I think we do have a guard who is pretty smart but the problem is he's on the end of the bench right now.

i had high hopes for mardy collins, true he's not a big time scorer or shooter but that's what the 2 guard and his bigs are for, plus he can defend and he takes care of the ball. i like what nate brings too, but at this point in time i'd rather give collins more PT at the point and slide jamal exclusively over to shooting guard and see how things go

Bad loss. They had control of the game and let it go....again, no character.

Posted by nixluva:

Isiah has had two perfectly good chances to use Collins and he hasn't done it. There's no reason why this guy shouldn't be given a shot. He can DEFEND and that's what we need. He can pass and is careful with the ball. He isn't a big scorer, but then we never see him, so how can we know how he'll react with more minutes. I blame Isiah for the way this team fell apart tonight.

He hasn't given them much to counter teams using this "CURRY ZONE" that teams have started using against us. Teams are completely surrounding him like a fence now and they send Jeromes man over to help cuz he is a waste of space. They do the same with Jared's man as well.

X2

Posted by nyk4ever:

Eddy looked completely dominant offensively at times tonight but the Nets were constantly sending multiple guys around him from all angles. He had a nice game offensively but the turnovers and lack of help defense kills his chances of getting anymore than a C from me for this game. Man I wish the guy would play some defense, he'd be such a player.

Like most of the Knicks, he's an offensive player and if he isn't scoring, he tends to shut it down on Defense and rebounding. This team needs an infusion and I think we actually have players on the bench that could provide that. For one thing, Jerome playing over Cato is MINDLESS. Isiah is only doing that to protect his choice of giving Jerome that contract. It's been clear to me at least that Cato is the more useful player. He ain't great, but to me he's better than James.

Isiah's not using Collins or at least Nate is mindboggling. This team can't rely on Steph to carry it anymore. He's not going to be able to do that, especially logging heavy minutes like Isiah's been having him play. Which simply doesn't make any sense. You can't expect Steph to give you much in the 4th qtr if you don't rest him. Balkman and Collins needed to be on Vince. Using Steph is only gonna wear him down.

I think the problem is that we are trying to make crawford a starter. Look at how the nets use eddie House. Make it simple, crawford should be used as a gunner don't ask him to create much, just have him come off picks, some iso's, if he is hot ride him, if he is cold, sit him, but to rely on him as a starter, to keep heat off our bigs, to make shots on a consistent basis, to make the right pass, to defend his position late in games, it is just foolish to think that will happen!!!

Posted by BlueSeats:

Posted by tkf:

I think the problem is that we are trying to make crawford a starter. Look at how the nets use eddie House. Make it simple, crawford should be used as a gunner don't ask him to create much, just have him come off picks, some iso's, if he is hot ride him, if he is cold, sit him, but to rely on him as a starter, to keep heat off our bigs, to make shots on a consistent basis, to make the right pass, to defend his position late in games, it is just foolish to think that will happen!!!

Agreed. But what of the alternatives?

Start Nate at SG?
Start BrokeBack Q at SG?
Start Nate at PG and Steph at SG?
Start Lee at PG and JJskinny or JJfats at PF?

Our backcourt is deficient and I don't even know who our SF is anymore.

yea, we have no better options. I think we need to play Q at sG, simply because Q can post up if his shot is not falling, he will rebound and not take the foolish rushed shots. Nate is the best shooting guard we have, I think you have to consider him at SG for a stretch, and give mardy some burn, but I thought a good move at the trade deadline was to see what it would take to get JJ reddick off of orlando's hands. I mean it is not the big sexy move Isiah likes but it addresses a need, with a blue chip player from a great program who can actually shoot and hit open shots.... but that is wishful thinking.. you are right, our alternatives suck, and there is no way to address that at this point.. we just have to sit back and wait for jamal to have an efficient game, which is about 1 every 17 games..