- sweetney looked a little uncomfortable there in the beginning, maybe a little nervous (highlighted by the fumble of the pass under the basket) BUT with that said, he settled down and still got 11 rebounds in 25 mins. secondly, the one time they went to him, he abused whoever was guarding him. he needs to be featured more in the offense. and he's going to get hurt with the quicker PF's in the league. his perimeter defense still needs to improve alot.

- crawford is going to get the garden buzzing again. this guy has CRAZY handle and is lightning quick. i think we all saw that his shot selection isn't the best but i think that will be controlled during the course of the season. btw, the first quarter was a CLEAR indication of how important crawford's acquisition is. there were 2 plays, where kurt set a high screen, crawford or marbury took the pick, passed back to kurt at the top of the key who swung it around to an open crawford/marbury at the corner for a jumper. we had nobody to help marbury do that in the playoffs (until frank got some pt) and now, nobody is can double team marbury/crawford bringing the ball up. a MAJOR need that was addressed by isiah.

- not an auspicious start for nazr but i'm comfortable with him and vin as our center platoon.

- you know, kurt, like many said, would be AWESOME coming off the bench. he could really do major damage to other team's 2nd units.

- brewer is a non-factor. he'll be lucky to get 2 mins a game. i disagree with many, i thought moochie ran the offense better. brewer just happened to be out there when the nets were missing everything and the knicks were running and gunning.

- speaking of running and gunning, how about trevor ariza. this guy shows no fear and plays WAY above the basket. i think he could really blossom with marbury and i like his defense. man, he played that passing lane like spree used to. there is no place on this team for shandon.

- we still can't play any type of team defense. that's where nazr and vin kill us. we NEED that dalembert/ratliff type guy.

it looks like this season could be summed up in one word...FUN

we have some guys that can get out there and we have guys that can get them the ball. we also have a rebounding beast that needs to be featured more in the offense (which will come in time) and needs a shotblocking center to complement his lack of defensive speed on the perimeter (Which isiah will hopefully adress within the next 2 years).

all in all, it's still WAY too early to get a good grasp of what type of team we have but we do have some indication that this season will be FUN.

[Edited by - djsunyc on 10/15/2004 08:37:06]

I think the things with Ariza isnt that he's a superstar... rather hes a good player (steal at 40 whatever) but a PERFECT fit with this team. I see no reason why he cant beat out Penny or anyone else for minutes at the 3. He's really going to push TT also. Lenny gave him a lot of minutes... its obvious they really want to see what he can do in game situations. Great pickup.

You can really see why there is star potential in Crawford. He's so fluid and has such a handle at 6'5. He's long too. I love how he's in the paint looking for loose ball and rebounds so he can start his own fast break. He reminds me of Spree with the adrenaline shots... he will need to check some of those, but what a weapon.

Nazr was awfull, but the nice thing about having Vin, KT, JYD.. etc is you dont have to stick with him. I see the depth up front being a big asset.

KT will really benefit from having the slashing ball handlers that we have. I think he hit his first 8 in a row and made it look easy. Crawford, Marbury, TT... these guys will create a lot of space and he can clean up on some of these plays.

Looks like we have a nice mix with some good young guys. Hard to say how good we can be, but its only up from here.

First impressions:

- Crawford looked super talented albeit selfish. He took some bad shots and I think he missed some open teammates on a few occasions. All in all, I think he's a positive addition. His defense and rebounding looked better than expected.

- Sweetney has a nose for the ball. He's a really good rebounder. He had one post up move where he looked like an absolute beast. He also has a knack for drawing fouls down low. At times he did seem kinda lost in the offense. He also showed some surprisingly nice ball-handling and good awareness when forced to advance the ball upcourt.

- TT was being double-teamed a lot.

- Nazr has to cool it with the fouls. He's another guy that looked lost out there.

- Baker looked nice in brief minutes.

- JYD provided energy. He can make in impact in 1 minute on the floor.

- Brewer looked serviceable. He's not a bad back up.

- Ariza was exciting. I think he's going to be a contributor this year. He brings something to this team that no one else does.

- Penny seemed to be forcing.

- Steph played limited minutes and looked good despite 4 TO's.

Overall I think there are reasons for hope and concern. I think this team will have to fight it's own selfish tendencies all year long. If they can succeed in being a true team, I think they'll be a force. Up until the fourth quarter the offense seemed kinda clunky - it was mainly pick and roll. Finally in the fourth we got to see an extended display of the run game they've all been promising. That was awesome. I think this team has the tools to be successful and it'll be up to Lenny to make them all work together. Also, I think Allan Houston is going to make this team much better in the half-court. Now I'm looking forward to Saturday's game.

Posted by djsunyc:

- brewer is a non-factor. he'll be lucky to get 2 mins a game. i disagree with many, i thought moochie ran the offense better. brewer just happened to be out there when the nets were missing everything and the knicks were running and gunning.

-




[Edited by - djsunyc on 10/15/2004 08:37:06]

Non-Factor??- Did you actually watch the game?? Brewer was 10 times the defensive player moochie was. He has great size and may be limited offensively(but so is moocie) but is a perfect bench player.
Brewer will be on this team instead of moochie for the season. Guaranteed!

Posted by BigRedDog:

Posted by djsunyc:

- brewer is a non-factor. he'll be lucky to get 2 mins a game. i disagree with many, i thought moochie ran the offense better. brewer just happened to be out there when the nets were missing everything and the knicks were running and gunning.

-




[Edited by - djsunyc on 10/15/2004 08:37:06]

Non-Factor??- Did you actually watch the game?? Brewer was 10 times the defensive player moochie was. He has great size and may be limited offensively(but so is moocie) but is a perfect bench player.
Brewer will be on this team instead of moochie for the season. Guaranteed!

i'm saying brewer is a non-factor this season. he will not see any minutes at all if he even makes the active roster (which i doubt)

I see no reason why he cant beat out Penny or anyone else for minutes at the 3.

Glad to see Ariza changed your mind on his minutes.

All I can say is, this is going a VERY exciting team to watch this season.