PT. 1

Hello all,

i'm a first time poster but i've been lurking for a while. Thought i'd have in with my opinion on what Tim Thomas's problem is. This guy was pretty consistent for us last year in the games he played as he was very difficult to guard for even the quickest small forward (i.e. gave Jefferson all he could handle before "Gazygate" in last years Jersey series). He "was" a combination of size and speed and he had range on his jumper. Now based on what i've seen over the last 5 games + preseason here's a guy that has added a ton of muscle to his upper and lower body. This has really affected his jumper as he doesn't have the arm extension or fluidity he had last year when he released the ball (not even close).

PT. 2

Also as a result of the extra muscle he's not nearly as fast. He's just plain unable to beat anyone off the dribble. The only advantage he has now is his height but since he's not able to get around the defender while driving the lane (like last year) he's stuck with fading away to get his shot off. That's also why we're not seeing him finish with authority this year (thusly the charges). He's not nearly as quick (and there's a difference). Consequently, all of the fouls on defense. This fella was asked to be a power forward and it's obvious he worked out like an idiot over the summer. I think he really did what was asked of him. Unfortunately for Tim and the Knicks needing him to be an inside presence/power forward it's just plain ol' folly. The fact of the matter is that he just isn't. My conclusion, Tim is not as bad as we're seeing, he's just a victim of doing what he was asked to do. Plain and simple.

Posted by EnySpree:

All I ask of him is to rebound, play defense and try to get others involved if you are in a supposed shooting slump.

Thats exactly what i ask for for every other player on the Knicks too. Why some players cannot do this, i dont understand but most Knick fans will tell you something like, "He cannot learn to do those things!!" They will say, "He tries hard but cannot do them but what he can do, he does well." I think if a player tries to do something, he can do it.

Posted by Vmart:

I hate when people continue to say its early and all because these games are as important as the game in middle of the season and at the end of the season.

He is a slow starter. I am not making excuses for him. He should be more consistent. We know what we are getting from Stephon and Crawford. We have to be able to depend on TT. He has to show up for the Knicks to have a successful season.

[Edited by - Silverfuel on 11/14/2004 12:29:09]

"rebound and play defense".

We had a name for that, "SHANDON".

the only thing that bugged me about TT was his body language. Everyone struggles, everyone slumps, but this guy picks up stupid fouls when his team needs him and he's smiling and laughing. Whats so funny? Your team is getting blown out, your getting toasted on D, you cant hit a shot but your smiling like a school girl who just got asked out. Please tell me whats funny.

I agree with what!

It's probably safe to say that the kick boxing lessons didnt pay off.

Posted by gunsnewing:

read what i said. I didn't say TT would average 20pts a game. I said he will average around 14pts with the depth we have at SF and occassionally have a 25-30 point game to help us win the game.

[Edited by - gunsnewing on 11/14/2004 11:48:23]

KT - had as many 25+ pt games as TT and I think we all agree KT is limited offesively.

Posted by gunsnewing:

i agree but he was consistent last year. He rarely had a game where he scored less than 14. and he had a bunch where he scored over 20points. So what what if he didn't rebound? We outrebounded every team anyway. Nazr, Kurt and Sweetney are good rebounders. I really thought last year that the pressure of playing and new york and the fact that he wanted to play for his favorite team had him playing more consistently. The only had memory I have of TT last year was game 1 of the playoffs where nobody showed up.

He played a total of 68 games and was below 14 in 29 by my count. I assume he was somewhat better if you took just the games he played for the knicks - but I didn't break it out. Either way he was not a consistent scorer and was and is a consistently bad defender and rebounder.

Posted by OldFan:

Posted by gunsnewing:

I think KT might've had maybe 4 or 5 25+ point games his entire career. Tim Thomas has had at problably close to 30 25+ pt games in his career lol

[Edited by - gunsnewing on 11/14/2004 15:40:38]

Fact is kt had 3 last year same as TT and Kt actually does a few other things.

So are you arguing that Kurt is just as good a scorer as TT based on the fact that they each had 3 25 pt games, or do you admit that TT is a better scorer than Kurt?