The Knicks Fix

KNICKS NEED CAVALIER ATTITUDE TO START THE SEASON

Just our luck. The Knicks begin the 2007-2008 season against the Eastern Conference Champions. Surely, one would think this is not the way for a 33-49 team to start a winning season, but I am here to tell you that the Knicks could easily win their first game of the season which would be an auspicious signal of things to come.

The Cavaliers may have a Championship attitude even after being pummeled by the Spurs in the Championship last season, but that beating was further proof that the Cavaliers are not Championship material. They were not very good last year (the Pistons just got silly stupid and lazy) and did nothing to improve during the off-season.

The inaugural beating they received from Dallas a couple of days ago should not be taken lightly or be overblown. It was one game and did not reflect the type of effort usually exerted by the Cavaliers. It did reveal that the Cavs had a horrible training camp, they miss key players in Snow, Varejao and Pavlovic and that sometimes James will be lethargic early in the season, like he was last year , because of all his commercial activity, travel and work with Team USA, before being encouraged by his boy Wade.

If the Knicks truly have a championship attitude and can translate that into consistent hard effort on the court, this game would be a good steal and excellent way to show that 2006 Cavalier-like attitude. I am expecting a mark in the Knicks win column as a result of hard work and defensive pressure on the guards, despite an improved effort by James, Gooden and Illy.

LAST SEASON

Last Season the Cavs won the three game match up 2-1, but the Knicks won the most recent game between the teams 97-93 on March 28th at MSG. In that game, Curry scored 25 points and went 11-14 from the line. LeBron shot 6 for 20 as the Knicks were fighting to keep their payoff hopes alive without the services of David Lee, Quentin Richardson and Jamal Crawford. It must be noted though, that the March match-up was the second of a back-to-back for the Cavaliers.

In the March 23 game, the Cavs blew the Knicks out by 22. James scored 21 while Hughes and Illy scored 16 each. For the Knicks, Curry was the high rebounder with 9. Very unusual but he scored 27 points, while the Knicks were without Crawford and Richardson.

It is also instructive to note that last year when the Cavs played Zbo’s Trailblazers on January 17th, Zach earned is 22d double-double while winning 94-76. Zbo dominated the Cavs bigs inside scoring 26 points and getting 12 rebounds while the defense focused on stopping LeBron who scored 23 points. In their previous match-up in November, LeBron led the Cavs to a victory over Portland with 32 points.

OVERVIEW

Last year, Lebron James got off to a slow start because of his participation in the Summer Games. This past summer should not have been as exhausting since he had Kobe, Kidd and Carmelo on the team taking off a lot of pressure. Still by mid-season LeBron may experience some fatigue. Expect LeBron to put forth a much better effort in this game, slashing to the basket and forcing the defense on its heels, if Illy doesn’t start off hitting those short range jumpers and gets into foul trouble trying to guard Curry or Randolph.

The preseason for the Cavaliers was an absolute disaster as they went 1-6 without holdouts Anderson Varejao and Sasha Pavlovic .

The Knicks play Cleveland again December 19th, and March 5th.

The Knicks are still attempting to sharpen their identity of a power team with finesse-speed capabilities. Both Curry and Zbo play well against the Cavs from the inside and the Knicks have not yet demonstrated that the tandem works simultaneously. But this is a good game to try and put pressure on a team that does not have the same depth as the Knicks.

COACH

Mike Brown, the second youngest coach in the league, will eventually be one of the most experienced and respected coaches in the NBA if he hangs around King James long enough. Like Phil Jackson and Greg Popovich, one of his mentors, his fortunes are currently inextricably bound to a superstar who has already helped his resume considerably. In two years his regular season record is 100-64 (.610), and his playoff record is 19-14 (.576). Last year he coached the Eastern Conference champs and eventual pin cushion to the Champion San Antonio Spurs.

After playing ball, as a noted defensive specialist, for 13 years, Brown began his coaching career with the Denver Nuggets in 1992 as a video coordinator, before he was an assistant coach with the San Antonio Spurs, under Gregg Popovich, for three years, including the 2003 Championship year and associate head coach (huh?) Under Rick Carlisle for two years in Indiana.

Brown emphasizes defensive and an inside-out game. He attempts to control the pace of the game by subbing his guards. With the “emergence” of Gibson, Brown uses a four guard rotation. Brown will miss the savvy of Eric Snow. Although the Cavs are not a fastbreak team, they are an uptempo team that likes to shoot early in the clock, beginning from

PROBABLE STARTING LINE-UP

Cleveland’s starting line-up will probably be as follows:

Daniel Gibson G
Larry Hughes G
LeBron James F
Drew Gooden F
Zydrunas Ilgauskas C

In the first game against Dallas, Brown used an 11-man rotation, which included eight players in double figures. However, he did not play recently re-signed guard/forward Sasha Pavlovic who missed the entire pre-season.

The Cavaliers are not at full strength since Pavlovic missed the entire pre-season, Varejao is out due to a negotiation battle with Danny Ferry, and Eric Snow is expected to be out until at least November 15, 2007 with a left knee tear that will require surgery and have him out for 4-6 weeks. Without Snow, the Knicks can bring some nice pressure to bear on the guards.

The Cavs rotation seems unsettled and probably is after that dismal lack of effort against the Mavericks in the season home opener.

Last year Brown’s most used units were
1. Snow-Hughes-James-Gooden-Ilgauskas
2. Hughes-Pavlovic-James-Gooden-Ilgauskas
3. Gibson-Hughes-James-Gooden-Ilgauskas

Cleveland refuses to acknowledge that it’s biggest problem is Larry Hughes at point. Wrong spot. He is skilled, but not the best decision-maker at the point position.

WHAT TO EXPECT

This section is the hardest to write because this is the first game of the season for the Knicks and it is hard to guess how the team will respond since the games now count on the “Shiny Stuff Quest.” But there are some things that are more likely to happen than not:

– Expect the Cavs to try to establish an inside game through Ilgauskas, mirroring the efforts by the Knicks on the other end.

– Expect Ilgauskas to hit his shots from 10-15 feet with a weak defensive hand waving in his face. He will have trouble on the defensive end however and should be sitting from foul trouble halfway into the first quarter unless Curry gets called first for using his hands to guard Ilgauskas.

– Expect LeBron to force the action early by driving to the basket. His teams best bet for winning is to keep the defense on its heels. Balkman will collect his fouls against LeBron. Qrich will slow LeBron down and force him to shoot jumpers and Chandler might get some PT while the others get some blow. LeBron needs to play 38 minutes for the Cavs to win.

– Expect quite a rebounding battle between Drew Gooden and David Lee and Zach Randolph.

– Randolph will be unstoppable. The Knicks best unit will include Marbury, Robinson, Lee, Balkman and Zbo. They will run the Cavs down if out there long enough.

– Expect defensive effort from Curry and quick fouls.

– Expect Crawford to slash to the basket early and often. If he starts taking pull-up jumpers, he will be creating a warm spot about the size of a butt on the bench.

– Look for improved perimeter defense from the Knicks which will spell doom for Cleveland. Still expect Donyell Marshall to pop a couple of tres (1 for 3 against Dallas) from the corner as Knicks help defense breaks down. The only other real tre threat (besides LeBron) is Damon Jones who went 2-4 from the arc against Dallas.

– Knicks by four.

BOTTOM LINE

Tonight’s Game favors the Knicks despite the Vegas line. Although they may start the season just as out of sync as the Cavs, constant hustle, control of pace, and pressure on the guards should make this a relatively easy win.

While LeBron will come out with a vengeance he should be slowed down a bit by a combination of Quentin Richardson and Renaldo Balkman. Equally important is that he will be forced to play some defense and not allowed to rest. Although, he can expect a couple of easy scoring opportunities off the break because Zbo and Curry fumble the ball in the post, man on man pressure defense beginning at half court should eliminate the Cleveland fast break for the most part.

Expect Zbo to have an excellent night if Curry does not. Drew Gooden will need to be out on the floor most of the game like LeBron.

(More to write, but no more time)

LGK

Cleveland has become a much better defensive team which is one of the reasons they will reach the playoffs again. However, whether Cleveland can handle the Knicks offense is questionable if the Knicks play like they did in the Boston exhibition at the Garden.

Alan – thanks for that little tour through Great Moments in Knicks History. And yet, when I saw the pretty jump shot from John Starks . . . I couldn’t help thinking, still . . . but for JUST one or two more of those . . . and there would be an additional championship banner at MSG. I know – bad attitude for the first day of the season. Not your intent. Okay: Thanks for reminding us of those highlights . . . many more to come. (How’s that?)

Lives in Jersey, Loves NY- The Cavs didn't take 2 out of 3 from the Knicks last season, they split a 4 game set.

So who's going to be the third inactive tonight?

I said in an earlier post on another thread that it SHOULD be Malik Rose, but I have a feeling it will be Randolph Morris or Wilson Chandler.

Allow me to make the anti-case for Malik. I understand that he is (purported to be) a great presence in the locker room, but even if that's the case, he certainly is not one on the court. About the only thing I can see that he brings to the table at this stage of his career is the famous, "pull-the-chair-out-from-under-you" move.

Are we really prepared to play him for this purpose alone? That's like putting in a pitcher with a great pickoff move who as a .450 BAA.

And as this roster is currently constructed, I wouldn't even bother bringing him in for 6 fouls against whoever is the opposing team's big man (especially Zydrunas), when I have players like Morris and Chandler who could use some seasoning.

Maybe I'm missing something, but I just don't see the need for this stiff to ever play another minute on the court. He's a consummate professional (so they say), and I wish him no ill will personally, but as a basketball player he is useless.

Hudson homie,

I am not a Malik fan but I think the key to being an NBA player on a winning team is consistency. Whatever Malik is to Isiah he might be good at it every night. Even if it's just not being bullied in the paint.

This season is about winning and player development (tuff balance). We have to put our most consistent players on the floor to make the playoffs. I'm not sure Randolph Morris is there yet.

Don't be suprised if Malik gets minutes. Especially against Boston and Perkins. I think Curry is tentative against players who shove elbows sometimes.

I also think Crawford should have choked the crap out of Paul Pierce. Maybe I have issues, but I saw an old Denver-Pistons game on ESPN Classic. Zeke actually pulled a guy to the floor and layed on him to prevent him from getting the inbound ball. We need that. I know some of you noticed James Posey trying to intimidate David Lee during the Boston game. Confidence is key.

Big ups to Alan and all fixers. The offseason would not have been the same without this blog.

Oh, I won't be surprised at all. In fact, I know he will get minutes. I just wish that weren't the case.

I agree with you that Randolph is not ready to contribute, but he does have some upside, whereas Malik is way past his prime. And the things he cans till bring (toughness, mainly) I think can be gotten elsewhere. But if they really need somebody to body someone around for a few minutes, I guess you do have a point. It just pains me to see him touch the ball. Like, I get stabbing pains in my liver. That might just be my college years catching up to me though. Hard to say.

reality hits tonight.

that suggests defeat to me. hope you're not rooting against them.

In all fairness, an away game against last years finals team and our first game (while they have already played) doesn't bode well.

Hopefully, we are so much better than they are that none of that matters.

I'm with you though. I wish we could the complete package in at least one of our starters. Defense, Offense, Intense focus, and leadership. To me, that's the one guy the Knicks are lacking to push the team forward. Maliks true value is his expiring contract in two years.

Thanks Patrick, I skipped over a November win when reviewing the schedule.

Nov. 13 Cavs win 102-96
Nov. 29 Knicks win 101-98
Mar 23 Cavs win 90-68
Mar. 28 Knicks win 97-93

Alan,

First, as someone who use to troll the other blogs (NYP/NYDN), thank you for your blog. It's refreshing not to have to read everytime "found guilty of sexual harassment" next to Isiah's name. You offer a balanced, fair view of the Knicks, witnessed by the fact that you have them under .500. Still, you see they have talented players. I respect that. I don't respect the constant bashing of the coach and players by the Post and News. I get it. They've been bad these last few years. Isiah started with an old, crappy team. He's made the Knicks younger, more talented. And, yes, it's time to win. And I, for one, think they will.

Across the Hudson:

I agree wholeheartedly. Malik Rose has no actual game--other than the aforementioned "pullling out the chair" which is good for one or maybe two travels every third game. Malik makes up for that by turning the ball over constantly, missing easy shots (he's NEVER covered, would you cover him?). So sit him. If he's good in the locker room, make him a coach, b/c he can't play anymore. Sorry.

Lives in NJ loves NY:

Well done.

As a former Jersey native now Portland Oregon resident, I got to see a lot of Zbo. I mean, a lot. The fans out here hated him (like they hated Rasheed) b/c, quite simply, he's an inner city kid with an attitude. I happen to like my athletes to have attitude. Michael Jordan had an attitude, as did Clyde Frazier. It's the "I'm better than you" attitude. You all will be very excited b/c Zbo plays EXTREMELY HARD, and has about the softest touch I've ever seen around the basket. He has range, and he can rebound.

BTW, the fans here are already complaining about Frye being, how shall I say this: soft. Frye is all types of class, but he lacks
quickness. He can't rebound and he can't defend. To think the Knicks got Zbo and Freddy Jones for Frye and Steve Francis is, well, stunning to me. Again, until you see him play every day, it's hard to see why Zbo is so good. He looks skinny. He kind of mopes around, but last year--coming off microfracture surgery (you all get that?) he was the ONLY PLAYER IN THE LEAGUE to aaverage over 23 points and 10 rebounds. AFTER microfacture surgery. But he's only 26 years old. Doctors say it typically takes two years to recover. If Zbo wasn't recovered last year at 23 and 11, I can't wait to see him full strength. (There's a reason KG thinks highly of the Zbo and Curry tandem....and it's Zbo.)

Which makes me laugh because Berman called Zach "old and prone to break down" in a column earlier this week. What?!

Nice to be on this blog.

K.F.O.W.

wow...looking at that video reminds me how much I was into those Knick teams of the 90's. Starks, the Oakman and Ewing. Mason, LJ and Houston. Now I barely care about the Knicks. I hope this organization can put it all back together again.

Good to hear from the west that Zach is even better then people in the east realize. You say he looks skinny and he does, but we have trolls like Mark who call him fat. Thats how it goes here in the wild east.