94 knicks stats

http://www.basketball-reference.com/teams/NYK/1994.html

99 knicks stats

http://www.basketball-reference.com/teams/NYK/1999.html

It's funny looking back at the numbers because we cherish or at least talk about these era of Knicks team alot, but the stats aren't really that impressive...

some notes on the 94 team from my own recollection:

Doc Rivers was our rock at point guard...his numbers weren't even that good but he got alot of respect while he played for us. I remember us feeling like we'd never replace Doc after he blew his knee out after 19 games...then we go and get Derek Harper who played 27 games for us and he put up similiar unimpressive numbers. He stepped up big time in the playoffs though.
John Starks had surgery to repair cartilage in his knee that year, but made the all-star team before that. He came back waaaaay earlier than he was supposed to in time to play well in the playoffs.
Ewing had a weird leg injury during the end of the year where he had to where stockings. He wasn't himself in the playoffs.

some notes on the 99 team from my own recollection:

strike shortened season. the Knicks had traded Oakley and Mason in the off season. They Had Sprewell and Houston starting at the 2/3 and a two headed point guard in Child and Ward. Larry Johnson played both 3/4 all year back and forth and Camby was in Van Gundy's dog house until Ewing tore his achillies. Camby emerges, Sprewell is let lose and Houston started doing coke or something because the Knicks went ape **** on the league down the stretch and into the playoffs.

Considering all this...who would have won in a 7 game series for the championship?

Stats never looked good in the riley "dead ball era". By that, we played slow half court style where Van Gundy had to go to more uptempo playing to our strenth.

Yes, in 96 we should have let Ewing walk and kept Nellie. Hindsite gives us that perspective.

But Ewing was a big draw and nobody could envision life without him.

jrodmc wrote:Obviously a healthy Ewing would trump almost everything over the 99 team except:
1) 94 has no answer to Spree
2) 99 has no answer to Ewing
2) 94 had Charles Smith. No Knick team with Charles Smith is ever going to win anything.
3) 99 had Chris Dudley. No Knick team with Chris Dudley is ever going to win anything.

They would play for fourteen weeks with the series tied and everyone would die trying to end game 7. Game called on account of player deaths.

charles smith avg 4 rebounds..I always felt that he was the worse knick ever

Also, i always think of Kurt Thomas as a tough vet, but re-watching a few 1999 playoff games on youtube, he seemed more like a rookie out of his depth- not the tough dude he became.

I was always annoyed Allan Houston didn't score more back then- he could be infuriatingly passive a lot of the time- he stepped up his game in the playoffs though.

99 was magical, Spree "eclectricity", Houston's floater, Ewing/LJ wearing down and out. One of the penultimate 2-guards playing out of position the whole year. I was praying and hoping JVG would just start Spree at PG, and trade Chris Dudley for two cups of coffee before the Finals started. Charlie Football, best backup PG to ever start at PG in a Finals.

K22 wrote:

jrodmc wrote:99 was magical, Spree "eclectricity", Houston's floater, Ewing/LJ wearing down and out. One of the penultimate 2-guards playing out of position the whole year. I was praying and hoping JVG would just start Spree at PG, and trade Chris Dudley for two cups of coffee before the Finals started. Charlie Football, best backup PG to ever start at PG in a Finals.

Remember when someone said Charlie Ward would never lead the Knicks to a championship? Ultimately and sadly, he was right, but, Ward was the starting point guard for a team that made it to the Finals. The guy who said that quote? Well, he did it like this to get closer to the light.

And that's roughly akin to saying Chris Dudley was the starting center for a team that was in the Finals.

94, Riley didn't have much in the way of choices; he went with the best horses he had and rode them dirty and wet through 7 games.
99, JVG did have better choices but rode dead horsemeat to no where. Not that '99 team had a shot in hell against the Spurs anyway, but...