General thought: the biggest problem with this team was defense. Defense is primarily about intangible factors: effort, toughness etc. Secondarily, its about schemes & guys knowing their assignments. Lastly, its about the individuals physical abilities (lateral quickness, length etc.).

1 - Larry Brown will play guys who play with effort & toughness. Period. He will demand it. Chaney & Wilkins were indifferent about these things (seemingly). Herb wanted these things but for whatever reason (lacking the ability to communicate or lacking a reputation that the players respected) he wasn't able to get that out of the team.

2 - Nobody can doubt Brown's intelligence in coming up w/the proper schemes, rotations etc.

3 - I'll cover that below:

PG:

Marbury: Offensively...I don't consider him a gunner. I think as a Knick he has (rightfully) lacked confidence in certain teammates. But I think he's a great half-court PG. Not necessarily pass first, but passes enough & will pass more now that some talent has joined the team. Defensively, he has been brutal. And really, there is no reason for it. Can Brown get a defensive commitment from Marbury? This is the key to the season. I think improving Marbury's game will be less of a challenge than how he morph'd Billups.

Nate: Dynamic on both ends. Should supply 15 exciting minutes every night. I think his competitiveness & football mentality will inspire Marbury & other players a bit.

SG:

Q-Rich: Again, no reason why he should be a bad defensive player. He's tough & nasty, I think he'll thrive here. I also think the gunner label is based on the one year in Phoenix.

Crawford: The kid has one problem...and its a major one. He's a wimp. He's phenomenally talented...but a skinny, scrawny wimp. On offense, he shies away from contact (hence the love of 3 pointers). On defense, this hurts him even more. This kid has to figure out if he wants to be an NBA player, an NBA winner...or a guy who just occasionally makes a highlight reel. In my opinion, Crawford reminds me of early days of Doug Christie. Then Christie figured out that basketball isn't for primadonnas & had a nice 6 year run as a Sacramento King.

SF:

Ariza: One question. Will he be another JYD or Shawn Marion? Great effort & athletic ability. Needs a better handle, shot...but everybody seems to believe in this guy. And frankly, he gave us all good reason to believe.

TT: Nothing but an expiring contract. I don't think he has the ability to guard 3's anymore. huge liability on the defensive end. Gives the team zero positive intangibles.

Lee: I've made the Anthony Mason (potential) comparison before. Combo forward, shoots well w/either hand close to the basket. I don't see how Chad considers him undersized.

PF:

Sweets/JYD/Rose/Mo: I don't really have any unique thoughts on these guys. They all have clear strengths & weaknesses. But, Sweetney may be the second biggest key on this team. No more late night snacks, fella!!

C:

James: Is he Joe Barely Cares or somebody that can play 25 minutes, provide a presence without picking up a foul every 4 minutes.

Frye: Weight room fella!! Move those feet on D. These are the only two sentences anybody should say to him for a while.

People who compare Ariza to Shawn Marion are setting themselves up for dissapointment.

The reason...MasterPlan, is that it is their job to go 100%. For Marbury, I give a little bit of a pass (not completely) because he was playing so many minutes & had the ball in his hands so much on O. Nate, Q, the big fellas & a better offensive scheme will mitigate that I think.

Crawford just has to "man" up. Plays like a WR scared to go over the middle.

Purple I agree with everything you said except for Tim Thomas.

He took over games at times last year. He is more than an expiring contract he is at worst a decent player. 12 ppg is nothing to sneez at, its just that you know he could put up 22 ppg that makes his 12 so insignificant. If he gives us 16ppg next year our whole team becomes better.

BTW, he definitely wasn't horrible on defense guard 3's and even 2's at times. He's a decent defensive player, its just that when his shot isn't falling, he doesn't contribute much else.

I think his ball handling & passing needs work more than the shot. He looks somewhat uncomfortable with the ball (unless he's dunking it). That said, this is not an unchangeable weakness. Tayshaun Prince is a much better ball handler than he was in college. In college, he was more of a catch & shoot guy.

Fishmike - I think the Eddie Robinson comparison loses some steam after you consider work ethic. Robinson is tremendously talented. But, flat out, he didn't give a rat's ass after he signed the big contract with the Bulls. Ariza seems like a high effort, hungry ball player.

I think the thing that excites me most about Brown coming here is that Marbury and Crawford are built almost IDENTICALLY to Billups and Hamilton. They play somewhat similar offensive games (obviously Billups and Hamilton make better decisions/shot selection), but the huge difference is defense. Can Brown get them to play hard and smart on BOTH ends? I hope so, because then we have a great back court. The threat of Q and Nate stealing playing time from them should help too. I'm worried about whether Jamal will pickup Larry's game quick enough to avoid being traded. I still think Jamal can be special. I hope Brown sees that.

As for Ariza's upside: I don't think it's Marion level. I think he can play a role similar to what George Lynch did for those Brown Sixers teams: great defense, opportunistic offense. Of course, that discounts his athleticism, passing skills and improved ball handling. I'd love to see Ariza start and average 12-14ppg, 7-8rpg this season. We need his rebounding, because we still have major problems at the four and five. Frye is basically the only guy I have hopes for in that group.