Vecsey: Knicks Will Make Playoffs

<div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post">I KNOW what you're thinking; you assume I couldn't wait to switch from my summer job of mucking stalls to NBA muckraker.

Fact is, I can't wait for the upcoming season to end so I can return to what I do best.

At the same time, I'm man enough to admit the Knicks' ongoing lawsuits and commissioner David Stern's new sideline as league Liability Assessor really turn me on.

Still, I find it terribly upsetting to think Larry Brown is being denied the opportunity to better last year's NBA-record 42 starting lineups.

By my unofficial count, there are at least a few other people with looser affections and connections to the Knicks than James Dolan, Steve Mills and Isiah Thomas, who are relieved Little Boy Blue was relieved of his coaching duties before he could do any further damage.

On second thought, that would've been virtually impossible. Team historians - taking into account the team's bottomless $130 million payroll, deep talent pool (though inharmonious and redundant) and the arrival of Brown's Hall of Fame aura - have branded the 23-win harvest the franchise's all-time blot. Bob Hill, Eddie Lee Wilkens, Kenny Bannister and Ron Cavenall never experienced such shame.

That's what a team gets when the guy in charge of the sideline cares more about losing his way than winning any other way. Early into the Knicks' first extended road trip, it became transparent Brown, first and foremost, was intent on domesticating the untamable Stephon Marbury, the theory being Thomas' many other unadoptable pets would then fall into line.

Compared to the repeated messages Brown sent to his unresponsive, distrustful assembly through the media, the scoreboard had little if any importance. So what that his harping on warts reflected defectively on the roster's architect! Minutes radically fluctuated game to game. Players who produced one night were mysteriously depreciated or outright deactivated the very next. Pessimism permeated every pore. </div>
http://www.nypost.com/seven/10012006/sport...eter_vecsey.htm

 

<div class="quote_poster">Quoting shapecity:</div><div class="quote_post">This has always been my theory why Isiah has lasted this long. He must have dirt on Dolan.

Basically Vecsey is banking on Curry to lead the Knicks back into the post season. I just don't see it happening, because of the guard dominated offense the Knicks are going to play.

The trio of Marbury-Francis-Crawford are going to take 15-18 shots a game once they play consitent minutes under Isiah. This only leaves 10 to 12 shots a game for Curry. In order for Curry to truely dominate the post he should be getting at least 15 touches a game.

Which leads to another dilemma, if Curry gets more touches will he have the conditioning to last an entire 82 games?</div>
Isiah said his "quick offense" will have Curry as the primary option and make him an all-star candidate. I'm still unsure of the role the guard trio will play. But today is media day so we should see some pictures of Curry. He's been working out with Grover and Aguirre all summer and has been playing in NBA scrimmages with guys like Dwyane Wade, Antoine Walker, Shawn Marion and other guys from the Chicago area. But then you hear undrafted players like Elton Brown are giving him a tough time. This season has so many question marks that we really can't make an accurate prediction. The Knicks can be a surprise team this season or have another disappointing year.

 

So keep Curry on the bench when is a quick offense.I think Frye or Lee can be more better for that quick offense.

 

You'll probably see a line up of Marbury, Francis at guards. Crawford and Frye at forwards and Jefferies at center. Lean, mean and quick !

 

That would also be a team begging to get killed on defense. That's a short and skinny team right there. They'd get killed on the boards and defensively, especially since the only player that plays defense of those five is Jeffries. I can see them using that lineup for stretches, but not for a large part of the game.

 

the knicks won 23 games, to get into the playoffs 41 wins sounds just right; now how does a team unchanged in its nucleus win 18 more games?

 

A different coaching style is a start. Last year, Larry Brown wanted them to run his meticulous offense and couldn't choose a starting lineup. This year, I think Isiah will make a choice on the starting five relatively quick and is going to run a wide open offense. That'll allow them to score more points. However, it's not the offense that I'd be worried about, it's the defense. It doesn't matter if his team is scoring 100 points when he's giving up 105.

 

I agree on the defensive end, but Isiah will try to be Pheonix East. He has the tools to do it also. This may sound strange, but Quentin Richardson would be key. If he can stick the 3 on the fast break like he did in Pheonix, it opens the middle for Steph, Franchise and JC to penetrate. Plus, down low, in the up tempo game the NBA is playing now, big men are being taken out of the game.

Lean, mean and quick would work for them.

 

<div class="quote_poster">shapecity Wrote</div><div class="quote_post">The only time Curry is quick, is when food is on the table.

There's no way Curry can keep up with an utempo style of offense. He's not going to out run most centers in the league, because most centers in the league now are PFs masquerading as centers.</div>
That's a good one

 

<div class="quote_poster">2MuchPressure Wrote</div><div class="quote_post">I agree on the defensive end, but Isiah will try to be Pheonix East. He has the tools to do it also. This may sound strange, but Quentin Richardson would be key. If he can stick the 3 on the fast break like he did in Pheonix, it opens the middle for Steph, Franchise and JC to penetrate. Plus, down low, in the up tempo game the NBA is playing now, big men are being taken out of the game.

Lean, mean and quick would work for them.</div>
Not really. They don't have that great pass-first point guard (there's a reason Phx dumped Marbury). They don't have a dominant big man that can run, like Amare. They don't have a very good coach. And they definitely don't have the type of chemistry that the Suns have built up over the last few seasons.