from the rest because I think he is a budding star, and will show the most improvement in the front court this year. I don't know that he will be a "star" this year though.

oohah


better hope that ariza does not turn into a star this year [and i dont think he will, his offensive game is way to raw]bUT if he does, he wont be a Knick the following year because we can only pay him, owning just his early bird rights. if a team likes him enough, he is gone.no 20 FA will EVER take LESS. Bobby Simmons made out as a 1 year wonder, we would rather see trevor play well, but not to the level that would put him on the market above an MLE. I read the entire CBA agreement on draftexpress website and while there is a form of the new arenas rule in there, it would not pertain to Ariza. It's up there to read for anyone who wants to. It doesnt say Arenas rule, but there is a slight diversion from the old CBA, but not in trevor's case.

You can't seriously be worried about this? Given the depth of the team at the 2/3 and the coach, I don't think Ariza can get enough playing time for a team to offer him more than the MLE. If he's going to have a Bobby Simons season, he'll have to beat out two of TT, Q-Rich, and Jamal to start and average 30 plus mpg and put up 15 PPG, 5 RPG, 3 assists, 2 steals

[Edited by - Bonn1997 on 08/09/2005 15:17:45]