The Knicks Thread....

Well, I mean if it could happen with Kwame—oh wait, nevermind then.

I wanted to know realistically, if any of you Knicks fans think your team can make the postseason?

The chance is there, you can't lie that this team looks great on paper. But on the court thats another story, they looked good during the pre season but thats just the pre season. If Francis can return to his old form, Curry learns how to use his size to dominate, and the Knicks learn how to run the Suns type offence that IT wants then hey who knows. Thats an awful lot of ifs though.

thats what predictions are for
i say 44wins and 7th or 8th seed for the knicks

first round bump tho

thats my bold predictions

I like Balkman. He's long, active and athletic and much better rebounder I expected. He'll never be a scorer, but he shows potential to become a very good garbage points scorer and a spot shooter. His shooting tehnique looks fine to me and could very well end up a mix of Gerald Wallace (less athletic, though) and Bruce Bowen.

I surprisingly don't like Mardy Collins pick, though. He's surprisingly unathletic, isn't quick enough laterally to effectivelly guard anyone, can't score, can't shoot and is not as good of a creator with the ball to justify giving him playing time.

Some random notes:
-Frye is a centre. He's not athletic enough to be an outstanding PF in this League, especially when playing in the same lineup with the defensless Curry. Frye is strong enough to man the middle and would become a very solid centre for years to come with his scoring ability. He isn't a very good rebounder or defender, so they'd need a garbage man to play along him at the PF spot.
-Lee is someone I like a lot. Can rebound, is athletic and shows willingness to improve. He isn't much of a defender, but could very well come off the bench and do his job.
-Curry is still fat, lazy and doesn't defend or pass. Not only he's a pussy, he just doesn't care.
-Marbury looks crappy.

thats what predictions are for
i say 44wins and 7th or 8th seed for the knicks

first round bump tho

thats my bold predictions

To be honest, I pray the Knicks completely go in the tank. Isiah's done enough damage to this franchise, and I want his a$$ out of here. The whole Eddy Curry deal(with us losing draft picks to the Bulls) REALLY tickes me off. F--- Isiah.

the eddy curry deal was bad; but i think this season we will see if eddy can live to his expectations or not. So few teams have a big man like him, true he can't rebound but it can be worked around if he is going to be a low-post presence and giving 18-20ppg and we still have the guards who can score

thats what predictions are for

And wishes, I would say I hope they tank too but I really don't wanna have to sit there and watch the Bulls end up getting our pick. I'm hoping they at least make it to the playoffs so its not a lottery pick. 1st round or bust!

thats what predictions are for

And wishes, I would say I hope they tank too but I really don't wanna have to sit there and watch the Bulls end up getting our pick. I'm hoping they at least make it to the playoffs so its not a lottery pick. 1st round or bust!

The drawback to that is Dolan won't fire Isiah if the Knicks show some improvement. Either way, the franchise is f----d.

Pretty much. Pick your poison, but hey I'd rather see some chance at something than see another year like the one we had last year.

I'm not even sure if we should want them to make the playoffs, they'll probably be embarrassed because I don't see them getting much higher than 8th seed.
Imagine getting swept by the Heat, that'd hurt.
The cocky 'stars' will probably get even cockier too, making the playoffs after such a disastrous season in 05-06. And of course like Jeffx said, 'just' making the playoffs is probably good enough for Dolan so Isiah won't get fired.

With Dolan & Cablevision, all they care about is filling the Garden. Doesn't matter if the Knicks are a serious contender or not. Playoffs means more games so they can charge suckers(excuse me, fans) overpriced tickets for a CBA team. A CBA team with the highest payroll in the league.

If I wasn't a Knicks fan, I'd be laughing instead of crying my eyes out. I remember how it used to be during the Holtzman years, the two-year period with Bernard King, then the Ewing/Riley/Van Gundy era. Now look at what we're stuck with - Brain-Dead Dolan and Train-Wreck Thomas.

well knicks lost 138-121...suns-like scoring..

francis had 39points/6assist/6reb
marbury had 24points/6assist
seems like they both got to do what they like to

curry also had 19points/9reb (still cant get 10 f'ing rebounds)

well knicks lost 138-121...suns-like scoring..

...and Suns-like defense.

F--- Isiah.

Either way, the franchise is f----d.

at Jeffx trying not to post profanity. It's ok, look, FUCK YOU Isiah!

Will Isiah Thomas save the Knicks, or even his job?

Bad news, Knicks fans -- Isiah Thomas isn't going anywhere this season.

Tasked to make progress this year by team owner James Dolan, Isiah should have little problem coaxing this definition of dysfunction to more than the 23 wins they produced last year.

"Larry Brown just made that whole atmosphere there so poisonous that you could coach that team to more wins," a team consultant says. "Isiah doesn't have to be the greatest coach in the world, but he can probably get more wins out them by just letting the guys play and have some fun."

Thomas likely will employ a wide-open, up-tempo pace that relies heavily on the plethora of versatile guards he has acquired as the club's GM. But will it satisfy the often impatient Dolan?

Progress, of course, is a relative term. Will 25 wins keep Isiah employed? 30? No matter, because if Isiah's past work is any indication, any improvement is likely to be a modest one at best.

"I scouted Isiah a lot when he was coaching Indiana and, in all honesty, I didn't see him bring a lot to the table," says a former Central Division scout. "I never really had much of an understanding of what he was trying to do and I often had a feeling that he didn't have an understanding of it either.

"There was one time they had Reggie Miller bring the ball up the floor on the first possession. He passes the ball to the wing and he goes and posts up. The [scout] next to me throws his pen down and starts cursing. I said, 'What's the matter?' He said, 'I saw them play last night and they did the same thing.' And they did -- every possession in the first half, but not once in the second half."

Enjoy, New York -- he's all yours.

I thought the only bright spot Isiah has, other than his career as a player, is that he was a decent coach in Indiana. This changes it.

If the Knicks make the playoffs, and by some miracle , the 2nd round will you be happy Jeffx? At least temporarily?

No because it means Isiah keeps his job. I don't want him assiciated with this franchise any more.

With a few exceptions, I don't like the players on this current Knicks team. And I've really soured on Marbury. I have no passion for the Knicks anymore. I miss the blue-collar guys we had during the 90s who played tough, hard-nosed defense. I don't want the New York Suns.

I'd keep Frye, Lee, the rookies, ship the rest out of here and start over.

I'd keep Frye, Lee, the rookies, ship the rest out of here and start over.

I agree, the quicker its done the better unless they are not getting fair value for a deal.

I miss the blue-collar guys we had during the 90s who played tough, hard-nosed defense.

I'd keep Frye, Lee, the rookies, ship the rest out of here and start over.

You think Frye is tough and plays hard-nosed defense?? I always thought he played soft and i never seen any kind of hard-nosed defense from him.

I think Frye is quite a decent building block. Sure, he isn't 'tough' like Knicks from the 90's were, but he reportedly has a very strong work ethic and could become as solid centre as they come nowadays. With his skillset, athleticism and added muscles, he's more than capable of having a 18/8 season in the future. The catch is that he's a centre, not a PF as which IT is trying to sell him. He's not athletic enough to defend or keep up with the smaller, quicker PFs a la Villaneua or Wilcox (who are at this moment just average players). Also, his game sort of complements Curry's on offense, but on the other side of the court, they're both lousy man defenders and can't rebound. That's a recipe for a failure. Clearly, Frye is they guy I'd keep, simply because he doesn't have any serious health related problems (as opposed to Curry and his heart disease) and will most certainly come psychically ready to training camp and work on his game, which is something you can't count Curry will do.

On the other hand, you have Balkman, Jeffries, Robinson (whom I don't quite like, simply because of his Napoleon syndrome and the fact that I've got a strong feeling he'll become entirely crazy in the near future), all of who would be a nice fit on any Riley-coached team of the 90's. I think those players should represent the NY, not Crapurys and Fransissys of this League. Ironically, Tyrus Thomas would be a perfect building block for this team. Knicks' fans would love him, his athleticism, attitude and work ethic, the energy he brings on the court. But with IT as the captain of this sinking boat, you traded that pick away and also the opportunity to get a franchise talent (not necessarily Oden, this draft is filled with potentially great players) in the 2007 draft.

Imagine if IT didn't trade for Curry, if he didn't sign James and resigned Butler instead, didn't trade for Francis and simply cut Marbury, if he drafted Balkman with his second pick and Rondo/Williams with his first and had still gotten #2 overall pick in the 2006 Dradt. Sure, it's a lot of ifs, but it's still an interesting thought:

Frye/Butler
Thomas/Lee
Jeffries/Balkman
Crawford/Richardson
Rondo (or Williams)/Robinson

That's actually a team NY fans would cheer for.

Frye/Butler
Thomas/Lee
Jeffries/Balkman
Crawford/Richardson
Rondo (or Williams)/Robinson

That's actually a team NY fans would cheer for.

I dunno about that, beacuse we always have something to complain about. With that line up we'd be crying about how we need another big man and some hardnose players

I seriously doubt that team would win even 10 games. Obviously, the Knicks need a total rebuild, but I don't think that kinda team is what we should be aiming for.

Just wanted to say go Stevie Franchise 39 points! Yay... altho it was preseason and he got thrown out of the game... (why would u do that....) anyways, he's cool and I hope he's gonna get his career back on track... which means winning...

I've read that he doesn't want to get stats, he wants wins... I hope it's true.

Hopefully the Cato signing helps Francis adjust to NY a bit more, him being the pussy that he is, but signing another big center who can't run the floor can't really help us out with that "Suns offense"

jalen rose got bought out..

at least they didn't trade him for anther big contract like penny for francis..

And they don't need another ball hogging swingman or useless big man...