Posted by Klytus:

Posted by TMS:

Posted by Klytus:

Posted by misterearl:

"break up to make up is all we do..."

- The Stylistics

Klytus - actually, I think David Lee is decent as a walking double-double and Nate is maturing in productive scoring and rebounding baby stats right before our disbelievin' eyes.

please don't watch

David Lee is only a double-double player on a bad team like this one. And he doesn't even average a double-double (10/8) and he plays behind two stiffs like Eddy Curry and Zach Randolph.

And Nate Robinson is terrible.

there's at least 10 or 11 teams D Lee could be starting for right now.

Ridiculous.

Name them.

i posted the list on another thread, but since you missed it, here's what i posted:

ATL, CHA, CHI, CLE, DEN, DET, GS, HOU, IND, MEM, MIA, MIL, MIN, NJ, PHI, POR, SAC, SA, SEA... all teams where D Lee could be starting right now if he were on their team, either to replace their starting PF, or to move their starting PF over to C.

i undershot that list by at least 9... tell me there's not at least 10 teams on that list D Lee could be starting for right now.

[Edited by - TMS on 02-28-2008 12:33 PM]

ATL - Al Holford, Josh Smith
- Smith is a SF... they have Marvin Williams starting at the PF spot who's really a 3 also, D Lee is a much better rebounder & a better fit to start alongside Horford upfront

CHA - Nazr Mohammed, Emeka Okafor
- you can easily move Okafor over to the C spot & have D Lee starting over Nazr... they only play Nazr like 19 mpg as it is... there's a reason for that, he's not that good

CHI - Joakim Noah, Drew Gooden
- David Lee is better than Drew Gooden, i'm sorry

CLE - Zydrunas Ilguaskas, Ben Wallace
- CLE was included on my list before the trade went down... obviously things have changed since

DEN - Marcus Camby, Kenyon Martin
- w/Camby's shotblocking at C you could easily afford to start D Lee at PF, who's a better rebounder than KMart is & puts up better #'s

DET - Rasheed Wallace, Antonio McDyess
- Lee is better than McKnee

GS - Andris Biedrins, Al Harrington
- actually, right now they have C Webb starting at C i believe... in either case, i think D Lee is more fit to play the PF spot than Harrington... w/the style of game they play tho i'll submit on this one.

HOU - Yao Ming, Luis Scola
- Luis Scola? you're kidding me right?

IND - Troy Murphy, Jermaine O'Neal
- Lee is better than T Murph, come on already... if you wanna argue about not playing D then including T Murph to illustrate your point doesn't work

MIA - Udonis Haslem, Shawn Marion
- Marion is a SF & they have Blount starting at the C spot as far as i know... you could easily go small & have Lee & Haslem upfront w/Marion at the 3 & run a more uptempo style offense... Blount is garbage

MIL - Andrew Bogut, Yi Jianlian
- Yi is more of a SF & right now they have Charlie V starting games at the 4, no? i think D Lee is a better player than Villanueva, & would complement Yi's game much better since he'd be doing the dirty work under the boards & let Yi exploit his man on the perimeter... Bogut & Lee upfront w/Yi at the swing position would be an upgrade over Charlie V & Simmons at the 4 & 3 spots if u ask me.

POR - Joel Pryzbilla, LaMarcus Alridge
- Pryzbilla's a scrub... D Lee's already putting up better #'s off the bench than he is starting games

SA - Kurt Thomas, Tim Duncan
- as far as i know Oberto is starting games, but i could be wrong on that one too... in either case, D Lee is a better rebounder than either of those guys & would complement Duncan & Parker's games well... i can understand wanting to start KT tho since he's a much better post defender & more savvy, so i'll concede on this one as well.

[Edited by - TMS on 02-28-2008 1:11 PM]

Good job TMS, and Nate Robinson is not terrible. He's turned himself into a nice bench player (If he were to be a bench player) and his TOs are down whenever I watch, although I haven't watched lately.

Nate has been the one Knick guard actually trying to go over screens lately.

The Answer Man Channels The (cough) Kindred Spirits of Ed Koch and David Dinkins

Q. Panos - Hey Earl, How's the Mayoral Campaign going?

A. Peachy-keen. We have given The Mayor license to shoot every single time he touches the freakin' rock and we're working on his acceptance speech as Comeback Player of The Year in 2009

keep hope alive

[Edited by - misterearl on 02-28-2008 7:49 PM]

My kingdom for a floor leader...

"Why do you think I'm so excited about when we finally turn this thing around?" said David Lee, one of the fans' favorites, who had 12 points and 15 rebounds starting in place of Randolph. "It's unbelievable ...

...you look at the other teams with similar records to us - Charlotte, Memphis - and they got like two people in the stands. That's a special atmosphere we had tonight for the type of season we're having."

The Garden is a special place that only needs a compelling reason to cheer. The acceptance of the yoots is a clear sign that New York will stick with them.

Never Give Up Forward Thinking Shift Du Jour

Curry
Lee
Chandler
Balkman
Jamal





[Edited by - misterearl on 03-08-2008 11:19 AM]

Thomas has done a terrible job of developing the youth. It seems clear to everyone that Lee, Nate, Balkman, Chandler, and Morris are probably better than the people they are playing behind. Only Nate and Lee have broken into the rotation. Why Balkman and Chandler don't play over Jeffries in inexcusable. Q at least is a decent defender but even he should not be getting more than 20 minutes with Balkman and Chandler on the bench. Why play Jones when you could be giving those minutes to Collins and determining whether he and Nate can be your pgs for the future. Why is Morris, who looks like he actually can play, not getting minutes when even Rose gets occasional PT. This season is lost and IT should have realized that fact 20 games ago. If he does not play Chandler, Morris, Collins, and Balkman significant minutes over the last 20 games, he should be fired for that fact alone even ignoring the other things he has done to lose this job.

2. Has there ever been a 5'9 off guard like our volcanic Nate? (rumble young man, rumble)

1. JJ: Jerryd Bayless - Jamal Crawford

http://www.nysun.com/article/72631

By Martin (Johnson)
March 10, 2008 NY Sun

(exerpted) I've often wondered what would have happened if the other road had been taken, if, instead of desperate grabs for big money or moderately talented players such as Stephon Marbury, Eddy Curry, Zach Randolph, Steve Francis, and Jamal Crawford, the Knicks had let the Layden-era contracts age off and fielded a team of hardworking young players. Saturday night, we got the answer and it was exhilarating. The Knicks played without Curry, Crawford, Marbury, and Randolph, and lost a close, exciting game to Portland, 120–114 in overtime. It was a game full of hustle plays and hard work from the outmanned New Yorkers, and the sold-out Garden crowd cheered so loudly that at times I thought Willis Reed had walked onto the floor to take the opening tip.

The Knicks would have won the game but for three occurrences. One, no foul was called on Nate Robinson's buzzer-beating drive to the hoop in regulation. He drew contact before the shot, and it would have been too appropriate to finish a career-topping night (his final tally was 45 points on 16–28 shooting, six assists, six rebounds, and only two turnovers) with the game-winning free throw. Nonetheless, it was a relief almost beyond words to see a close Knicks game where it came down to a final shot and not have the play result in an isolation along the perimeter leading to a 20-foot jump shot. Robinson capitalized on his athleticism and beat the defense down the floor, made a nice fake at the free throw line, and took the ball strong to the hole.

It isn't news that Thomas's coaching blunders are compounding his mistakes as a general manager. Watching a Knicks team play without Thomas's four major acquisitions made me think all the more about his error-laden reign. Like most writers who focus on the Knicks, I've been thinking about the epitaph for this administration. Given that Thomas willingly passed on creating a team like the one that took the floor on Saturday, I've begun to believe that Isiah never really understood New York City basketball.

The Garden is down the street from all the glitzy neon of Times Square, but basketball in these parts isn't about bling: It's about grit, hustle, and determination; it's blue-collar, not nouveau-riche; asphalt-jungle, not luxury-condo. Here's hoping that, sometime in the coming months, Thomas's successor is named and that coach gets to know New York hoops before he starts making moves.

mjohnson@nysun.com