Q and A With BlueSeats

Q. And when Crawford, Lee and Q return do we have to suck again while everyone relearns their roles?

A. I don't think the Knicks have sucked this season. >>No LEE, no Q, no JAMAL that is 40 points and about 20 something rebounds that we are missing each game yet we are still in the hunt. Frye has picked up the missing shot attempts left on the table by Jamal Crawford.<<(e) There will be decisions to be made with regard to this evolving style of play, but my sense is they will not suck during the process.

Q. Was this a new system, or just the "2nd unit" hustling for a spell as they've always done?

A. (courtesy my man e) "No credit given to ZEKE for his coaching or his drafting ... No problem. INDY has tanked the season, the CELTS are in an induced coma."

Q. So it's splendid that Frye and Balkman had games today that compensated for the loss of Lee and Q, but did we become better or simply regain our buoyancy of mediocrity?

A. Today, Renaldo Balkman had his coming out party in The Garden and Channing Frye learned what it felt like to play as the first offensive option from the opening tip. Confidence is a wonderful thing.

The buoyancy of mediocrity is the first step on the journey of the ship not be sinking.

[Edited by - misterearl on 03-19-2007 07:26 AM]

Even Marc Berman Is Starting To Come Around

Perhaps the Knicks experienced their most important revelation for the rest of the season, discovering that, yes, they can still be great without their big, low-post center. With Balkman's ferocious rebounding and blazing speed all over the court, the Knicks changed gears and ran the Raptors out of the Garden in a ferocious third-quarter display of fast-break basketball.

"It's a big win for us," Balkman said. "We played them last time and we let down. I just kept reminding the guys, 'Keep going, don't let down, come out with it.' "

"He can initiate the break, take it off the glass, push it up the floor, fill the lanes," said Thomas, who passed on Marcus Williams to take the unheralded South Carolina product.

Crawford is done for the regular season. Lee won't be back till April. Richardson? Nobody knows. But the Knicks decided yesterday that they aren't going away.


[Edited by - misterearl on 03-19-2007 07:33 AM]

BlueSeats - watch the games? I don't even like basketball.

Posted by misterearl:

Besides BS, I attempted to answer your questions.

Why so touchy over the reponse?

If you disagree, just state your thesis. Making an assassination attempt on my basketball knowledge, or lack therof, is just tacky.

You've taken my question in the wrong spirit. It was simply something I'd been meaning to ask for some time and never could find the right venue. Just wanted to test my intuition. Didn't come out of bitterness, nor was it meant to convey any.

On the other board I frequently got into debates about subtleties, like body language, with guys I'd later learned lived in Australia and barely got to see any games at all. One even admitted he wore Coke bottles for glasses. Perhaps made me a bit more sensitive to such considerations than I otherwise might have been. It's sorta like debating about who was better, Wilt or Russell when one has never seen either play. I've seen such discussions and they're fun but not without full disclosure.

I know you've seen a lot of ball in your day and I don't question for a second your understanding of the game and who's got what kind of skillz. However, I also notice most of your commentary is about things like David Lee's looks, the player's ages, how much patience is needed, and occasionally some stat from the boxscore. Rarely do I hear anything about in-game specifics. Just leads me to wonder, so I asked.

I think asking is better than accusing, but some people take them for the same.

Posted by misterearl:

BS - body language could be a difficult thing to assume over a message board. All people come armed with a bias or personal prejudice that is difficult to penetrate or predict.

I don't spend time second-guessing coach strategy. I don't play amateur General Manager with composing countless fantasy deals that are based on our dreck for someone's elses's all-star.

But I do like to follow the draft and a I do enjoy a good fast break bucket as much as the next guy, but I do NOT ever remember making a comment about David Lee's "looks".

On the other hand, I have always felt the Knicks have missed having an outstanding White ballplayer since the days of Dave DeBusshere and Bill Bradley. They missed on Chris Mullin, missed Kiki by one draft pick and got Paul Westphal (and Kiki) too late. Why?

For the same reason New Yorkers (for better or worse) have grudgingly learned to cope living on top of one another. It is a city of chaos and compromise. The Knicks should reflect the chaos and compromise of the city.

And I loved watching David Lee win the HS slam dunk and wonder how good he would lok in orange and blue, for his unique skill-set, not just the color of his skin.

With that said, I've watched Wilt and Russell, in person, and can tell you, without reservation, that they both were on a level never seen before they came along. Wilt had the stats - Russ had the rings.

With regard to "in-game specifics"

I can't tell the difference between the "pick and roll" and "pick and pop" but I do know an assist when I see one.

In game specifics, for me, are the subtle adjustments players learn from day one of training camp, extending through the season, as rotations change and skill-sets cohere into trust. Not just stats. Or what players one "likes".

In game specifics?

I like the way these new Knicks are learning to play basketball.

Hit the open man.

i.e. You don't watch the games.

The Knicks miss "an outstanding White ballplayer"???

Wow

Posted by misterearl:



In game specifics, for me, are the subtle adjustments players learn from day one of training camp, extending through the season, as rotations change and skill-sets cohere into trust.

Misterearl, its ironic that you're making 1 huge generalization about in-game specifics. Lets talk about specifics. With the current injuries, what would be your optimal starting line-up, what sets would you use, and what are the top 5 plays you would run?

maintaining discussion on a message board is very difficult b/c tone is not conveyed properly. all i want to say is that i've met misterearl, and he's a cooler than cool cat. he's been to the old garden and he's watched this team for a long long time. i still laugh when i asked him about what kind of halftime entertainment they had back in the day. he said it was an old guy sweeping the floor. classic.

i'm not telling anybody what to do, nor do i think i need to speak for anybody, but i think we should all take a step back and not make this forum more about responding TO the individual poster instead of responding to exactly what the poster said.

so let's all breathe in through the nose, out through the mouth, and concentrate on more important things...like how FINE sade is...



and for bitty, mins and queeniepop, y'all can talk about this douchebag...

Posted by misterearl:

Code - I'm glad you axed

hey, I love a good question...hold up... lemme put my "Answer Man" hat on:

Q. With the current injuries, what would be your optimal starting line-up..

A. "Optimal" is a tricky word. The Knicks can go methodical and halfcourt but some would love them to entertain like the Phoenix Suns. If you're talking "optimal" in terms of playing to the skill-set strengths of the roster, and with the available remaining dudes I would start:

C Curry - inside offense, should get 15-17 shot attempts

F Frye - outside offense, see above

F Jeffries - length at the three to defend offensive threats

G Balkman - length to defend the two and to move the crowd, effective in the Latrell Sprewell energizer bunny role off the pine with the important second shift

G Marbury - I like the way he is picking his offensive spurts as a secondary option to Curry/Frye

(but that's just me...)

Sixth Man - Francis, beacuse he and Marbury are twins and don't compliment each other despite the fact they had 17 combined assists v the Raps

Who Got Next - problem, the "length-talent" factor drops significantly. Mardy Collins could cameo at the three, but not for long.

Assistant coach Malik Rose does not fit, except matching up and banging against a bulky, muscular type. ie the bit-role v Shaq.



>>... what sets would you use,

"sets?, we don't need no steenkin' sets!"

>>... and what are the top 5 plays you would run?

I loved Red Holzman's famous remark to his Knicks, "on offense you do what you want, on defense you do what I want"

Code - is that specific enough?

I enjoy the spirit of your post, Misterearl. But you didn't answer my last 2 questions. I'd really like to know how we can exploit that lineup to our advantage.

How do you feel we overcome the lack of shooting? Where would you like the ball to swing in the event of a Curry double team? How many shots should Marbury get? Down 1 with 8 seconds left, what play do you run against a team like Dallas, hypothetically? Your answers to these and other questions will help posters understand your optimism.

so let's all breathe in through the nose, out through the mouth, and concentrate on more important things...like how FINE sade is...

DJ she's a Smooth Operator

[Edited by - TrueBlue on 03-19-2007 6:57 PM]

CodeUn - you ask a lot of questions.

I suppose when someone calls himself The Answer Man, some people would be inclined to believe he thinks he owns all the answers. On the contrary grasshopper, the only thing I know for certain is that I will never stop clinging to my Camby Sheik Towel, win or lose.

My optimisn as a fan is not based on some quantitative or qualitative reasoning, or breakdown of trends or strategy. NO my brotha, far from it.

My optimism is based in watching the Knicks mount a spirited comeback against the San Francisco Warriors, in the sixties, led by Wilt Chamberlain, while sitting with my Dad in the upper deck of the old Garden.

The place rocked that afternoon as the score was not nearly as important as sharing that bright moment with the man I looked up to as a kid.

You ask "Down 1 with 8 seconds left, what play do you run against a team like Dallas, hypothetically?" and all I can answer is hypothetically it doesn't matter. You run a play to spring a man into an open space, and hopefully Dirk or Dwight Howard is not the defender.

You ask how many shots Marbury should get? I answer the number of shots Marbury will get is irrelevant to my enjoyment of watching a TEAM game. Marbury "gets" as many shots as he needs to discover his rhythm on a given night and if he is off, he shares the ball with the man with the hotter hand.

For that same reason, the selective and personal idea of "liking" a Knick like David Lee, while wanting his brother Channing Frye, another work-in-progress, instantly traded is foreign to me. Frye, once he finds his confidence and voice could turn out to be a better player than Tim Duncan. At this point, it is all speculation and we can only hope his noble pedigree lends itself to hard work and sacrifice.

I like any player who wears orange and blue. Hell, i despised Jalen Rose as a Pacer but wanted him to succeed as a Knick. Knicks fans remember the ugly faces he made during the playoffs. Now that he is wherever he is, he can eat dirt.

Patience? If you've followed these Knicks for as long as I have, you understand it is a deliberate and painful process, where the championship ring is as elusive as Halle Berry's digits.

djsu understands. While we shared section 404 one afternoon, our personal opinions were secondary to just enjoying a few hours of diversion from the world outside The Garden. We laughed, joked and cheered. At one point we even stood together and high-fived a Knicks run.

That same afternoon I remembered the feeling of sitting with my Dad and cheering loudly with 18,000 total strangers.

What else matters?

[Edited by - misterearl on 03-19-2007 9:48 PM]

Listen, misterearl, along with Nalod, are our poet laureates. They should be cherished.

But this is like a bawdy NY bar. People who come in asking us to hold hands and sing Kumbaya before our drink orders are even in are gonna get some peanut shells tossed their way every once in a while.

It ain't personal !



[Edited by - blueseats on 03-19-2007 10:48 PM]