Yeah, he did play in the 2nd half and was his usual rebounding self. It was just strange IMO to pull him for Harrington for vague reasons. Harrington went out and played horribly, but he didnt get the quick hook.

Posted by Rich:

It's time to start running plays for him.

only if Baker is NOT in. Gotta go with Baker in the post first.

well said.

Posted by fishmike:

I totally disagree... Lenny is old school and Sweentey is learning how to play winning basketball. This isnt the Bulls where losing is OK so long as you put up good numbers. Sweetney isnt playing scared right now. He knows Lenny and Aguire really believe in him, but he also has earn every minute he gets because Harrington is better than a rookie making mistakes.

I love Sweetney... he's my favorite Knick, and have been excited about him since Briggs made me watch him last year. He's 21.. let him come along at this pace and for all we know in 2-3 years he will be our starting 4 for the next decade. Patience.. :)

totally agree.

Anyone remember how in the last decade the Knicks have not really developed one player? I don't know if it's just the coincidence of drafting FWill and Sweets but Isiah seems to have brought in a crowd of assistant coaches who know how to handle the young guns.

I am waiting for the beginning of next year to see Sweets out of training camp. I HOPE HOPE HOPE NY gets to keep DerMarr for another year, I think he can grow too. I suspect that FWills days are number, but only because he is actually solid at the PG spot and will be combined with Kurt for a trade.

I didn't like to see Sweets come out for Harrington either. Hopefully, that's a one-timer; let Sweets know that his minutes aren't guaranteed and if he makes dumb or low-effort mistakes, he's out. But OT was awful last night. And Sweets had a stretch in the second half where he dominated. That tough offensive rebound/dunk was, well, sweet.

I questioned Sweets in the beginning of the year. Then I learned he lost his father. Anyone who's lost a parent knows you don't get over that in a month or two, and your work suffers while you're grieving. Now it's clear he's got loads of potential and was a good pick where we got him in the draft. He plays big. He's got more ups, quickness and speed than you'd expect from his body type. He doesn't need plays called for him to be a big asset. And, IMO, as he develops, coaches will want to call plays for him. Guy's a horse.

He's still young and raw. He'll make mistakes. But as long as he's playing hard and not making too many mental mistakes, I'm hoping and expecting he'll get consistent minutes gonig forward.

Sweetney has great fundamentals... what your seeing is what superior footwork does when your a bigman. Also he may be a short PF at 6'7 but his arms are so long its almost comical. His standing vertical reach is that of an average 7 footer. You can see he's got a nice understanding of the game.

As for his coaches believing in him Lenny and Isiah both said the same thing when they got here... "Why is this guy in street clothes?"