Mar-buried no more
If Jamal Crawford keeps up this deer-in-headlights look in this offense, the Knicks are going to have a major dilemma to figure out with a week to go before the real games begin.
Meanwhile, five games into the seven-game preseason, Stephon Marbury has slowly started to figure out how to make himself most effective in the D'Antoni system. In fact, D'Antoni went out of his way to point out that Marbury's play in tonight's win over the Nets was "really good" . . . OK, usually 9 points and 6 assists (and two turnovers) isn't a typical Marbury statline, but he did it in 16:23. And he did it with a bounce in his step we haven't seen much of in the preseason thus far.
And earlier in training camp D'Antoni seemed uncomfortable to discuss Marbury in public. Now it seems he's allowing himself to believe....maybe, just maybe....
[Bloghost note: gulp]
Meanwhile, as I wrote in the print edition for the Tuesday paper, there are indications that the coaching staff is getting impatient with Crawford, who had another troubling night with four points and three assists with a turnover in 25:58. Worse than anything was that Crawford shot 1 for 6 from the field and, ironically, the only shot he did make was one of his trademark fall-aways contested at the shot clock buzzer.
The kind of shot that makes D'Antoni cringe.
Crawford is averaging just 6.8 field goal attempts per game in the season, which is a huge drop from the 17.4 FGA's he averaged last season, when he led the team with 20.6 points per game. He is averaging exactly 9 points per game in five preseason games. And, yes, he looks lost in an offense that D'Antoni initially thought he would thrive in as a scorer.
So....could Lazarusbury be rising from the dead? This is a precarious situation for D'Antoni and the coaching staff, because there is great trepidation in putting too much faith -- not to mention emphasis -- in Marbury. Still, with Crawford struggling, D'Antoni knows he needs a scoring guard at the two. Chris Duhon has quietly shown he has command of the offense and can also hit the open three. Nate Robinson is a valuable energy boost off the bench who really knows how to find his shots in this offense (26 points against the Nets on 8 of 13 shooting). Mardy Collins has earned a fringe spot in the rotation as a versatile player who can fill in anywhere from the 1 through the 3-spot.
So do they dare dance with the devil in the pale moon light?
With a back-to-back situation in Tuesday's game against the Celtics at the Garden, it wouldn't be out of the norm for D'Antoni to rest some of his starters and give a different lineup a look. And at shooting guard, from Georgia Tech, No. 3, Steph-onnnn Marrrr-bury....
Sigh. Please pass the Adobo. I'd like to at least season my words before I eat them.
Let's not get too far ahead of ourselves. I don't imagine this is a long-term plan, nor do I believe this means they are giving Marbury back the keys to the franchise. But somebody's got to score at that position and if Crawford can't get it done, Marbury is the next qualified person on the roster. While he's still on the roster.
And at $21.9 million, which the franchise decided not to eat just for the purposes of the "addition-by-subtraction" philosophy, Marbury is immovable. But Crawford, who has an opt-out after this season, does have some market value, especially for teams in need of scoring.
Worth monitoring this situation closely. Now if you'll excuse me, my meal of words awaits....
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Comments (29)
pass the ADOBO you freakin hack!
I'd rather see the Knicks win 20 games this year without marbury than 40 games with the towel head wearing diva.
Alan
when d'antoni first was hired
i said i thought Crawford would struggle in
D'antoni's offense
my reasoning was
D'antoni's system is a catch and shoot system
Crawford is a dribble first shooter
D'antoni wants the player to shoot off the pass
Crawford needs to dribble first to get into rhythm to shoot
Lil Nate is excelling in this system because
he can shoot off the pass without a dribble
if Crawford does not change his game
his value and scoring will drop dramatically this season
Would the Bucks trade Michael Redd for Crawford?
his game fits D'antoni's style much better
probably not...also his contract i think runs past 2010
but that is the type of player the knicks need at SG
Catch and Shoot players like Mike Miller
Marbury is playing well right now
but lets hope he keeps his head once the
REAL season starts.
Yeah marbury is playing well rite now. He is a beast, did you see the fire in his eyes, he was Starbury out there today (when he played). Once he starts playing like that he is hard to stop. I think he can easily average 20 ppg and 7 ast in this offense (if he gets the minutes).
let crawford play the pg position, he is a good passer.. from there he might start to reinvent his game. i still don't trust marbury. its a traumatic experience for me to cheer for marbury, and then in the middle of the season he will start to mess up again. and losses start piling up again, before we know were already at the bottom of the standings. lets not expect too much in him, because we know what he can do.
Someone call the cops, Starberman has hijacked Alan's blog!!!!!
Great article, Alan! Your pained humor portrays the feelings of many Knick fans. I hope that D'Antoni can keep Marbury in the position where proving himself does not come easily. He has a lot of history to overcome. Under the circumstances, however, the window has to be kept open a bit.
I'm a big Crawford fan, and beleive me when I say this system is just not right for him. If we're talking about getting under the cap by 2010, this is the opertune time to deal him. His stock is high right now, and if we wait til mid season or after when is scoring average goes down...well you can guess where I'm going with this.
Why not talk to miami about shawn marion with there #1 pick.
Trade: Crawford, Rose and 2nd round pick
For
Shawn Marion with there #1 pick.
I agree that we may need to trade shake and bake Jamal for someone who can shoot in this system and play some intense D.
But for who I am not sure yet?
Jamal is certainly a good teamate with significant value?
I hope he adjusts to the new Knicks, but I am doubtful?
TRADE HIM! Crawford and Eddy if possible. Send them to the west coast. Get some picks and some expiring contracts.
Have to agree with my fellow posters. I thought Crawford was made for this system as well. Guess I was wrong. A few Gms I believe would say that its the system in this case more than the player, and that he wouldn't be considered damaged goods so to speak like say Curry (who just doesn't care) and could be moved for another SG who be a better fit in D'antoni's system.
As for Marbury, I'm always happy to see a Knick do well but with him
its about waiting for the other shoe to drop. If his minutes gets cut during the season, if he gets upset that he isn't playing a big enough role in the offense, if he resents that someone is stealing the spotlight from him, there is a good chance that he will be sitting on the sidelines, wearing a towel on his head, the "look at me I'm pouting" towel. That's where team chemistry suffers. He has done it before and despite his annual pre-season pronouncements about how amped he is, it will probably happen again.
I believe that Coach D is concerned about that as well more than he is about his play or he would have been started Marbs from the get go. Crawford's play isn't making it any easier for him.
This is just a move to light a fire under Jamal Crawford or expose Stephon Marbury against the Champs.
Oak,
Crawford can't play the PG for extended minutes. That's been tried a few times and it doesn't work.
Nick,
How does your proposed trade help us ? We would be awfully thin at SG and it would create a logjam at the 4. Besides the Heat need a PG and a C. I think they have a pretty good guy playing SG already, lol.
I'd love to see Crawford traded but we'd have to net a SG as part of the deal. Crawford's value has to be high at this point. I hope they are exploring the open market w/ him as bait.
So does Steph get his Allen Iverson dream this season and start at SG ??? hmmmmmmmmmm. interesting option.
What do fixers think of a Crawford for Al Harrington swap?
Harrington has one less year on his contract, and would add some depth up front.
This would mean Marbury would have to start, but with only a year left on his contract...(*cringing*)
Alan, do you think Mullin and GState would entertain this given the Monta Ellis situation?
Crawford is doing fine to me these games dont count .
The only thing he needs to stop doing what everyone else is doing and stop passing the ball..he should worry about getting his and allow Duhon to be the distributor.
All in all Crawford is second on the team in assists and somehow thats worked out to be a bad thing ? Its way too early for a pats on the back for anyone on this team. 8 days before it gets real .
You could add M. Belinelli and M. Collins to the deal and the money still works.
Fixes the SG concerns that are out there.
This is the thing with Marbury -- he shows signs that he is a new man, reforming his game, willing to play within the system. And just when you get your hopes up that the Knicks have not thrown $20M+ in the trash, he does something to mess things up. Leaves the team. Mopes around. Gets interns promoted in his "Garden of Dreams" on wheels. Gets "Bruce'd Up" on "Mik'd Up."
Don't fall for it again! BEWARE! Let this guy ride the bench until his salary comes off the books. Give him a real lesson in humility. If D'Antoni lets him play, I guarantee, based on past history, that he will find a way to mess things up, and at the worst possible time. If the Golden State Warriors want him, let them have him.
If you want to bench Crawford, how about playing Q at the 2, and letting Wilson Chandler start at the 3?
Nate has certainly earned some minutes. Let him come off the bench quick.
Seems you've got lots of options (Duhon, Nate, Q, Jamal, Mardy) before you need to resort to trusting Marbury again. I'd just as soon hire Roman Polanski to babysit.
Alan, I think you're being way too fatalistic about Jamal in these preseason games. Its the preseason and I don't think benching him is the answer. These games DO NOT COUNT. I don't think the preseason games are in any way indicative of the regular season. I would understand if the games counted but really, taking away a guy's confidence because of preseason play is really drastic. Also, alot of the Knicks players look so good because they are playing against the other teams scrubs (see the bench).
if you guys think Crawford isn't doing good or going to do good in DA's system, what make you think Lebron would be the mesiah when they have a similar type of game? maybe we should think Carmello or Redd judging by what we've seen so far..... but hey, this is pre-season
Jamal is tradeable. We have Steph, Q, Nate, Mardy, Gallo or Wilson for a 2?
We need a shot blocking, athletic big man and a # 1 pick for him.
Al Harrington would be ok, but may create a log jam at 3-4?
We probably don't need JC anymore if he can't hit open jumpers or slash into the lane for his mid range game?
HAve fun Donnie Walsh and other GM's as the preseason winds down and rosters adjust.
Raul,
Put the hash pipe down man, Lebron and Crawford should never be mentioned in the same sentence.
I agree fellow bloggers, I never liked Jamals game anywway, hes a chucker and plays no defense. Marbury is our best player and we all knew that. Dantoni loves Nate so our starting backourt of the future looks to be Duhon and Nate while getting rid of Marbury and Crawford but for this year we know Marbury is in contract year and will thrive so lets make the most of it, after all Dantoni often talks about the best product on the floor which is Marbury and Duhon. We need to get rid of Crawford, Curry, Q, Rose somehow and keep Lee and Robinson. Mardy and Cahndler are still cheap which leaves Jefferies who has no value now but may thrive in this system.
It's about time Eddy felt some pressure for his job!
He will be a bench player or just sit until he gets in shape, builds some muscle, gets some rebounds, blocks a shot and develpos a 10' face up bank shot ala Tim Duncan.
Make him work!
Discard Jerome James as he is an embarassment to this team!
Players that are looking good in this system: Duhon, Nate, Marbury, Lee, Randolph, and Chandler! Players that are holding their own, but inconstent at times: Richardson and Collins! I dont think their should be any argument of the six that i named playing good. The problem, is that we are lacking size and for that reason alone, Richardson and Collins both at 6'6" are needed, and both can play multiple positions. I would say for this reason, size, crawford is nice to have in the starting line up, but he has not been playing well, doing anything significant on offense or defense. He was our best player last year, and still is talented; so he is the one guy that we have that has trade value. I say he will probably be traded either soon or before the trade deadline during the season unless he starts playing well.
STARTING LINEUP: Randolph, Lee, Chandler, Marbury, Duhon. Three main subs: Nate, Richardson, Collins. The coach is know for only using a 8 man rotation. When Randolph or Lee needs a break, Chandler moves into their spot, bring in Richardson if they want to play as big line up or Nate if they want to go smaller. When Chandler needs a break, Richardson should be his main sub, and if the guards need a break bring in Nate or Collins.
Nate, Richardson, and Collins provide good depth and lots of flexibility in the lineup coming of the bench. Intil Collins improves on not turning over the ball and stupid mistakes, he should be playing the least. This is my analysis of why Crawford is not needed on this team, even though i would love his height in the backcourt!
Malik Rose and Jerome James need to be cut or somehow traded. The same can go with Curry, but he might be needed just to fill a big man spot just in case Lee or Randolph go down.
We need a friggen lottery pick next summer. Who wants to make the playoffs? We need to win 25 games and get a lottery pick again, point guard, nasty shot blocker lights out three point shooter. Dump Crawford and fat Eddie for anything you can get for them. A second round pick a hamburger anything! Both are one way players they dont rebound or defend.
two weeks of preseason is all he gets? now everybody wants to dump him. amazing. jamal is truly trying to change the way he plays and he will. eventually he will find his groove. the way reactions n opinions swing on this blog we better go 82-0 or we'll never be any good right? walsh n dant are clueless right? some of you fans are sad. lmk wen its time to get back on the bandwagon ok????
John Q
I'm talking about the system and style, not talent
Bron isnt a spot up shooter...he's a slasher like Crawford ,pulling up for the mid-range J, handling the ball, being the playmaker
.......anyway scratch that......Bron would be the 4 in this system like Marion/Chandler and maybe Danillo becomes that shooter we need....its nice to fantasize but in reality I wouldnt be suprised if Bron suffers changing injury before 2010 (putting all our eggs in one basket is stupid) and we're stuck with a has been like Grandmama or Afrenee hardaway..
Guys, it's just preseason, let's give him some more time before we decide he's not right for the system.
OK give him some time, but let Jamal know we have ready replacements if he doesn't adjust, can't or won't?
Start up trade talks because we may find some better options for him and our team in the long run?