Posted by djsunyc:


but the *deceptive* comment has to do more with isiah the gm and not the coach.

OK, because we were talking about Isiah the coach.

And is it deceptive if Isiah the GM tells you he is going to lie to you and then lies to you? Personally, I could care less how Isiah goes about his business, his job is to put a winning team on the floor. He doesn't hurt my feelings because one moment he is talking about the team getting closer to the cap number, the next he trades for Zach Randolph. I don't need him holding my hand, I need him to put a winning product on the floor. This year, especially after getting Zach, is his make or break year in my eyes.

By the way, discounting the job Isiah the coach has done with Steph by dismissively saying its because Steph has no one else to complain to is disingenuous. Isiah did nothing with Stephon but coach him. He didn't go crying to the media when Stephon said something bad about him (and Marbury did question Isiah in the media after the benchings) he didn't change the game plan to teach his petulant point-guard a lesson. He didn't brag about having a juice card, he coached him, and he got results. Who knows if six years ago with Marbury at the top of his game Isiah could have reached him in the same way, gotten him to sign on to the game plan of starting the offense with Eddy Curry...that we can argue. But you can't argue with the results he got last year, convincing him that his game needs to change, that he can be a veteran presence on a young and building team.

Speaking of which....I don't think benching Curry because of a lack of effort on the defensive end would have been constructive for a team building its identity, like it or not (and I know its probably not) around him. Cutting Curry's minutes in January and February when the team was coming together with Craw, Marbs and Eddy building chemistry would have been dumb, sorry. We know from the way Isiah has handled other players that he will not have a problem using playing time as a whip if he needs to. With Curry he is taking a different approach, for the player, and for a team that looks to their center as their go-to guy.

Yes, you think we should have built around Channing Frye at center so begrudge him the minutes the fat guy got. Well, thats one road we won't go down now.

Posted by Bippity10:
Coming together? We were playing .500 ball

Right.

Right, as in correct.

Or you don't think that going .500 after starting the season going 6-11 in November, or compiling a 15-7 home record from December after going 1-6 at MSG can be considered "coming together"?

What would meet your criteria for progress? Going .600, an 18-4 home record? Point is the team was improving. Not fully together, I'm not saying I was satisfied with where they were (as I am sure I will be accused of being) but in the hunt, largely because of a surging Eddy Curry, who went for 22 ppg on 63% shooting over that period.

Which goes to djsunyc's point that we shouldn't have been playing Curry all those minutes. I disagree.