Better article than his last one...

http://sports.yahoo.com/nba/news;_ylc=X3oDMTBqam1ocWIyBF9TAzk1ODYxOTQ4BHNlYwNlY2w-?slug=sk-knicksuptemp1119&prov=yhoo&type=lgns


Drivers ed

by Steve Kerr, Yahoo! Sports
November 19, 2004




Since taking over as president of the New York Knicks last December, Isiah Thomas has completely revamped the roster through a series of bold trades. Thomas' moves have made New York younger, quicker and more athletic, but after a slow 3-4 start this season, the question is: Will they be better?

The number one issue facing Lenny Wilkens is his team's defense – or lack thereof.

The Knicks entered Thursday night's game in Houston ranked dead last in the NBA in field goal percentage defense, 21st in points allowed and 29th in opponents' three-point percentage. The Rockets entered the paint at will for most of Thursday's game, as New York's weak-side help was nonexistent.

Only in the fourth quarter, when the Knicks picked up their offense, did they begin to defend with any zeal. By forcing a few key turnovers and taking control of the boards, the Knicks were able to come back from an 11-point fourth quarter deficit and win the game on Jamal Crawford's leaning, buzzer-beating three pointer.

The Knicks are a work in progress. All good teams have an identity. Players find roles, and establish how they're going to win games. The Spurs and Pistons are going to lock you up and beat you with defense. The Mavericks and Suns are going to try to out-run and out-score you. What will the Knicks try to do? Who are they?

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Given their personnel, it figures that this team should run. Without defensive-minded players, New York is not about to suddenly become good defensively. But with so much young, quick talent, it would make sense for the Knicks to play an uptempo style, like Sacramento or Dallas.

But Wilkens has been reluctant to let his team fly up and down the court, and the reason is: It's not a good decision-making club.

High-octane teams like the Kings and Mavericks the past few years have been among the league leaders in assists, field goal percentage – and avoiding turnovers. Both teams possess skilled basketball players capable of making many more good plays than bad ones. Each boasts several pure shooters on its roster.

The Knicks are 24th in the league in turnovers, 22nd in field goal percentage, and 25th in assists. In other words, they're not Sacramento or Dallas. They don't take care of the ball, they don't shoot straight, and they don't pass well.

Still, playing an uptempo style is probably the Knicks' best hope for a good season. An attacking offense could activate the team's athleticism at both ends of the court. Stephon Marbury is at his best when he's looking for his own shot and attacking the rim.

If Marbury can have an All-Star season and get some help from Allan Houston when he returns next month, maybe New York can overcome its frequent mistakes and generate enough energy to defend teams.

Steve Kerr is Yahoo! Sports' NBA analyst. Send him a question or comment for potential use in a future column or webcast.

I'm not sure about that.. I think we have pretty decent decision makers, they just need time to play together. They do a good job of pushing the ball and finishing individually. Marb, Ariza and Jamal can all push (and do) and finish at the other end. They cant run like the Kings or Sac or NJ because they dont have the size. Our smalls have to help on the boards (which they have been) and its harder to release.

I think the running opportunities will present themselves more and more, but with Steph and Crawford they have some pretty good players for setting up the half court game also.

I agree with Kerr about the lack of passing,from the only game Ive watched so far,that and they werent attacking the rim as much as they should.

Whether they are going into a full or half court mode Id like to see them move the ball around more before taking a shot,there were too many times when the first person to get the ball in a half court set was the first person to shoot it.

I agree that we need to push the ball more. Even if we don't get fast break points, we need to manufacture energy to play at our peak offensively. If I were Lenny, I'd tell Craw and Marbury that I don't ever want to see them walk the ball up. Marbury gets real non-chalant when he's playing slow. I trust his decisions more when he's pushing.

Btw, did anyone else notice how Marbs walked the ball up on the Knicks' 2nd to last posession last night. We scored, but we left only 26.2 on the clock and needed a semi stupid play by TMac, a weak defensive effort by Houston and a lucky shot to win. If Marbs had pushed a little harder, we would have had 28.2 or so on the clock. Totally different scenario.

I agree that TT is killing us in terms of offensive momentum. But like Kerr says in the article, the Knicks were last in FG percentage against going into the Houston game. So these people who single out TT for not playing defense are being unfair. The team has never been even fair defensively and there is a lot of blame to go around. TT's offensive struggles just attract him to be slammed all around I guess.