Does anyone really disagree? I don't. You can see how they have a shot to do that. Coming into next year they'll be actually building off of what they did this year. That's a good development for this team. We've seen so much change that isn't really healthy for a team. Now they can come back with chemistry already established and they can build on that and take it to another level.

This is all barring Isiah making a trade for KG, in which case we'll have to see how that would work out. Otherwise I can see this team taking another step or two forward. I'm most anxious to see Steph, Jamal, Q, Balkman and Mardy all playing together at the 1, 2 and 3 spots.

Posted by nixluva:

Does anyone really disagree? I don't. You can see how they have a shot to do that.

What team in the east has NO shot? We've had playoff caliber potential the last three years, and each year Steph or someone or other tells us this year we'll do it. This is nothing new. We all know it's possible, but each year we wonder if they have the fortitude to overcome adversity and actually do it.

And each year you play shocked over our wait and see approach or outright skepticism.

We've gone 33, 23, 33, and we know full well all summer long you'll be telling us what bad fans we are every time we don't dance a jig when someone in the organization puts out some propaganda.

[Edited by - blueseats on 05-06-2007 12:00 PM]

Posted by highfivesucka:

yea I definitely see a playoff berth next year. we almost made it in this season. although I definitely also see a first round exit... but not a sweep.

Not so sure about that. The one day they did make the eigth spot, they fell like a rock out of the sky since then. Yes' including the injuries. I say they will not make it again. Not unless they make a few major deals off season that can propell the team foreward somehow. I can't even see that.

You also have to keep in mind the difficulty that the Knicks have had in making the playoffs in a very, very weak East. If the East had been anything like the West, we wouldn't even be close to an eigth spot.

[Edited by - 4949 on 05-06-2007 12:13 PM]

Knicks are more likely to finish in last than to make the playoffs. They have almost no means to improve from the 110 loss team they've had over the past 2 years.

i think they can do it. I don't see the east being any stronger next season, most lottery players are going to be too raw to make a huge impact. And hey it's not like we can get any worse right? (at least that's what I told myself last season)

Posted by Bonn1997:

Knicks are more likely to finish in last than to make the playoffs. They have almost no means to improve from the 110 loss team they've had over the past 2 years.

This reminds me of something I was thinking of. What is it that sets the Knicks apart from the entire league? The rest of the teams have leverage! We have none what so ever. We are non-movable with these locked up contracts we own. So we have no leverage to move anyone or make deals that can improve us in a big way. John Paxon making I. Thomas look like a complete fool, an idiot, was the last straw for me.

THe knicks have leverage...... it's in guys we don't want to trade though.

Every team has a shot.

It's amazing how the Knicks organization from the top to the players, think that it's only a matter of bad luck as to why they never make it.

How many underachievers are on this team? With their "I'm good so it's not my fault if we don't make it" attitudes, is it any wonder why they constantly underachieve?

words.

we heard words from isiah.
we heard words from dolan.
we heard words from marbury.
we heard words from curry.
and now crawford is joining in.

at what point will their actions speak louder than their words?

i've reached a point where i no longer care what anybody says. their play will show and prove what kind of team they are.

crawford is right. the knicks will make the playoffs next year barring MAJOR injuries -- i wish he wouldnt bring up injuries at all because there will be injuries, they have to be mentally tougher next year and win even when they are dinged up.

look at the 2006 season now that the season is over. the knicks, at one point, where a team on the rise in the east, improving throughout the season, ONLY team in the nba that improved its winning percentage every month. 6-11 in november, 7-9 in december, 7-8 in january, 6-5 in february, and winners of 3 of the first 4 in march, capped with francis hitting a gamewinner in washington to move the team into 8th for the playoffs the two teams in the fight for 7th and 8th -- orlando and new jersey -- were both playing poorly.

to refresh the memories of those who have forgotten all of this and hate crawford and think the knicks are going nowhere. this guy has made a concerted effort to improve his all around game every year and this year developed into an ice cold clutch performer who carried the knicks to a handful of games. he went through a 10-game stretch in the middle of january and february where he was averaging 25 points and 4 assists a game. what do you know, this coincides with when the knicks were playing 500 basketball for over a month, had moved into 8th in the playoffs, and probably when crawford hurt himself. he played poorly for 2 weeks and then it was discovered his leg was broken and he'd miss the rest of the year.

at that point, marbury started playing more minutes and more offensively, began to carry the offensive load throughout february to an over 500 record for the month and averaging in march 23points and 6ast while playing 43 minutes per game. clearly he burned himself out, because he slowed down.

balkman was starting to get more minutes and churning out double-digit rebound games. balkman at this point was consistently getting 30 minutes a game, in april the last 3 games he played he was hitting his stride and averaged 12 points, 11 rebounds (4 offensive), 2 steals and 1 block. does anyone comprehend those numbers? the guy was all over the place and then got hurt. in the months before he was playing consistently, the times he played over 30 minutes (which was once a week basically) he had games of 15 pt/12rb (4 offensive)/3stl/2blk, 12/13 (4 offensive) in 38 minutes on march 3rd, the game before and the game after he didn't play more than 10. in january he had back to back games where he 10 points/8 boards and then 12 points/8 rebounds (5 OFFENSIVE!)/4 steals!/2 blocks! he didnt play more than ten minutes until a month later! this guy was just underused, next year he'll see 30 a game and average near the top of the league in offensive reboudns (all those 4 offensive rebound games -- the league leader is nene at 4.4 and he was having 5 rebound games!) and steals. 1.7 steals a game (which is what he was doing in the end when he was getting minutes) puts him in the top 10. this is an influence comparable to camby during the finals run and years afterwards where he averaged 11 and 11 and was all over the court. he was a rookie. i think we can presume balkman will only get better.

before lee went down and basically missed the last two months, he was averaging 12 points and 11 rebounds a game for over 3.5 months. thats league-leader level rebounds a game for most of the season. he's in his second season. it's a pretty good probability lee comes out and plays as well or better than he did for the good majority of this season given his athleticism and high ceiling. this guy was a mcdonalds all american and couldve gone pro out of hs, then went to florida and his stocked dropped every year until the end of the first round, people forget that. this guy was a future lotto pick who's stock fell and he's playing how people presumed he'd develop, freak rebounder on par with dwight howard (imagine if dwight went to college for 4 years and his stock fell every year).

curry played well, hit a stretch of games in march where his numbers went down at the exact point when crawford stopped playing. before crawford went down curry was averaging 21/7, once eddy got his groove back he was averaging 21/7. you can focus on the low blocks or and that he rebounds poorly for a man of his size. fact of the matter he will score 20+ a game from the post next year, play 35 minutes a game, and inevitably improve in the post defense. he is only 24 years old, FYI.

so you've got a young team in feburary winning at a better rate than they are losing and on pace to not only be in the playoffs but probably get a 2 seed. you also have:

a veteran point guard who is finally playing defense-first basketball and getting everyone involved,

a prolific scoring 2-guard capable of huge, high-scoring games where he carries the offensive load and absolutely fearless in the 4th quarter,

a big man in the post who was good for 20+ a night (not much else, but once again, a big man who scores 20 in the post is nothing to be laughed at, especially when...),

you have a small forward who strokes it from the outside at 38% from downtown and rebounds the rock as much as the center. the rebounds, however, aren't a problem because you have

a 23 year old 4-year acc star and former high school all american averaging double-digit rebounds a game and that put him in the top 5 in the entire NBA and arguably the top rebounder in the eastern confere. in addition to that starting 5, you have

a rookie energy player coming off the bench finally hitting his stride giving you steals and blocks on the defensive end -- something sorely needed given the few defensive playmakers. he also gives you incredibly high offensive rebounding averages and 2nd chance points, which is great because many of the guards (marbury, crawford, balkman) can have off nights.

regarding marbury's wear and tear, there is nothing to worry about in that regard either as a highly touted college player who played for 4 years as the best player on arguably the best mid-major in the ncaa, finally got minutes in the last minute of the season and proved he belonged, averaging 15 points, 7 rebounds, and 6 assists. that's right, 7 boards from a point guard who is 6'6", so you get size and defense and rebounding from the backup point.

as much as i dislike nate's attitude, he's another big name from a big time program in the pac 10 who was arguably the best athlete in the country coming out of college. his refusal to listen to coaches and playing particularly selfish at times is frustrating, but he is a great energy man off the bench, capable of bringing scoring in bunches, like a poor man's ben gordon. he shot over 40% from 3pt!!! after the allstar break. if he could improve his defense in the offseason (less than a steal a game from a guy as athletic as him?!? come on nate, work on D!) , and buy into the fact that his developing into a explosive 6th man is the best he can hope for as a guy at 5'7" who doesn't pass the ball. one would imagine he would improve and if he finally listened, he could be absolutely lethal if kept on a short lease. let marbury rest for much of the 2nd quarter, play nate with collins and even crawford. he averaged 12 points in 24 minutes, which is pretty impressive, for the month of march.

there are two weak hearted cowards in jared jeffries and channing frye. frye you can stay positive about but i just don't see it with this guy. his game should perfectly complement curry and i'd say give him another half of a season, if he can't get it together try to move him at the trade deadline. teams are always willing to take waivers on big men who are young and can shoot, especially in the new nba. i love malik rose and his veteran leadership as the 10th man.

what's that give you for next year? if they pick up where they left off this year when they were playing well before all the injuries hit and they were clicking, you are looking at a team that will win 45 games. marbury (totally unconcerned about stats, leading the team with tough D and leadership), crawford (20+ ppg), Q (40% from downtown), lee (13/12?), and curry (20+ in the post) is a good starting 5, especially with balkman (12/11/4 offensive/2 steals/1block?) as the designated energy guy getting 30 minutes off the bench a night, collins continuing to play heady point guard as a backup providing defense and rebounding (10 pt/6 reb/6 ast in 25 minutes a night?), nate if anything stretching the D with his 3 (40%) and hopefully improving his defense to the point where he could be a full-court buzz saw, a one man press like he was at times for washington is a very solid top 8. add in a rookie hopefully improving to the point where he is playing well by playoff time (morris almond coming off the bench for 40% behind the arc or maybe sean williams coming off the bench averaging 3.5 blocks a game?), and the dead weight (jeffries, frye, james, i'm hoping francis will be bought out), and that team is going 45-37, probably being in the fight for the 5 seed and avoiding playing a top tier team in the first round.