looking at the knicks is like looking at a cracker jack box: you don't know what you will find as a prize. this year after some pleasantly suprising plays ( could be viewed as the caramel corn) we recieve another short season ( the corny prize like a picture of jack). however there were some pluses as well as minuses which wasn't the case last year.

advantages: rebounding- suprisingly, this team was the top 5 rebounding team for most of the season and at one point shared the number one spot. lee is the anchor of the rebounding core. he avg. double figure rebounding nightly, the first since kurt thomas' departure. not to mention that statistically, this is the best group of rebounders since the ewing days. sure curry and frye are mediocre, but the team rebounding concept is working. richardson and francis are good rebounders for their position and they helped greatly.

offense: many criticize their offense. however, yet again they ranked in the top ten in scoring for most of the year, something that hasn't happened since the pitino days. knicks are one of those teams that can score in a variety of ways. they have players that can drive, players that play well with their back to the basket, jumpshooters with range and fast players who can run the break and finish. offensively, they are as versatile as you can get.

youth: the developing youth has taken a step for the most part forward. lee is developing into a very good pf en route to hopefully a great one. curry is being mentioned as one of the top 5 centers in the league. collins and balkman are pleasant suprises that proved that they belong in the league.

disadvantages: defense- the worst defense since, well, last year. though i think marbury and crawford defended better than last year, the rest of the team were just standing around. it seems like they can't even be decent in one type of defense. opponents can drive the lane anytime they wanted, they can pass as freely as they like and their perimeter defense is the worst i have ever seen. in order to win, you need to play some type of defense. no team has won it on offense alone.

turnovers- we show signs of becoming a great offense, but we always shoot ourselves in the foot with dumb turnovers. mostly these are boneheaded plays other than passing like three second lane violations or stepping out of bounds. this could be youth running its course or just lack of focus. either way, it needs to be addressed.

coaching- even though i did support isiah in the beginning, how he coached at the end of the season was horrible. coincidentally, it happened the same way with his tenure in indy. do the players tune him out at the end or is he just spent? don't know but it is a concern. plus i am tired of his excuses. he sounds like the husband/wife who was caught cheating. need to hold the players accountable for their actions. i agree that blasting them in front of the media is bad ( brown?) but he should have been more stern after losses. now the players have the attitude that losing is acceptable. not good.

training staff- always been a problem since the camby days. however it seems worst this year. i know injuries happen, especially this year. but it is the way our staff handle the situations. they misdiagnosed on four different players ( francis, lee, crawford and richardson) that either left them shelved permanently or shuffling them in and out of the lineup. this destroys their credibility as well as chemistry. they better get their act in order next year or heads should roll.

thoughts?