Breen = employee of MSG = responsible for hyping the Knicks and players

Posted by Andrew:

Breen = employee of MSG = responsible for hyping the Knicks and players

It's no secret that the Knicks' defense has been pitiful, but what surprised me is what position has been their worst. I would have thought opposing shooting guards would be circling the New York dates on their schedule, but it's actually been the power forward position that's given the Knicks the most trouble. Amazed as I was, 82games.com reports that PFs have a 20.8 PER against the Knicks. Checking their individual stats, it's Kurt Thomas (15.3, 22.5, -9.2) who seems to be the culprit. Just to make sure this year's results aren't a victim of small sample size, I checked last year's stats, where Kurt shows up as a below average defender (17.5 oPER) as well.
Watching the games I would have never believed this, so I decided to double check this manually. Since Thomas plays more minutes at PF than anyone else on the team, it's logical to judge his worth by the opposing starting PF. For every Knicks game, I added the stats for every PF that played more than 20 minutes. The compiled offensive line is very nice from an offensive standpoint: 15.3 Points in 33 minutes on 56% eFG. Of the 15 opponents in my list, only 5 had an adjusted shooting percentage under 50% against the Knicks.

The Knicks have played some great PFs in Duncan, Garnett, Nowitzki, and Brand, but even guys like Gooden (11-16, 25PTS 75% eFG), Austin Croshere (3-4 12PTS 100%), and Matt Bonner (12-16, 24PTS 75% in 2 games) are having great shooting nights. I know that Kurt has a great reputation as a man-man defender, but the numbers say otherwise. Guys like Garnett and Duncan will score against any defender, however if Kurt is as good as his reputation, he should be able to handle the Crosheres and Bonners of the NBA. Thomas' defense isn't the only issue. His ability to get to the charity stripe has been fading since 2001.


year FTA/402001 3.82002 2.92003 2.02004 0.8The news isn't all bad for Thomas, as his shooting as held steady over his career (currently at a nice even 50%), and his rebounding has spiked up this year. Additionally, he doesn't turn the ball over too often.

If you disliked reading the last two paragraphs as much as I hated writing them, you're going to really hate this one. At this moment, Thomas is the Knicks' most attractive tradable asset. Why? First, for GMs that still use traditional stats, he's a double-double (maybe the most misleading stat in the NBA) that's shooting 50% and probably still has that good reputation as a tough defender. His contract is reasonable (more reasonable this year at $6M, than in 4 years at $8M). Although he's past his prime at age 32, that Thomas has a been a healthy and solid contributor over the last 6 years makes him a nice fit for a team looking for a veteran presence to help them for a playoff run. Additionally the Knicks can easily make up for Thomas' production with two underused players in Sweetney and Williams. Finally, although other teams covet the Knicks' little used young players like Sweetney and Ariza, the Knicks would be unlikely to get fair value in return.

Posted by Pike:

Posted by Andrew:

Breen = employee of MSG = responsible for hyping the Knicks and players

I think it is unfair that Breen is subject to this kind of rhetoric partly due to the fallout between Dolan and (my man) Marv Albert. Nobody can fill Albert's shoes but, if we can't have Marv, I'm glad we have someone who possesses the intelligence and intergrity of Mike Breen.

I couldn't disagree with you more.



[Edited by - Pike on 12/02/2004 16:03:42]