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New York Knicks

Team Strengths
Other than having a Hall of Fame coach in Larry Brown, I am not sure what this team's strengths are. Not offense. Not defense. Not team chemistry.

So if anyone knows, please tell me.

Team Weaknesses
The Knicks score 95.3 ppg on .444 shooting, but give up a frightening 101.7 ppg while allowing their opponents to shoot .463 from the floor. Brown's teams in Detroit and Philadelphia never allowed opponents to shoot and score at that kind of pace. One statistic that accurately depicts the current state of the Knicks' selfishness and futility is their total assists per game. They currently are dead last in the league with only 17.6 apg.


Coaching Style
Brown is a Hall of Fame coach. He knows how to prepare a team to play defense, how to play unselfishly on offense, get great shot selection, and win. He is not the problem. The problem lies within the roster. This roster needs to be shredded and a new one developed. A new one where toughness, and a defensive mindset are just as important as offensive statistics. They need a roster of character, not characters.

Coaching Challenges
The thing that is scary about this team is that I thought we would see gradual improvement during the season and that, as we approached this point of the year, Larry's team would not necessarily be a playoff team but a tough out. I envisioned them as a tough opponent who would knock off some teams trying to get into the playoffs and would have the Garden rocking and rolling again. Instead it is just the opposite.

It looks like everyone can not wait until the season ends and that the players and coaches are at a major philosophical impasse about how to play the game. Stephon Marbury, Eddy Curry, Jamal Crawford, Nate Robinson, and Jerome James look liked they've tuned him out.

Looking Ahead
What can one say about the state of affairs in New York. It is a mess. Brown was brought in to be the savior of the New York franchise but not even he thought he was getting into this. They have a flawed roster; it is flawed because of duplication of players and flawed because many of those players are not tough enough mentally to be molded into the type of players Brown needs to win in New York. Larry has tried almost every lineup, young or old, tall or small and nothing has worked. They now have the same amount of wins as the Charlotte Bobcats, an expansion franchise. That says it all.

Posted by misterearl:

Superficial guesswork trying to pass itself off as analysis

This overview totally overlooks the negative effect Larry Brown has imposed on this squad

what has he done for me lately?

It's not superficial guess work - it takes into account history. Don't know where you work but history has counted every place I've ever worked. If you have a talented manager who has a history of success and a bunch of third rate employees who have had trouble with other managers - people will take into account history. It is true that sometimes tactics that work with good employees don't work with the losers - but the solution isn't to get rid of the proven management.

That's a lazy analysis.