<div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post">As you can see by looking up and down the roster, there are plenty of areas for improvement, and fixing them doesn't have to cost a fortune. Here's some areas where the Knicks are most in need of help, and a few deals that might get them what they need: NEED 1: A true point guard. The Knicks have plenty of players on the roster who list "point guard" on their r?sum?s, but in truth these are guys are only called point guards because they're too short to play the wing. Stephon Marbury, Nate Robinson, and Steve Francis all have shoot-first tendencies, as does occasional point man Jamal Crawford. As a result, the bigmen tend to get short-changed on touches, because whoever is at the controls is more concerned with creating his own offense than shots for his teammates. NEED 2: A shooter who can hit from outside. The Knicks have a dominant post player in Eddy Curry, but to maximize his potential they need more players who can stretch the opposing defense and make opponents pay for doubleteaming. The Knicks are shooting .327 on 3-pointers this year, the fourth-worst mark in the NBA; individually only Quentin Richardson (38.4%) is a reliable weapon from downtown. Marbury and Crawford have had their moments (especially in Crawford's 52-point outburst against Miami), but for the season their numbers are pedestrian ? 35.3% for Marbury, 30.3% for Crawford. NEED 3: A stopper on the wings who isn't completely useless on offense. In other words, not Jared Jeffries. The Knicks' latest free agent flop has proved even less capable than expected offensively. As a result, opponents feel at liberty to abandon him in order to double-team Curry in the post. Additionally, the Knicks are learning that Jeffries's skills are more suitable to zones and trapping than to being the man-to-man stopper New York hoped it was getting. NEED 4: A defensive-minded power forward. Of all New York's needs, this is clearly the greatest. Isiah Thomas recently inserted Jerome James into the starting lineup because his desperation for a defensive presence to play alongside Eddy Curry was so great. With David Lee slated to come off the bench as the team's unofficial energizer bunny, somebody in the starting group needs to set the tone defensively for the frontcourt. That won't be Curry, and I greatly doubt it will be James.</div> Source
