Fallibility is sexy
I err, therefore I am.
First of all, Larry's right. I posted that previous blog from the airport before I left Frisco and weather.com said rain all day. SoCal has been drenched over the past few days, but when I landed at LAX, nothing but blue skies. It's on the chilly side -- relatively speaking -- but beautiful. No complaints here. And still no pickup at windy Venice Beach. So it goes.
You guys are correct, I goofed the shooters in the game story. Bad notes or poor reading of my own note-taking while pounding keys on deadline. Fallibility is sexy, at least that's what they say in this town.
@ Zippy and regarding the point about Crawford: no doubt his inability to defend was a glaring problem last night. Monta Ellis blew by him several times early in the game. It got to a point where Isiah had to go to a zone just to protect the middle. I don't think I have a bias for Jamal; in fact, I'm often quite critical of him. His shot selection can be frustrating and his defense is maddening (sometimes I want to hand him a red cape and tell him to sing, "Ole!"). I wouldn't say his offense lost the game.
As for David Lee....I've often suggested to him privately that he needs to be more aggressive with his moves to the basket. David knows he's not a top three option when he's on the court. He's an active rebounder, that's his main role. I think he's developed just fine. He had 13 boards last night. When he gets minutes, he gets rebounds. Sometimes with players you see them reach a certain point and that's when you have to decide: is this what they are? Can they be better? I think David can be a double-double guy, but more of a 10 and 10, like last season, or, at best, a 15 and 10. I don't know if he'll ever be a 20-10. Not his game. But there's a reason why a lot of GMs out there ask for him, first, whenever there is a discussion regarding personnel.
You guys see J-Kidd confirm that he wants out of Jersey? Watch LeBron start campaigning for him immediately. What does Cleveland have that Jersey may want? No bigs. Might need a third team there.
This one will buzz for a while.
Have a good night. My body clock is all kinds of screwed up right now.
E-mail
Facebook
Digg
Delicious
Comments (14)
What do you think nates numbers will be in his prime?
Can renaldo ever be a starter in this league?
I agree wholeheartedly with you about Jamal's defense Alan....say what you will about our bigs protecting the rim....but far too often it seems as though Jamal literally lets his man go right by him (almost as though's he thinks we're playing zone)
As far as Lee goes, I think given the right situation, he can be a 13-9 or 14-8 guy....but to expect anything more than that (even in 35 min a night) would be asking too much....you have to realize that there aren't too many pf's and c's averaging more than 15 unless they have a big-time post game...you look at someone like Bynum, for all the hoopla he received pre-injury, he was still only averaging 13 a game prior to injury
"also what is up with the Anonymous posts?
be a man and put your name on it!"
Jan. 26
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. - New York Knicks coach Isiah Thomas' 19-year-old son has been arrested for underage drinking.
Joshua Isiah Thomas was charged with illegal consumption of alcohol and being a minor in a tavern, both Class C misdemeanors; and disorderly conduct, a Class B misdemeanor, early Tuesday morning, according to Bloomington police.
The younger Thomas is a student at Indiana University, where his father won a national championship in 1981. Joshua Thomas doesn't play basketball at the school.
Thomas and two friends were at the bar Kilroy's on Kirkwood when Thomas attempted to order a drink and started talking with another man, according to the police report. Thomas told police the man punched him, causing a laceration above the right eye.
Other witnesses said Thomas was hit with a beer bottle.
Thomas was taken to a hospital, and police were called around 1:20 a.m. Tuesday. Officers said Thomas appeared intoxicated, with slurred speech and bloodshot eyes. He became irate and started shouting obscenities at officers at the hospital, after his friends got into an argument with police.
Thomas told officers he wanted to pursue criminal charges if they found the man who hit him.
The Knicks have said Isiah Thomas won't comment on the case.
YEAH JAMAL'S DEFENSE IS SUSPECT...
its weird because sometimes he puts his hands in the passings lanes and gets deflections and steals(i think this was something that larry brown taught) and sometimes he looks lost on defense..
actually there are times where the whole team looks lost on defense...i think this reflects on the coaching staff.
I LIKE DAVID LEE...
but i don't know if he will ever be a complete enough a player to start at small forward against the likes of a paul pierce or camelo anthony...
he plays hard and i like that
but with the lack of defense at the 4,and 5 position it really puts a lot pressure on the man to man defense...i think that is why isiah is using the zone so much to protect against penetration.
I WOULD NOT WANT TO TRADE DAVID LEE FOR ARTEST BUT
HE WILL NEVER BE THE COMPLETE PLAYER THAT ARTEST IS....
Anonymous post guy (your name on it)
you are a funny dude....
We keep shuffling these players around, trying to find a decent rotation and the sad fact is, there isn’t a starting unit on this entire roster. Hardly one starting player. Isiah has compiled the deepest 2nd unit in NBA history. Is there one player on this roster who you can see starting on a serious contender? Maybe Randolph? Maybe? Anybody else? Crawford, Nate, Balkman . . . they’re classic 2nd unit guys. And unless Lee elevates his game he, too, is doomed to the pine. I’d like to see him lead the league in rebounding from the bench one year, and win 6th man of the year . . . but I think that’s the best he can hope for.
We need an entire starting unit. Wow. That’s a pretty harsh statement after this roster has been turned over about 16 times in the last 4 years.
I don’t think there’s any mystery to the fact that these kids develop their games when they get consistent playing time. Ever since Nate started getting decent minutes, he’s been playing the best ball of his career. That was also true of David Lee last year until he got hurt. This isn’t rocket science. I don’t think we can expect Balkman to improve his game until he’s locked into the rotation. And the way the Knicks are going, it’s almost criminal to let him waste away on the bench. I feel the same way about Chandler and Collins. Get them on the court. I don’t ever want to see Malik break a sweat again. And as much as I love Q . . . he, too, should take a mentor, back-up role on the team.
Alan – who is the Knicks’ shooting coach? Is anyone working with Collins and Balkman and Lee? Is it possible that Isiah just thinks that rookies have to pay their dues? I’m just trying to understand why we don’t see Chandler on the court. Other teams are getting productive minutes from their rookies. Isiah is supposedly such a great talent scout. What’s wrong with this picture? And has anyone ever asked Isiah why he doesn’t send Chandler and Morris to the D-league, if he won’t play them? So at least they’ll get some experience? Does anybody understand how decisions get made in that organization?
If the Knicks don't start prepping for the future (i.e. 2010, the Lebron/DWade etc. year) I'm going to spin myself into a caccoon and I won't come out until Anthony Mason personally knocks on the door and offers to teach me his ugly jump shot.
Here are trades that work in the Trade Machine. They all:
a) dump our three biggest losers (Jamal, Zach, Eddy... I don't include Steph bc I think we should dump him on the inactive list and leave him there next year as a penance for being such a baby; babies should be left in the corner until they stop crying)
b) get us earlier salary cap relief
c) as a corollary of b, open up time to see what the kids can do.
d) are the kind of trades where you think, 'Who wouldn't do this?' (Given that the Knicks are gunning for the future and other teams have specific needs to be met)
1. Jamal for Ira Newble (contract year), Donyell Marshall (one more year remaining) and a #1
2. Jamal and Malik for Wally Sczerbiak (one more year)
3. Eddy for Jared Dudley (1), Othella Harrington (contract year)
and Adam Morrison (1). (I LOVE this trade).
4. Eddy and Malik for Antwan Jamison (contact year)... this one I doubt the Wiz would take, but maybe. They need a big.
5. (Here is where I lost it...) Zach and Jerome for Ben Wallace (one year less than Zach) and some handsome Croat named Victor with an expiring contract.
6. This will never happen, but Zach for RJ pretty much works.
Man, I just spent $20 in a South African Internet cafe working this nonsense out. Why do I want to scream: Just dump me already, Isaih! It's obvious you don't love me anymore.
@jesse-Lebron needs a #2 & #3 option plus a bench. You underestimated the individual value of everyone.
@Alan, non Knick stuff but you brought it up. I think Portlands draft pick this year, LaFrenz, Frye, McRoberts, Green, Jack & the two foreigners yet to play are the best deal. Jason turns Portland into a threat until he retires and NJ dumps salary and has young prospects to move around or keep. They will never get a equal value so quantity must replace quality. Agree? Maybe not.
@Jesse: There's got to be better things to do in South Africa than play with the ESPN Trade Machine. Please tell me there are better things to do, man!
@BAZ: I like that...Kidd would be a good move there. Nets need bigs.
I'll check in before the game.
Alan,
In regard to this in your latest story:
"Randolph, Thomas said, "almost had a triple double if he just could have stayed satisfied with the game he was having."
Randolph had seven points, five assists and four rebounds at the half, but had just two points, one assist and two rebounds in the second half. Thomas says his power forward bails out of the team concept when he thinks he isn't being featured enough. Thomas says Randolph has to see being double-teamed as "a sign of respect" and an opportunity for someone else to take advantage of the defense's focus on him.
"Not a sign that, 'Oh --, I still got to get 20,'" Thomas said."
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>I may give Thomas a ton of criticism, but that is such a good point. Just watching that game against the W's (that's what the folks in the Bay Area call 'em) it was completely evident that Randolph's second half change was a key cause of the Knicks' breakdown, in my opinion.
Zeke may not be the best coach in the world, but he has a great point. Now, obviously, it can be argued it was Thomas that brought these players here and he should have known that beforehand, but that's a topic for a different blog post.
FIRST OF ALL CRAWFORD IS A 6TH MAN IN THIS LEAGUE.NATE IS GOOD FOR 15-20 IF HE STARTS.CURRY NEEDZ TO GO.ZACH NEEDZ TO LEARN HOW TO PASS BETTER N MORE.THE KNICKS NEEDZ A BETTER TRAINING STAFF...ZEKE NEEDZ TO PLAY CHANDLER.THE LINE UP SHOULD BE LEE ZACH BALKMAN CRAWFORD N MARDY.GERALD GREEN WANTS OUT OF THE WOLVES GET HIM N U GOT YOUR FUTURE SHOOTING GUARD...
ZEKE NEEDZ TO CHANGE HIS COACHING STYLE CUZ ITZ NOT WORKING IF HE WOULD OF LET MARBURY DO WHAT CRAWFORD DOES THE KNICKS WOULD BE IN A BETTER SITUATION..
WE WANT GREEN
WE WANT GREEN
WE WANT GREEN.GERALD GREEN
WE WANT A BETTER TRAINING STAFF.CUZ MARDY N BALKMAN CAN'T SHOOT..
WE NEED A BETTER CAOCH CUZ WE HAVE TALENT BUT NO1 U UTILIZE THERE TALENTS.....
Hey Alan,
Just out of curiosity, how do players react when you give them advice? I would think most of them might get pretty hostile, no matter how well-intentioned you might be. Although if I had to pick one player on the Knicks that I might feel even slightly comfortable saying something like that to, it would probably be David Lee.
Who would be the person you would be least likely to give advice to in the entire league, in terms of potential for a swift, physical rebuttal? My money would be on Stephen Jackson.
Replace Curry with a defensive center and add Artest as a small forward and we have a playoff team. Zach and Eddy together are too soft and weak on interior D, and this will never change unless Curry loses weight and gets physically committed to aggressively defending the paint.
@Knowledge. I like the Green pickup if he gets the minutes to improve just like Chandler. I think Zeke is trying to teach accountability and TEAM respect. This generation probably get's respect off of contract value ($) and/or individual stats. But championships are won by teams who bring pride to the Franchise and not the individual. I think Zeke may have to get the 8th seed to keep his job. He is playing for that instead of giving minutes to the developing players.
BAZ
I WAS READING ON HOOPS HYPE AND GERALD GREEN ASKED MINNESOTA TO TRADE HIM...
he is a unrestricted free agent next year.
who would the knicks give up to get him?
ALSO IS HE BETTER THAN WILSON CHANDLER?
i watched a couple of his games and he has a lot potential but he is still very raw...
I LIKE HIM BUT I THINK HE IS A GAMBLE...
HE DOES HAVE THE POTENTIAL TO BE A TRACEY McGRADY TYPE PLAYER...