http://www.boston.com/sports/basketball/celtics/articles/2004/09/05/short_division_lacks_answers/

Short division lacks answers
Are Knicks at head of remedial class?
By Shira Springer | September 5, 2004

With this city obsessed by a certain pinstriped baseball squad, another New York team with a bloated payroll comes to mind. Like the Yankees, the Knicks also are a divisional rival of their Boston counterpart. To the dismay of those trying to promote NBA basketball as a quality product, the Knicks and Celtics could easily find themselves battling for the Atlantic Division title come April. With a collection of teams in transition that also includes New Jersey, Philadelphia, and Toronto, the Atlantic could be the weakest division in the realigned NBA. Knicks president of basketball operations Isiah Thomas will leave the prognostications to reporters; he likes the athleticism and versatility of his roster. This offseason, he added rookie Trevor Ariza, Jamison Brewer, Jamal Crawford, and Jerome Williams. Gone are Dikembe Mutombo, Othella Harrington, and Frank Williams. And yet to re-sign is DerMarr Johnson.

"There are a lot of question marks on all the teams in this division," said Thomas. "Until we can figure it out, everybody is really starting from zero and I don't think there are any favorites. Everybody has just as good a shot to win the division as anyone else. There's still a lot of unknowns on our team. Not until you actually see them out on the floor can you assess what you need or what you have."

That said, Thomas acknowledged that the Knicks expect a lot from Michael Sweetney, Nazr Mohammed, and Stephon Marbury. Despite the fact that the US men's team left Athens with a bronze medal, Thomas believes the Olympic experience benefited Marbury more than any other player. While the point guard made a big impression by scoring 31 points (a US Olympic record) in the quarterfinals against Spain, Thomas was most pleased with Marbury's ability to play his best in a big-game setting.

"It was a very adverse situation and I thought it tested his leadership skills," said Thomas of the two-week Olympic tournament. "He learned some things about himself and about the game. The most important thing he learned was how to gain the trust of his teammates.

"When all of this started, he was just one of many. As the tournament progressed, he became someone that [coach] Larry [Brown] trusted and that his teammates trusted. It's a big-time responsibility, and I think that gave him more confidence and put him in a better position to come back and lead our team."

When it comes to recently re-signed free agent Vin Baker (two years, approximately $7 million), the expectations are much different. Thomas hopes the recovering alcoholic remains mentally and physically healthy; anything beyond that would be a bonus. After Baker and the Celtics reached a settlement last season, the former All-Star signed with New York on March 12 for the final 17 games of the regular season and what turned out to be one playoff series. Baker averaged 6.6 points and 4.1 rebounds in 18.4 minutes per game with the Knicks.

Baker should benefit from a full preseason with the team rather than acclimating himself during a playoff race.

"I like him as a person and I like him as a player," said Thomas. "He helped us a lot last year, and it was a difficult situation for him because he hadn't played in a while and everything that he was going through mentally. He's had a great summer. He's in great shape. He doesn't need to score 20 points and get 10 rebounds for us to be effective. Whatever he gives us will be a big boost.

"I just hope that he remains a healthy person. If he stays a healthy person, then we're OK. I don't like to see him battle with the alcoholism alone. He's a wonderful person. If he continues to do what he's been doing, we're happy with him. He's in a good place right now mentally and physically."

Good article. I think Isiah has turned a terrible lottery team into a team that can finish at the top of the division

good to hear that the knicks expect a lot out of nazr and mike. I think its a no-brainer that they are the two main cogs in the frontcourt unless something isnt working.

i really believe the starting LU will be
Nazr
sweetney
thomas
crawford
marbury

with the older players backing up playing less minutes. i dont want KT taking 35 minutes anymore. while he's tough he knows how to position himself well and knows many nBA tricks it's not a pro-active move

isiah has done a good job so far.

the players layden brought in his first year or so

andersen
weatherspoon
eilsey
[rice,longley?]

the players isiah brought in

marbury
Tim Thomas
Nazr
Crawford
Hardaway
ariza

did isiah move to quickly at times--absolutley he was a hair pin from trading for malik rose he should NOT have traded weatherspoon for moochie and shouldve insisted that lampe was not part of that marbury deal.
he did much better taking his time with the crawford deal and while he may have ended up giving things he didnt want to, the bottom line is he got the best player in the deal and was patient trying to get a better 1.

that being said we are lucky we are in the east and i have no idea what this team will do

i think it is reasonable to give isiah 2 more years to fully grade his work

I think Philadelphia has a few better players than the Knicks but I'd say, if Houston is healthy, the Knicks have more talent.

I'd imagine they still have to wait a year or so on Igoudala, and other than Willie Green, I don't think Korver or Salmons will step up and become a big time scorer.

When it comes to the playoffs you have to like Philly, since Iverson has taken his team on his back in the playoffs and Marbury's never done that, but regular season, who knows. Iverson was banged up last year, as was Houston, so each handles an 82-game season this year will probably determine who has the better record.

What does Philly have this year that they didn't have last year? (Don't forget they actually played worse with AI and Glenn in the lineup last year than with those two injured. A healthy AI does help the team, but Glenn has never impressed me.)

Posted by BRIGGS:


i se big dog as i see h2O a guy who will likely take a smaller role perhaps both as backups. make no mistake though big dog is actually a better player than H2o if comparing the players but im comparing the teams not players.

Ooh I have to disagree with that one. I think several years ago the Dog was a better player than Houston but I think the Dog's game has gone downhill fast while Houston's has improved yearly until his injury last year. I think Houston's been the better player for the last few.

lets skip last year because both players were injured and go back just the last 3-

Big dog pts per game 21.2 reb 6.6 asis 3.0 steals 1.3 shooting % 45.8%

Houston 20.5 3.2 reb 2.5 asis steals 0.7 shoot @44.3%

Posted by BRIGGS:

lets skip last year because both players were injured and go back just the last 3-

Big dog pts per game 21.2 reb 6.6 asis 3.0 steals 1.3 shooting % 45.8%

Houston 20.5 3.2 reb 2.5 asis steals 0.7 shoot @44.3%

What does Allan Houston have to do with any of this? You said the Sixers added a lot of size and athleticism to their frontcourt. I asked you what players you had in mind. And you started talking about Allan Houston???

Posted by BRIGGS:

lets skip last year because both players were injured and go back just the last 3-

Big dog pts per game 21.2 reb 6.6 asis 3.0 steals 1.3 shooting % 45.8%

Houston 20.5 3.2 reb 2.5 asis steals 0.7 shoot @44.3%

BTW, Glenn Robinson never averaged even 1.5 stls per game let alone THREE steals a game! You've been known to make up numbers before to bolster your arguments, but this one is beyond belief.