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nyk4ever
Posts: 41010
Alba Posts: 12
Joined: 1/12/2005
Member: #848
USA
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H20
SEASON FG% FT% P/40 R/40 A/40 TS% Ast TO Usg Reb PER (Rank)
2002-03 .445 .919 23.7 3.0 2.8 56.3 (10) 10.8 (51) 8.7 (13) 24.7 (9) 4.4 (54) 17.67 (12)
2003-04 .435 .913 20.5 2.7 2.2 53.9 (11) 9.4 (61) 9.6 (19) 22.1 (20) 3.8 (63) 14.69 (22)
2004-05 .415 .837 17.8 1.7 3.2 52.9 (28) 14.6 (34) 7.3 (9) 20.6 (24) 2.5 (66) 12.48 (35)
2005-06 (Proj) .418 .903 20.0 2.6 2.6 53.1 (23) 10.7 (60) 9.1 (57) 22.0 (18) 3.7 (67) 13.67 (26)
Houston's knee continues to give him trouble and he was never healthy last season, even in the 20 games he played. He probably will have to retire, but was planning on giving it one more go in training camp. If he does hang up his sneakers ownership won't be upset -- it would provide a $70 million bounty for the owners.
If he returns to the court, the question is whether Houston's knees will allow him to defend and create shots. If so, he could provide a major dollop of scoring off the bench and could squeeze Crawford and Richardson for minutes at shooting guard.
Most similar at age: Reggie Theus
Big Game LOL Marvin Turpin?!
2002-03 .478 .587 14.4 11.3 1.4 50.6 (40) 7.2 (56) 20.0 (70) 17.5 (19) 16.6 (14) 13.07 (41)
2003-04 .498 .660 13.1 9.3 1.3 53.5 (24) 7.7 (51) 19.7 (72) 14.6 (36) 13.0 (50) 11.30 (54)
2004-05 .509 .723 11.8 7.2 0.6 53.3 (31) 2.7 (67) 18.4 (64) 12.9 (45) 11.0 (59) 9.83 (58)
2005-06 (Proj) .488 .690 11.9 7.8 0.8 51.7 (36) 4.5 (63) 19.4 (2) 13.1 (47) 11.5 (59) 10.32 (59)
It's amazing that a player can be pushing 30 and still have GMs gushing over his potential. James played well for one week against a team with two 6-7 power forwards and a center who came back too soon from a broken leg. For those five games against Sacramento, and about three others during the course of the year, James played hard and looked like a legitimate starting NBA center. His reward was a five-year, $30 million contract. What a country.
In the other games, James was a total stiff. James is enormous and can score in the post with a right-handed hook shot from the left block, but only against single coverage. Once a double-team appears he's immediately rendered clueless and rarely finds the open man. Additionally, James has visions of being a point guard and dribbles far too often for a player of his size. That's why his Turnover Ratio remains stubbornly high. James was a good rebounder three years ago, but he's not doing much of that lately either. His Rebound Rate was well below average for his position and dropped sharply for the second year in a row.
When James is motivated he can be a real factor on defense, because he can root players out of the post and he blocked a shot every 12 minutes last season. But like Fortson, it's difficult to keep him on the court for long because he fouls at such a high rate. That's another in a long litany of reasons the Knicks wasted $30 million on James. They want him to be the starting center, but he has no chance of being able to average more than 25 minutes a game because of the fouls. Of course, that's irrelevant since he shouldn't be starting anyway. He's a useful backup center if his play doesn't slip too much further, because he can score in the post and is an OK defender. But considering the money New York paid, this was the worst free-agent signing of the summer.
Most similar at age: Melvin Turpin
David Lee
2005-06 (Proj) .000 .000 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.00
The final pick of the first round, Lee was miscast as a center at Florida, but should be able to showcase his versatility more as a pro. He's also a good rebounder and runs the floor well. Lee can score off the dribble but isn't much of a shooter, and his defense needs work. Overall, he seems like he'll be a solid reserve but his upside isn't great. In a rarity for a Knicks power forward, however, he at least isn't undersized.
Stephon Marbury
2002-03 .439 .803 22.3 3.2 8.1 52.0 (23) 24.7 (39) 9.9 (19) 30.3 (1) 4.6 (53) 20.06 (8)
2003-04 .431 .817 20.1 3.2 8.8 51.9 (16) 28.2 (28) 9.8 (15) 29.0 (4) 4.7 (53) 20.35 (4)
2004-05 .462 .834 21.7 3.0 8.1 57.5 (7) 27.3 (30) 9.5 (17) 28.1 (6) 4.4 (53) 21.93 (3)
2005-06 (Proj) .441 .805 20.0 3.1 7.9 53.6 (13) 26.7 (36) 9.4 (59) 27.8 (3) 4.5 (57) 19.85 (3)
Marbury has gotten a bad rap over the years for dominating the ball, not giving a full effort on defense, and alienating his teammates. While it's not entirely undeserved, you can say this about Marbury: Without him, the Knicks might have been worse than the Bobcats. He was the focal point of nearly every offensive play for New York, and despite that his percentages were all well above average for his position.
Marbury set career highs in field-goal percentage and free-throw percentage and a career low in turnovers, and he made a massive improvement in TS%. Marbury isn't a natural outside shooter, but he was competent in that respect as well, hitting 35.4 percent. Obviously the new rules against hand checking helped him, as he has an amazing burst going to the rim with his right hand. Plus, as perhaps the strongest guard in the league, he can easily take contact and finish.
Marbury could stand to work harder on defense, especially in help situations, but the Knicks still were an astonishing 12 points per 48 minutes worse when he was off the court. Moreover, for somebody who gets such a bad rep it was notable that he didn't offer a peep of complaint about the state of his team. His silence was in marked contrast to the trade demands of a more heralded point guard across the river. Overall, it was unfortunate that his reputation kept Marbury off the All-Star team, because he was more deserving than several players who were there.
Most similar at age: Sherman Douglas
Q
2002-03 .372 .685 16.1 8.2 1.5 46.0 (49) 7.3 (57) 8.9 (14) 19.6 (31) 11.3 (2) 12.48 (35)
2003-04 .398 .740 19.2 7.1 2.4 48.4 (45) 9.7 (58) 9.8 (24) 22.7 (16) 10.5 (3) 15.02 (19)
2004-05 .389 .739 16.6 6.7 2.2 52.2 (36) 10.6 (42) 7.4 (6) 17.6 (34) 9.0 (29) 13.59 (35)
2005-06 (Proj) .384 .715 16.5 7.1 2.4 49.8 (46) 10.8 (46) 8.6 (54) 19.1 (25) 9.8 (21) 13.81 (32)
I included some stats on charges in the Denver section, which indicated that Nenê led the team with 22. I don't have full-season stats for the Suns, but according to the team Richardson drew eight in the month of March alone. That's an amazing transformation for a player who seemed allergic to defense for most of his tenure as a Clipper. It was one reason he was able to hold a starting job despite a season-long shooting slump.
Richardson needs to put that much effort into help defense because he has slow feet and is easily beaten off the dribble. However, the move to small forward helped limit his exposure to quicker players. Because he's very strong and can rebound, he was able to hold his own physically too.
Offensively, Richardson was almost exclusively a 3-point shooter. He took eight attempts a game and made 35.8 percent, but he should vary his game more. Richardson took over 60 percent of his tries from beyond the arc but he doesn't need to. He has a great post game that the Suns didn't take advantage of, and that was one reason his numbers declined from what he achieved with the Clippers.
Richardson was traded to the Knicks after the season and will have to beat out Tim Thomas for the starting small forward spot. If he can't succeed, he'll still get major minutes off the bench alternating between the two wing spots, and his propensity for taking charges could soon make him a favorite of Larry Brown.
Most similar at age: Todd Day
Nate Robinson
SEASON FG% FT% P/40 R/40 A/40 TS% Ast TO Usg Reb PER (Rank)
2005-06 (Proj) .000 .000 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.00
It's a shame for Robinson that he was traded to New York, because he would have been a perfect fit in Phoenix. Robinson is an Earl Boykins clone -- an undersized guard who plays at warp speed and looks to score more than to pass. He's also a great athlete with a 43-inch vertical. However, he's not a great shooter and his size obviously will be an issue defensively. Nonetheless, as a 10-minute burst of energy off the bench, he should do wonders.
Malik Rose
SEASON FG% FT% P/40 R/40 A/40 TS% Ast TO Usg Reb PER (Rank)
2002-03 .459 .791 17.0 10.5 2.6 53.8 (21) 11.7 (27) 16.1 (58) 19.8 (20) 15.2 (18) 16.06 (21)
2003-04 .428 .813 16.8 10.2 2.2 52.6 (31) 10.1 (27) 16.4 (66) 19.6 (11) 14.2 (36) 14.95 (24)
2004-05 .449 .737 14.5 9.2 1.6 51.1 (46) 7.6 (47) 14.9 (62) 16.9 (39) 13.2 (35) 12.06 (54)
2005-06 (Proj) .442 .740 15.0 9.4 1.8 51.2 (45) 8.9 (47) 14.9 (7) 18.1 (30) 13.4 (32) 13.09 (51)
The Knicks current roster has Maurice Taylor, Mike Sweetney, Malik Rose, and David Lee. That's four power forwards if you're scoring at home, and all of them have guaranteed deals through at least 2007. It would have been six if not for the Kurt Thomas trade and Jerome Williams' release. Obviously the Knicks need to unload more of this surplus, but the goal of getting under the salary cap sometime before the end of the millennium makes it more difficult. Rose and Taylor sport contracts that no other team will touch unless they can unload something even worse in return.
Rose's production slipped last season, which is understandable for a player dependent on his leaping ability as he enters his 30s. In his younger days he had used his hops and strength to become a competent frontcourt reserve despite standing just 6-7, but it's getting increasingly difficult for him to keep up with the bigger players now that his athleticism is waning.
Rose could have some use for the Knicks, however, because he is strong enough to fill in at center and is a better defender than Michael Sweetney. Also, based on the projections he should bounce back a bit from his disappointing 2004-05 campaign. Considering Brown's preference for veteran players, I wouldn't be surprised to see Rose become a major part of the rotation.
Most similar at age: Duane Ferrell
Mo Taylor
SEASON FG% FT% P/40 R/40 A/40 TS% Ast TO Usg Reb PER (Rank)
2002-03 .432 .725 16.3 6.9 1.9 47.2 (52) 8.7 (46) 13.1 (46) 20.7 (15) 10.0 (54) 11.43 (5)
2003-04 .480 .736 16.6 7.4 2.1 51.2 (37) 9.7 (48) 13.6 (58) 19.7 (23) 10.4 (58) 13.54 (45)
2004-05 .455 .612 14.1 7.7 2.0 48.0 (58) 9.6 (32) 14.4 (58) 18.0 (32) 11.0 (59) 9.34 (64)
2005-06 (Proj) .455 .667 14.4 7.4 2.0 48.6 (60) 9.7 (42) 13.5 (14) 18.2 (28) 10.3 (63) 11.15 (61)
Houston donated Taylor to the Knicks in a midseason salary dump after the Rockets had become frustrated with Taylor's increasing offensive ineptitude. Taylor is a decent defender and can hit mid-range jump shots, which makes him look competent at first. But he provides nothing on the boards, settles for too many long jumpers, and rarely gets to the basket. As a result, his TS% is quite poor and he provides nothing to make up for it. Of the Knicks' four power forwards, Taylor ranks a clear fourth, so unless he makes some drastic improvements, he won't be leaving his seat much. He can defend, however, and that may endear him to Brown.
Most similar at age: Marty Conlon
"OMG - did we just go on a two-trade-wining-streak?" -SupremeCommander
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10/13/2005 4:05 PM
