I’m glad to see some of you enjoyed my rant about Al Sharpton. I’m equally happy that some of Alan’s Fixers are making their way over here. Alan and I make a pretty good 1-2 punch – Alan providing the size and pounding inside, while I can give you a little outside shooting and perimeter defense.
I even enjoyed James’ criticism of my points about Sharpton, in which he essentially made my argument for me that Sharpton is an irrelevant clown. Maybe I gave him too much credit by taking the time to make that argument, but I just wanted to make sure everyone was clear on where he’s coming from on this. He’s coming from a bad place.
A couple of thoughts: I’m nervous about Eddy Curry’s shoulder, and you should be, too. A torn labrum is nothing to sneeze at. As with Lamar Odom, it may not require in-season surgery, but it could affect his play all year. Sort of makes the Zach Randolph acquisition all the more important, no?
As for Orange and Blue’s points about Jerome James: There is no arguing that the signing has been anything but a complete waste of time. However, since he’s here and money is no object at the Garden, the argument for keeping him around would be this: You don’t discard 7-foot-tall human beings if you can help it. Especially with Curry hurt, it’s not beyond the realm of possibility that Jerome could play a few important minutes here or there, if for no other purpose but to grab a rebound or two and commit a foul or six. Is that worth $6 million a year? Nope, but Anucha Browne Sanders is getting twice that and her rebounding days are over.
In the next couple of days, I will endeavor to empty my mailbag and address some of the questions/comments/concerns that readers have emailed me. So if anything is on your mind – any questions you need answered or opinions you would like me to render – now is the time to post them here or email them to me at ken.berger(at)newsday.com. Just keep it a little cleaner than 50 Cent lyrics and we’ll be fine.
Comments (8)
I've got a mailbag question for you:
A lot of the discussion about Knicks potential starting lineups, and substitution patterns, etc, seem to be focused on "scoring off the bench." Its used as the main argument for starting Q and Jeffries/Balkman instead of Q and Jamal.
What's your take on the relevance of all this? Do teams actually sit around and think about this as a strategy? I'll try to be more specific:
For one, teams in the NBA, and especially the Knicks, do not sub in whole units. So regardless of the depth of the bench, there is almost always at least one starter on the floor. Granted, sometimes there is not, but it is not for extended minutes, right?
Secondly, specific to the Knicks roster, do we need a "scorer" off the bench for our "second unit" to have offensive firepower? I would say our second unit is designed to run the floor and finish off the break. with guys like Nate pushing and Balkman and Lee filling the lanes, we could score plenty without having a "proven scorer" in the bunch.
So, I guess my overall question is, what's your opinion on all of this? How important is this stuff, and what side do you take? Is there evidence in the NBA that different coaches take different approaches to this issue? (ie: having Gordan off the bench is one method, having the "change the pace" subs of the Mavs would be another).
Thanks for reading all that jabber. I look forward to an answer. When is the mailbag gonna be posted? Since you're not on ultimateknicks, its harder to keep tabs on you since I actually have to click to your blog and check whether or not you made a new post. But I guess its worth it. ha ha.
And yes, its because of Hahn and the Fixers that I even found this blog in the first place.
By the way, if it adds any more credibility to the rambling point I was making, here's how Hahn describes a unit the Knicks went with in their preseason opener:
"Jones is all athletic. He, Nate and Mardy played together for a short stint with Lee and Malik Rose and it was constant up-and-down. No actual go-to guy in a half-court set, but they turned the game into a track meet for a while there. Imagine adding Renaldo to that. Thomas can go with it for short bursts, maybe to change some momentum."
See what I'm saying? A unit without a scorer will still be fine in bursts.
bob, anyone who follows Sharpton and thinks he is a good rep for the black community is a sheep. He is just an oportunist and an idiot.
Open wide and say baaaaaaaaahh.
Can't wait to hear what Imus has to say about Rev. Al when he gets back on the air.
Its time for someone to stand up to this clown.
Fixers in exile wherever scattered should go to www.knicksdefense.com. Hahn is now to cool for school and has decided to allow his editors to maintain keeping that stupid Wacky title up.
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