This is a Big issue
Forget the trash-talking stuff. Maybe I'm giving Quentin Richardson too much credit here, but his inflammatory comments about the Celtics after Tuesday's loss in Boston provided a welcomed distraction from what was otherwise a defeat that once again exposed a major issue for the Knicks - their size.
Jared Jeffries is about two weeks away, so his athletic 6-10 frame will be a welcome sight in the paint. But let's not even try to suggest Jeffries will suddenly bring a shot-blocking presence to the Knick interior. He will certainly help, but the Knicks need a lot more in this area.
When Kendrick Perkins and Leon Powe (who is legitimately about as tall as I am, I discovered in the post-game locker room) are scoring at will on the post, you got issues. Scouts are already making note of how easy it is to score on the Knicks inside (Boston had 50 points-in-the-paint on Tuesday) and teams are starting to attack it. LeBron comes to the Garden on Tuesday. Fixers, if the Cavs scouts are doing their homework and Cleveland runs that pick-and-roll with him and Mo Williams (who always carves up the Knicks), people better have their cameras ready. It could be a memorable dunk show.
I know some of you are pushing the Sean Williams theory, with knowledge that the Nets would like to dump the BC kid with great ups and shot-blocking ability (but not much else to work with). That's not the answer. And above-average big man Chris Kaman and his long-term contract isn't the way to go, either.
Perhaps the best option might not even be in the NBA. Or perhaps there is a team out there getting antsy -- Clippers (2-9), Washington (1-8), Charlotte (3-7), Minnesota (2-8), Oklahoma City (1-11) -- that might be ready to make something happen. Then again, checking those rosters....yuck.
For the time being, the Knicks need to figure out some kind of no-layup rule mandate or come up with something better than the two-handed, reach-for-the-sky "I Surrender" approach to defending interior shots.
I'll check in after Knicks practice today. The bosses have me scheduld to do a 2 p.m. Live Chat here, but keep in mind I might not get home by 2, so we could be looking at later start or perhaps we might have to push the chat to next week. We'll keep you posted here.
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Comments (20)
"For the time being, the Knicks need to figure out some kind of no-layup rule mandate or come up with something better than the two-handed, reach-for-the-sky "I Surrender" approach to defending interior shots."
Exactly... especially DAVID LEE!!!!!
I wish you would ask D'Antoni a question like this.. why dont you impliment a no layup rule etc
Code Name: The Oakley Directive
If you believe Chandler can take over the Zbo role, it may be worth send him out for a true big man...
Like Arsenio used to say: things that make you go "Hmmmmm".
Never seen someone do so little on the court yet talk so much. Bench Quentin Richardson permanently. I enjoy hearing some trash talk from our team now and then but not from the guy who never backs it up.
Hey Mr. Diarrhea of the mouth, the Q should stand for QUIET until you actually prove that you have a game. Playing defense once in a while does not count.
I was wondering about a no layup rule as well.
Doesn't have to be on the same scale as the old
Knicks, the league probably wouldn't tolerate it,
but some hard fouls are definitely in order.
Tell Q to stop all the yapping
about the celtics
last season we won what...23 games?
the celtics won what....the nba championship
if you gonna talk stuff then
let the celtics do a layup drill
it makes you look like a punk
anyone can talk tough after the fact
give those guys a hard foul or something geez...
the knicks are way too small
i kept seeing lil nate at 5 '8
guarding paul pierce at 6' 8
hmmm....that sounds like a mismatch...lol
bty the last time Q started
yapping at the celtics
we got beat by 50 points
to get respect
you have to earn respect
win some games and then we can yap
until then lets be silent but deadly
the only cat on the knicks not intimidated
by the celtics was Wilson Chandler
he actually came to play
where the hell was Crawford?
Unfortunately Foolio Zach is the only player we have (aside from that waste Curry) with a legitimate post up game. Lee just throws the ball at the basket, Chandler's more of a face up than post up option, and Malik Rose is Malik Rose. If we dump Zach for striclty shotblocking that means we have to play the fat out of shape Curry chicken, that means we can't play D'Antoni's style. When I was for dumping Zach I thought Curry was going to be the focal point of the offense, he obviously isn't and probably never will be. So now we have a hole on defense in the middle dumping Zach means we will also have a hole in the paint on offense as well and really become a strictly jump shooting team, like Chicago. Anybody see the game last night b/w Chicago and Portland, that gaping hole in the middle Chicago has is really embarrassing. Trading Alrdige for Tyrus Thomas was pretty damn stupid in retrospect. So was the Noah pick when Thomas was already on your roster. Derrick Rose is a straight baller though.
Here's a thought:
Knicks get: Nazr Mohammed & Gerald Wallace
Charlotte gets: Zach
It works in the trade machine. Nazr is done by 2010 and Wallace is a $5M drop off from Zbo's salary going forward. Both block shots and the only real issue is finding an open roster spot.
It's hard to implement a no layup rule when you only play 7 guys...everyone is gonna foul out. Throw Curry in there and tell him to use all of his fouls if they are pounding inside. They were flat at one point during the game...they came back to within four points...they just need to put some heart into Defense...a no layup rule is a lazy mans defense. The knicks of old did it but it was for a different reason. They were sending a message. This is a different team. We don't have intimidators. I saw Chandler double team and let his man go for an easy cut and basket. Thats not defense..thats just being stupid.
Wilson C is the Knix only inside defender/shot blocker and jump ball man. A 6-8 forward. Jeffries scares no one. Z-Bo grabs rebounds but is no intimidator and can't jump. Nuff said.
Q-Rich is the least athletic forward in the NBA, he can't shoot no mo and at 6-6 he is useless. Play Wilson and Lee more. Dump Q-Rich and sign Ewing Jr. or even get Demetrius Nichols back.......or Louis Orr or Mel Davis or Campy Russell or Lonnie Shelton or Hawthorne Wingo.
Sad thing is, no one seems to be teaching the Knix forwards how to play D. Lee is a tenacious player and can learn. I'd not give up on him, but I'd fire the assistant coaches and hire a Cowens, Chaney, Reed, Tomjanovich, Russell, Thurmond or Silas to work with these guys, teaching them how to play physical D. It makes me barf to see a Knick team play game after game, month after month of D-less ball....it's like waiting for Godot.......
DTR (Dave the Ranter)
F the Celtics
F Paul Pierce
The reason why Q sounds so loud with the yapping is that all you hear from the rest of this squad is crickets. I say Q can say whatever the hell he wants. Besides a height deficit, the other legacy of Zeke (ironic given the Bad Boy days) is a balls deficit. All performers, no ballers except Q and Zach. Q's playing with half of his body every night - anybody who's had back issues knows the deficit that he's playing with. At least he stands up, commits to D, and isn't afraid of not looking pretty. Beats the hell out of Jamal Run-under-every-screen Crawford.
KG is full of $hit, never won a damn thing until he had TWO other all stars to play with. Aint he pretty. Pierce can play, but F him, you gonna sit there and let him talk smack because his squad has more wins than yours? There's not enough guys on this squad who are willing to step up and make an issue out of every single game.
Godot aint coming any time soon brother. There's only so many trades you can make in a year. Guys gotta get a set.
Maybe we can get David Sterns to have a do over in the draft. Maybe we shouldn't have gotten another forward (AKA D'Antioni friends son) and gotten something we could have actually used this year and years to come. Ja'Valle McGee, Lopez or some other serviceable big man.
I'm concern with Walsh, can someone check his pulse. The Marburry issue, the Curry issue, the blown draft, the excess money thrown at a back-up point guard, and Roberson over Ewing Jr. pull his head out of his a**.
Hawthorne Wingo!!! LOL LOL LOL LOL !!! That line brought back memories and made my day.
In a totally unrelated topic, I wanted to thank you, Allan, for the great job of giving great personal insight into the Knicks when there is a lack of newsworthy information. I'm a transplant to North Carolina, and because MSG doesn't make the cross-country trip, and the Knicks don't have any nationally televised games this year, the only time I get to see them is when they play the Bobcats. Otherwise, I'm stuck with ESPN's computerized gamecast. You're blog is my most reliable and fun way of "keeping in touch".
I'm jealous of you guys. At least you can be disgusted at the Knicks live... I have to yell at pictures of players on my computer.
Im Glad to hear Q stirring it up. He was one of the few players that cared about losing these past years
Sorry Q
still cant hit the side of a barn. Cmon Q square that elbow
What no mention of Cablevision owning the Knicks and Newsday. Come on Alan you dropped the ball on that one.
Did anyone remember me saying that I thought Javale Mcgee was gunna be a baller around draft time? He sure would look good in a knicks uniform.
@ Foolio
I like that trade...if the bobcats throw in a 1st or 2nd rounder.
Hey Dwayne,
I grew up in northern NJ and moved to northern California 20 yrs ago. The last 3 yrs I have watched most Knix games on NBA TV on my Comcast cable. Hope you can get it and enjoy the regular torture! : ) At least Clyde is entertaining with his ryhmin' Simon loquacity, and the energy in the Garden is still magical no matter how bad the team stinks. Hoops springs eternal for the Knix......
: ) Dave
yikes WILLIS, going off brother. you can be on my team anytime in a 3 on 3!
Could Jared Jeffries re-invent himself into a Marcus Camby type player?
WOW....The Newsday, owned by MSG, out here poisoning the minds of Knick fans with their fairy tales and Alan whatever his name is. Great place for STUPID NEW ERA KNICK FANS to continue their idiotic hate of Stephon Marbury. Anyone who is buying this bullshyt about "changing the chemistry" is out of their minds. What's needed here is a change of talent. Malik Rose, David Lee, Nate Robinson, MISSQ-Rich,Mardy Collins, Jamal Crawful, and Wilson Chandler are NOT quality NBA starters. These DOPES are incapable of playing for winning teams because they lack the talent to do so.
The one talent who can start is Stephon Marbury. These crybabies teammates are moaning because Marbury threatens to shoot the ball too much for their taste. When you s*ck, you s*ck. The rest of these Knicks not named Marbury just plain s*ck. Any fan that doesn't understand this very simplistic dynamic is plain MORON, nothing more, nothing less. The Knicks need 4 capable starters in order to compete for a playoff spot. You can scramble these rotten eggs any way to want and they will still be rotten eggs. Without Stephon Marbury this team is just plain WORSE than they were last year. They are a steaming pile of horse dump. Good luck winning 25 games with these clowns.
All Knick fans- Remember who pays the Newsday writers like this clown. MSG pays their salaries. ANY news on Stephon Marbury is tainted. Look at this Sam Cassell story. Cassell is washed up, so him taking a paycut is no big deal. Stephon Marbury shouldn't take a pay cut to his salary after backloading it early in his career. Does the Newsday tell you this year's contract is backloaded? Of course not! Why? They are biased. Their objective is to poison the minds of STUPID NEW ERA KNICK FANS! They want to make Stephon look bad.
D'Anphoni is there selling STUPID NEW ERA KNICK FANS a dream. What future are they building for with these scrubs? Who is he trying to kid? Chris Duhon? Jamal Crawful? MISSQ-Rich? The problem is lack of talent. If you're playing to tank the season in order to get higher draft picks, then it's all understandable. Just cut Marbury and be done with it. Sitting Marbury without releasing him is merely James Dolan creating an atmosphere where he can inflict pain onto Stephon Marbury, in order to find a way to avoid paying him. That's all this is about. D'Anphoni is LYING to the fans. This isn't his doing to sit Marbury. It's all coming from above.