Gus gets his Abba on
Good morning Fixers. We interrupt this daily rant of outrage and desperation to bring a little levity to the program.
Here's Knicks broadcaster Gus Johnson -- one of the most engaging, upbeat and energetic people you'll ever know -- getting his Abba on (and, perhaps auditioning for a role in Mamma Mia):
Gus has fun with his job and we should all be so lucky to have the ability to do that. And, by the way, you should hear him rock a little Three Degrees, "When Will I See You Again"....
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By the way, I encourage you Fixers to keep the thread from the previous blog going and submit your Five-Step plans if you could play "Donnie for a Day."
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Wilson!
Earlier in the season I had taken notice to some new artwork that Wilson Chandler was sporting on his skin. One on his neck and another on his leg. I asked him if he had a lower back tat. He crinkled his brow and wrapped a towel around his torso. Odd.
Kid is covered in ink, but to get new work done in the midst of the season is crazy. I have two, myself. The artist I went to for my first came away very impressed with how I handled the pain.
"I never seen a man your size cry like that!" he said.
Yeah, I got status.
I also know the care one needs to take with fresh tats. Keeping them clean and avoiding infections are major issues. So I asked Will if he was concerned about it hurting or getting messed up while he was playing.
"But," he said with a sheepish grin, "I don't play."
True....true.
Now that he is, however, we're seeing some skills. The past two games he has shown the ability to score the ball mainly because he gets to the rim. He's quite strong for a 20 year old and, as a result, plays with confidence. But you can see he's lost some explosiveness since his minutes have increased; nothing an offseason of conditioning can't fix. Now that he knows what to expect out of the NBA game, he can prepare better for it.
Here's a little top-of-my-head scouting report on Will the Thrill, Isiah's final first round draft pick:
Good shooter with consistent form. His range comes from his legs, like most players, and therefore when he's either cold off the bench or tired, his shot gets flat and hits front rim. Not consistent enough from long range to be a three-point threat, but his game is more mid-range and in. Ideal pick-and-pop player who could eventually learn to use his strength and jumping ability to post-up smaller players. Confident in his shooting ability, but takes a concerning amount of ill-advised shots when he has the green light. Strong leaper off one leg and explosive off two, which means he should develop into a very good rebounder. Quick out on the break and can finish. Not afraid to challenge. Mediocre to weak ballhandler and overall does not possess great hands, which hampers him from playing the shooting guard spot, his natural position in the NBA. Has the athleticism and strength to be an excellent defender, not only on-ball but as a help defender because of his ability to block shots.
I like his game enough to think he has a future in the NBA, but his ball-handling is a concern. I'd also like to see him become more of a student of the game, which young players rarely develop in their first season, especially those who don't expect to play. Chandler should go into the offseason telling himself he will get minutes next season and, therefore, he has to prepare not only physically, but mentally. Watch some tapes of players he will be guarding and watch players who play a similar style as he.
I might even pencil Chandler into the starting three spot next season, depending on what condition Quentin Richardson is in at training camp. You need Q's deep-ball ability, but he has to be able to run, rebound and defend. Right now I would bring Chandler in ahead of Renaldo Balkman, who has been a wayward soul. Balkman is another issue; a player who needs some supervision and direction in order to get the most out of him. But with Jared Jeffries and Chandler, Balkman has been the odd-man out in the rotation at the three spot.
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How many of you Fixers were rooting for that Pistons comeback last night? I was watching the final minutes laughing to myself, thinking there are Knicks fans right now begging the Pistons to hit a friggen shot already. So many open looks from three and then Mardy drains that crazy corkscrew.
Remember that shot on May 20, as those ping pong balls as bouncing around.
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Comments (18)
I may be in the minority, but I can't root for the Knicks to lose, ping pong balls or no. It felt good to win, even if it was a meaningless one.
I like Chandler myself. It would have been nice to see what he could have done for 82 games getting the run he has lately. Maybe next year.
B
I loved every minute of that Knick win!
If your upset now ....wait until we play again!
No playoff team will play their starters and risk injury
to win against the Knicks, you tank? lol
The Heat and Memphis will get 1 and 2 reguardless of how many more games we win or lose, so Rose is a pipe dream!
Somewhere among the pg's that didn't get that much
press from the MSM is a Diamond!
I would rather eat Jerome James and Q Rich's contract
then the 24 million of Zeke! Another thing I would like to share,
this is 100% accurate.....Zeke will be given the first 15 games of next season as Coach. If there is not a 180 with this team
Dolan will eat his contract before Christmas!
Alan ...thanks for the shout out of the new blog!
On Wilson - he has the frame and the skill set not unlike Ron Artest. He has the will too play D, stays in front of his man, blocks shots on occasion, and looks to be annoyed if his man scores - how many players can you say that about?
Like Artest, he's a little tight through the hips, which I think explains his favoring spin moves to shake free off the dribble (along with the undeveloped handle) and his fairly straight ahead, downhill, style.
Shooting wise, his form comes and goes. The tendency to shoot with his legs spread, especially on pull ups, prevents him from squaring up properly. He's talented enough to shoot a decent percentage despite that, but there is real upside to be had from fixing that footwork. As Alan says, find the guy to pattern your game after in the offseason - I can't think of a better way to be than to be a Tru Warrior.
Speaking of coaches, now that Walsh is here and we are talking Mark Jackson, his partner in Indy, Reggie Miller should get a look as an assistant. Who better to teach shooting and two guard skills? Let him teach Chandler how to shoot. And Crawford should play the way Miller did, especially with a post presence (curry/randolph). Also, Miller has the right kind of nasty to get on these guys and demand real ball. I'm sure Glymph is a good basketball man, but what these guys need is foot-in-ass training, not free throw rebounding and gentle reminders to keep the elbow in (Jeffries!)
If we are stuck with our current guards for next season, I think we should explore Crawford and Jeffries as the backcourt, with Chandler at the three. Our biggest problem at this stage is not lacking a true pg, but lack of defense on the perimeter. In the few games this year where these guys were committed to sharing the ball, there was more than enough ball movement. Jeffries takes care of the opposing perimeter scoring threat while Crawford plays peek a boo from behind the screens. Crawford, Chandler, and Zach/Curry (whoever remains) is more than enough offense.
Anybody else notice the curiosity that Jeffries is playing the best ball of his knicks career now that Zeke is a dead man walking? Interesting. He's doing everything that made him so valuable to the Wizards that disappeared when he came here. How dysfunctional was this regime? We'll probably never know.
"Zeke is a dead man walking"
I hope it is true, for the benefit of this basketball team, however, I am not psychic, and I don't know donnie walsh personally, so I take the two game win streak as a negative thing, first because it decreases our high draft pick possibilities, second because Walsh is such long-time buddies with Isiah he may be confused as two what these two recent wins actually mean.
when you lose 56 games on the season, and blame the fans for some of the loses, and say you don't give a rat's behind about the season ticket holders, two wins at the end of the season mean very little.
seems clear to me chandler is getting extra minutes and that the coaching staff is encouraging other players to get the ball in his hands now.
why didn't they try this strategy earlier in the season before playoff elimination? Wilson Chandler did not play for 85% of the the knicks basketball games, now he's their go-to guy?
So now they're NOT tanking, when most people believed as recently as last week that they were?
The year houston selected Yao with the first pick, it was my understanding that they had only 28 wins and maybe the 6th or 7th worst record in the league, and yet they still somehow won the draft, so it is time for stern to do the right thing and fix the draft to help a dying franchise, a franchise the rest of the league needs to be good in order for the entire league to be at its best.
http://www.basketball-reference.com/teams/HOU/2002.html
Alan,
Are you familiar with David Thorpe over at espn.com? For some reason, the guy HATES Patrick Ewing, yet he never says why. Do you have any insight on this?
"so it is time for stern to do the right thing and fix the draft to help a dying franchise, a franchise the rest of the league needs to be good in order for the entire league to be at its best."
WTF?
What does that mean?
"entire league to be at its best"
NBA's doing well right now. Possette mentality is alive and well.
Hey mark, I see you made it past alan's filters to block you for being an arse. and people thought you were dumb.
Yeah dipstick, I said it, the NBA is at its best when the Celtics, Lakers and Knicks are competitive, since they are the major media markets of the US. Perhaps there is not enough light in your mom's basement to understand this concept.
Right on, KD. On top of that, what's wrong with having real rivals down the road?
...chandler is strong and athletic, but comparisons to artest are ridiculous. i was at the game lebron undressed him for most of his fitty that night, it was ugly.
my bottom line: another isiah 'tweener.
A shout to PEACEMAN,
Hey dude, can your Master Drossman join the new site LoveIsiah4ever dot com?
I'm sure that there are plenty of good nsights in that homogeneous society BOY.
Man, Zeke is really intent on sabotaging the Knick's lottery chances. What happened to his Tanking Business Model BOY? He's been so good at it for 4 and half years and now the sudden urge to win.
Go figure BOY.
Anyway, take care BOY.
knicksdefense - you haven't been around here much lately, so you might not know that that sorry sod occasionally manages to post anonymously here. It boggles the mind that someone would be so dead set on slinking around where no one wants to hear from him. This, of course, from the guy who used to go on about the importance of class and integrity when crapping on players.
Isiah's continued presence on the bench is making me lose faith in Walsh before his regime has even really started.
Tanking is a bit overrated though - look at Portland and Seattle getting the top picks last year. That's why there is a lottery. I'm more frustrated that the Weasel hasn't been run off yet. Maybe he's like Anon - the loser that will never leave...
Chandler is what he is - a young prospect with some upside who, if he is willing to work, has the tools to be a decent player in this league.
@Peacman
you are the kind of fans dolan loves LOL...look we won 22 games...hooray...lets throw a parade...LOL...
so this is where our fandom has sunk to.
celebrating 22 wins like we won the championship...geez...
WHAT HAPPENED TO PRIDE?
@anonymous AKA mark
just when i think you can't say something any dumber you surprise me...
what league wants their team in the biggest markets to suck?
if they didn't care then they would not have nielsen ratings showing what the big markets are watching.
when NYC,BOSTON,or LA have bad teams it hurts their TV revenue...study buisness 101!
well said nyc infinity...
to tank or not to tank...? i say keep losing no matter what..
what is the benefit to winning 3 or 4 more games this year ...BIG FRIGGIN' DEAL !! lose as much and get more ping pong balls dammit. even tho it's no guarantee to get us the #1 pick so what. i still say d.stern will 'throw us a bone' and hook us up. but i say so cautiously b/c he didn't hook boston up last year at all. SEA and POR got them top pix. but we've been stinkin' 4 tooo long man. we need a miracle come lottery night. i say make pat ewing our representative that night...good luck charm baby...karma.
My favorite site for NBA draft news is NBAdraft.net. I've been checking in with them for years -- since the Mike Sweetney pick! -- and they're always spot-on come draft day.
From looking at that site now, it looks like Beasley and Rose are the top 2 guys, and then you have a second tier of players from 3 until 9 that are basically indistinguishable. I've been rooting for the Knicks to lose for months, and for a while it seemed like they were finally able to do something right. But looking at it now, I just don't think a few ping-pong balls are going to matter.
If they don't get No. 1 overall and pick Rose, then where they land won't matter much. OJ Mayo, Jerryd Bayless, Russell Westbrook, Eric Gordon -- all those guys can ball, and they'd all be great picks for the Knicks.
Remember, Portland had the 6th worst record last year, and they jumped up to No. 1. The teams that had been tanking the worst -- Memphis, Boston, Milwaukee -- got shut out of the top three.
oj mayo = felipe lopez. no thank you.
@ NYC 2 infinity
Say what you will, but I am glad we won tonight!
I can never root for my team to lose for any reason!
I would think there are worse things in life than being
" the kind of guy Dolan loves."
@ Mak,
Bring your green card and I'll get you a job carrying donnuts
with Walsh! How's the boat?
@ Mak,
Sure Dross is invited. Your NOT!
Green cards don't talk hoop!
btw, nice castaway reference alan. for 9/10 of the season, we begged for them to "free wilson chandler," but you literally could have put that painted volleyball in Chandler's spot over on the Knicks bench, because he got zero burn back when the games still mattered.