Posted by Killa4luv:
Posted by misterearl:
fish.mike - if you want to analyze it in context we got destroyed at PF last year. Lee's rebounding was the only thing we had going at that position all year. Zach is a monster upgrade as a starter both scoring and on the boards. He's got a good face up game so its not an impossible pairing w/ Curry. Not ideal, but in context the Knicks got much better at a position that was a weakness last year.
Hard to debate that no?
I agree totally with this. Zach is a dynamic offensive player, who can shoot, drive to a closer spot on the floor and score moving, post up, I mean in terms of offensive skills, he does everything well, except drive all the way to the hoop, and shoot 3 pointers. Although he is not super fast or athletic, he is elusive, and his game is skills based, not athleticism based. Offensively he is as complete a package as you could hope for in a big man. Quite simply, He is a dominating player, I remember the first time I saw him play I was blown away and asked my friend who is this cat I never heard of him and hes sick!! Not only that, he is a beast on the boards. People don't like Zach, he has some baggage, but I always wanted him on the team and I'm happy we have him.
I love D. Lee as a player, but the fanboyness surrounding him went beyond his skill on the court. I said the same thing about Nate when he first came here. WHy they both enjoyed it is irrelevant, the point is it went beyond their ability to impact games. We just got a dominant player, we should be excited about the possibilities. His game and Curry's are not te same, ZR is dynamic, Curry is static, their games can very easily compliment each others.
Just for the sake of conversation, I posit that the reason people went so gaga for those guys were they were a breath of fresh air and consistency when so many others were lost in a dark cloud, especially in the Brown era, but also to start last season. The same held true for Balkman when he got his time. Those guys never needed reasons to be up for a game, or excuses for being down, they played the same all-out way every time. The exceptions were when Nate let his antics get in the way, and he lost a lot of luster for it.
Lee's cred didn't rise last year because he was white (not saying you suggested it was,) it was because he evidenced himself as a good passer and on the court leader who also competed at the top of the league in rebounding and established himself as the soph MVP to garner national recognition. IOW, it wasn't smoke and mirrors or cosmetic features. However, even his admirers gave him knocks when he complained about LB, playing time, or his role on the team.
Knicks fans are simply tired of under-achievers, egos, excuse makers, strugglers, projects and the like; we're desperate for guys who show up ready to play every game,m who are willing to be coached, and who save nothing for another day. It's a pretty level field in that way.
6/29/2007 11:23 AM