Posted by Ira:

What happened to the old Jared Jeffries who we all knew and despised for the lack of anything resembling an offenseve game? What happened to the Jared Jeffries who hit three 3 pt shots a season - not a game? Is he gone or did he just take the day off?

If he will not break some of his fragile limbs he will be OK

Just saw the whole replay & I really liked what I saw today:

Harrington - Already looks to be in mid-season form. Ready to go. There was a stretch last year where he looked like Carmelo Anthony East to me. I love how he's taken on a leadership role with this team. Great trade by Donnie - we got a better contract to work with and a much better player.

Lee - Evident improvement every year. Jumper was good last year and looks even better this year. Deeper range now with even more confidence. He put those up today with no hesitation at all - and most of them dropped. Hopefully we can find a way to retain him at the end of the year. I would hate to lose this guy for nothing.

Jeffries - He shot the ball exceptional well today but to me what really caught my eye was his great defense - I don't know how many blocks he officially had, but he was challenging everything. Hit the glass hard too. If he can play like he did today it's a win/win situation for us -- he plays well and contributes to our success and also elevates his value in the process, hopefully to the point where some team may look to take him off our hands at the deadline. If he stays healthy & plays like he did today where he contributed on both ends I bet there will be a playoff team out there that'll show some interest. For a team that'll be looking to gear up for the playoffs and not interested in free agency next summer, his contract's actually quite manageable.

Duhon - Steady and heady. I said it last year - I'd love to see this guy compete in the 3 point shoot-out eventually. I betcha he could win that competition. He'd be my dark horse.

Hughes - Lost. 3 quick fouls early first quarter, lousy shot selection. Looked out of it. He looks like a shell of what he used to be. Hopefully he can become more comfortable and find a way to contribute because I think Mike's gonna play him.

Chandler - Looked very good. Hit a majority of his jumpers from all over and he rebounded & D'ed up real well today. As soon as I see him go up and throw down a dunk on someone I'll breathe a little easier and I think he will too.

Gallo - Looked good. I loved seeing him put it on the floor a little later in the game. Very good passer. Great feel for what he's doing out there in ever facet. I can't wait 'til he gets to the point where he feels totally comfortable, physically and otherwise, and we finally see the whole package on display.

Darko - Had two nice plays -- nice hook shot in close and a nice help block on the baseline. Needs to build on that. His jumper actually looks pretty good but I feel he needs to be in close on offense to be most effective.

Nate - Played well. Doing his thing.

TD - I thought he played really well today. Great glue guy - he's got a knack for getting guys involved, he's got a decent handle and he played really good defense keeping a majority of guys in front of him. And he's nowhere near a finished product - I can't wait to see what he'll become eventually... Since becoming a pro his jumper's deserted him a little bit, but if there's anything we know he does well it's shooting the ball. Loved seeing him take the ball right to the goal early on. That's key for him. I feel good about this guy. He's only gonna get better and better. He really didn't play like a rookie today. He could be one of the steals of the draft.

Hill - Looks out of sync and it may take a little while before he gets acclimated to the NBA and MDA's system & style. Doesn't have a defined role on this club yet - the front court's crowded and he's low man on the totem pole right now (well maybe a step up from Curry). When a spot opens up, expect the Knicks to immediately put him in position to be successful and expect him to push himself & get himself more involved. The first stretch he has where he has some success will really kick start this guy. He might be a little discouraged right now. Still, he's got so many things going for him (size, athleticism, high skill level esp. offensively, hustle, nose for the ball, rebounding prowess) that I can't possibly see how he doesn't become a big contributor for this club in due time. Briggs recommended the D-League on another thread and I think that's a good call. Personally I hate the D-League -- I'm sure it's not completely the case, but I just don't feel like there's enough emphasis on the 'developing' and teaching aspects as there should be -- there's way too many guys that run around and put up numbers down there but then get the call and show they're still not ready to contribute in the NBA. And what's up with that one NBDL team owner saying he'd love to have Marbury on his team? Huh? Why? Is he a young player that needs to be developed? No. He's a crackpot washed up vet that needs to stay as far away from young players as possible IMO. Makes absolutely no sense. Marbury should never be allowed to join a NBDL team. It'd be nice to eventually see the NBDL as a whole take a lot more pride in developing guys as men and players but Briggs makes a good point - the steady PT he'll get in Reno might be the best thing for him right now.

Crawford - I like him. I've been talking about getting quality end-of-the-rotation talent for a while now especially at the 2 and I think I've been overlooking this kid. He played well this summer and I like what he can do -- at 6'5" he can put it on the floor and get to the rim, handle it well for a 2 and shoot the ball. Just looks like he belongs out there. Had a good last year at Kentucky where he showed he could score the ball in a variety of ways. Pretty damn athletic too - showed he could play an exciting, above the rim brand of basketball while at Kentucky. Dominated the D-League in his stint down there as well going for over 20 a game. I want to see more of this guy. I'd love to see this guy instead of Larry Hughes to be honest but I know it won't happen - the last thing we need is a malcontent Larry Hughes on our hands.

[Edited by - finestrg on 10-05-2009 08:47 AM]

Turns out we lost!

Evidently

caseloads - Please stop with the ridiculously negative comments that Wilson Chandler looks like he coasting. That is the same thing writers said about Duane Thomas of the Cowboys or Jerry Rice of the 49ers as they were blowing by defenders. You ever take the time to study how graceful the 6'8 240 pound Lebron James moves? No wasted effort.

He looks like he is coasting doesn't he?

The Mayor is a graceful and coordinated 6'8, 240. The next time you see a dude that big move so fluidly, please find another adjective other than coasting.

Please.

Why can't Darko improve his basketball IQ?

I mean, really...

nyk4ever - LOL


It's a great morning to be Knicks fan

Toney Douglas has the demeanor of a leader

Danilo is walking upright

David Lee still hits the open man

Darko is tall

The Devil.. I mean... The Mayor wears Nikes

Nate is still fearless

Duhon better watch his back

Jared went to Jarreds and bought a jump shot

"Everybody knows the Knicks are making the playoffs, so what's the problem?"

Posted by Cookdcokehop:

I am not impressed by this preseason showing. We beat a injury plagued Nets team (who are viewed to be one of the worse teams coming into this season) by 8pts. Wow! This should have been a blowout. Devon Harris and Lopez played 22 minutes a piece and combined for 35 points. Awful! Bobby Simmons had 16 pts. I didnt know he was still in the league. Chris Douglas-Roberts scored 21 pts. Who is Chris Douglas-Roberts???

Gallinari is not a good defender. CDR blew by him like he wasn't even there. Watching that as a Knick fan was quite embarassing. In 26 minutes of play I came away feeling the way I always felt...Gallo was the wrong pick. The best shooters in the world don't shoot airballs. Gallo had multiple. On the flipside he is a good facilitator on offense and led to his team high 4 assist.

Wilson Chandler BB IQ has not improved. He did score 21 points but he had 4 fouls and 3 turnovers. 6 of his 13 shoots were 3pters making 3 of them. He still hasn't learned to use his great athleticism to his advantage.

Al Harrington is not averaging 4 assist anytime this season. Al "Free Candy" Harrington said all the right things during media day but his play says he's a liar.

David Lee and Nate have not improved from last year.

Jordan Hill is not first round worthy.

I thought Hughes improved?

Darko is and always will be Darko Milicic, the butt of all jokes and the worst #2 pick ever. In other words he sucks.

Only person that impressed me was Toney Douglass and that was on the defensive end of the ball. He is a confident player but still hasn't showed me he can score the ball.

Jared Jeffries of old is now Jared Jeffries w/ a baseline 3pt shot.

Our defense will kill us again this year. We need to make trades for defenders (Raja Bell) in we truly want to sniff the playoffs.

I'm not sure we were watching the same game- game one of the pre-season, I might add.

Honestly, this is simply a provocative post from someone who obviously does not seem to like anything about the team. I would expect to see this kind of post on the RealGM Knicks forum, but it would be coming from some Troll posting from another team's forum.

This team has flaws, but it is not as bad as you portray it to be. We still need an offensive game in the paint, and guys settle too much for jumpers, but we did not play that poorly for the first "game" of the year, and some of your generalizations about certain players are far from accurate.

Posted by sebstar:

Posted by Caseloads:

douglas plays like a veteran. this guy is BETTER than duhon in my opinion already. he reminds me of charlie ward's playmaking and child's toughness in one player. Nothing flashy, but pitbull determination.

I hear what you're saying, but Im bristling at all these Charlie Ward/Chris Childs comparisons. We loved them because they were knicks during the glory days, but those cats were average on their best nights.

Consider yourself banned. Charlie is a legend. Please turn in your posting card

Posted by Bippity10:

Posted by misterearl:

Evidently

caseloads - Please stop with the ridiculously negative comments that Wilson Chandler looks like he coasting. That is the same thing writers said about Duane Thomas of the Cowboys or Jerry Rice of the 49ers as they were blowing by defenders. You ever take the time to study how graceful the 6'8 240 pound Lebron James moves? No wasted effort.

He looks like he is coasting doesn't he?

The Mayor is a graceful and coordinated 6'8, 240. The next time you see a dude that big move so fluidly, please find another adjective other than coasting.

Please.

Why can't Darko improve his basketball IQ?

I mean, really...

I went through this when I played. I did not show emotion. I didn't pump my fist. I didn't yell and scream. I smiled a lot. I never argued with refs. I looked smooth when I ran and when I dribbled. I didn't blow by people, I used stop and starts to get to my spots. Everyone said I coasted through games. Everyone except the people I played against.

I think Chandler will eventually need to learn not to be just another cog on a bad team, but actually step up and become one of the leaders. This has not happened yet, but it's only year 3(essentially year 2 because of how little time he got year 1). I'm not sure how anyone can have a problem with how he has progressed so far.

I thought Chandler looked damn good for a guy who's probably still testing the ankle. He had an very good game yesterday - an impact game - and he's not really 100% yet. Like Lee he appears much more confident taking jumpers from everywhere.