MOST VALUABLE PLAYER: Jamal Crawford never questioned Knicks coach Larry Brown and made a dramatic improvement. He actually became a leader over the final 12 games of the season when Stephon Marbury was sidelined with a knee injury. Instead of throwing up wild shots, Crawford got selective and kept teammates involved. He attempted more free throws than 3-pointers for the first time in his career. He finished averaging 14.3 points, 3.1 rebounds and 3.8 assists.

MOST DISAPPOINTING PLAYER: Jerome James didnt earn much of the $5 million he was paid this season. The oversized big man showed up in bad shape, got hurt in training camp and wasn't healthy all season. He only played 406 minutes and finished with more fouls (104) than field goals (56).

FREE AGENT FOCUS: Qyntel Woods and Jackie Butler are both unrestricted free agents who'd like nothing better than to come back. Both players showed potential, but arent considered more than developing role players. Neither one is likely to get more than a minimum offer. Sticking with the Knicks depends on whether team President Isiah Thomas hangs onto his draft picks (the Knicks currently hold two first round picks) or brings in more bodies than he ships out.

PLAYER NOTES:

--Forward Malik Rose doesnt completely blame Stephon Marbury for wanting to play a different way after the losses began to pile up.

"Steph did some things differently early on in the season," Rose said. "I guess things weren't really working out. We were losing. I can make an argument for Steph to try things differently. To go to Starbury?; I don't know. But Steph wants to win. I firmly believe that. He's beating his head against the wall, trying to do it one way. If its not the right way or he just can't do it that way, it was probably kind of smart on his part to try another avenue."

--Guard Steve Francis spoke with Knicks Coach Larry Brown and Knicks President Isiah Thomas the day after the season ended, but was the only player who declined to come out and speak with the media. He was obviously unhappy after being dealt to the Knicks in February, and did not like playing limited minutes.

--Center Eddy Curry was the only player who came out following the exit interviews and freely admitted further changes might be necessary.

"You like to think with the coach that we have and the players we have, we can win," Curry said. "But it's tough. Sometimes, people just don't fit."

http://msn.foxsports.com/nba/teamReport?ca...dPersonnel


[Edited by - McK1 on 04-24-2006 10:11 PM]

How is Jamal MVP and he showed up the last month of the season when no other team plays....

Posted by McK1:

because Marbury is the escapegoat

You should know...

Posted by EnySpree:

Posted by holfresh:



How is Jamal MVP and he showed up the last month of the season when no other team plays....

Craw did become a totally different player. Too little too late but better late than never. I just hope it carries over the rest of his career.

Ill like to see it when it counts...Hope it continues next year...and I hope Larry plays to win next year...that would be nice...

The squad doesn't SUCK. They didn't play as a team and we definitely have some holes to fill, but don't forget that we had quite a few young players with almost no significant NBA experience. Frye, Lee, Nate, Butler and Woods. We came into the year with 8 new players and a new Coach and system. Which didn't exactly fit the players strengths. What i'm saying is that it slanted the real truth about how good or bad the players really are. When a team isn't comfortable with each other, the system or the coach, that's gonna make things much worse than they should be.

Q and Jamal had horrible seasons, for most of the year and I would expect that they'll be better next year. Just as I expect the young players to be better and Curry to be better with an offseason where he's allowed to workout.

Posted by EnySpree:

Posted by holfresh:



How is Jamal MVP and he showed up the last month of the season when no other team plays....

Craw did become a totally different player. Too little too late but better late than never. I just hope it carries over the rest of his career.

It's funny that you put it like that because I remember Briggs posting almost the same thing last season. Then Crawford went back to Crawbury.