The Knicks Fix

Welcome 2009. If anything, because 2010 now doesn't look two years away. And you may now officially say "wait 'til next year."

"Everybody is looking to help themselves by 2010 because there are a lot of pretty good players out there. How many franchises can guys look at and say, 'I want to go there'? There’s not very many like New York." -- Larry Brown

(Thanks to Fixer "Lee" for the effort...)

* * * *

How many of you are feeling like there's more in Wilson Chandler than the kid might even know right now. I asked Wilson's big brother on the team, Quentin Richardson, who is constantly in Chandler's ear.

“I think the biggest thing is Will doesn’t really understand how good he is or how good he could be," Quentin said. "When I’m out there I can see it, everybody can see it. Will’s an interesting kid. He always listens well, he tries to do everything the coaches tell him, even when I’m talking to him he’ll try to do what I’m talking about. I try to encourage him at different times, like, yo, be aggressive. Go do what you do, get to the rim. When he does his thing, it helps us.”

When he does his thing...it's nasty.

* * * *

* - I am feeling so warm and fuzzy this holiday season that I even offered the space as a guest-blog spot to Starberman, whose fingers were aching to blog. But he held to his boycott -- the internet never felt so uncluttered -- and then took my suggestion to have Stephon write a guest blog instead.

(Note the photo they used. Quite fitting.)

* - ESPN's Bill Simmons did a good read on Mike D'Antoni's system and its overwhelmingly positive impact on players. Larry Brown said it best when he talked about the D'Antoni philosophy's popularity with players:

"I don't think there's a guy in my locker room that wouldn't mind playing that style," LB said.

Chris Duhon's numbers are career-best. David Lee? Every double-double comes with a dollar sign. cha-ching! Al Harrington and Nate Robinson have come back to earth a little lately, but overall they're still going to have great stats in the end.

Simmons brings up a very interesting point: if average players are putting up career numbers, what kind of production could you expect out of a player such as LeBron James or Dwyane Wade?

* * * *

Stuck in an awful delay here in Charlotte. Just get me home before the ball drop.

Have a safe and Happy New Year, Fixers.

They're right now loving Boris Diaw here in Charlotte, so any hopes Mike D'Antoni might have had that Diaw, one of his favorite players from his Phoenix days, may be eventually flipped to New York are on hold. Diaw's passing ability has really opened up the Bobcats offense and has players such as Gerald Wallace and Emeka Okafor thrilled to have him. Charlotte is 4-4 since the trade, which also brought in Raja Bell and Sean Singletary and sent Jason Richardson to Phoenix.

D'Antoni in the preseason tried to make a comparison that Jared Jeffries could play the same role that Diaw played for him with the Suns. But so far Jeffries hasn't come close to filling the role D'Antoni envisioned, nor have we seen Jeffries play a role where he is a facilitator, where the offense goes through him as it did with Diaw in Phoenix and how it's working with him here in Charlotte.

The ridiculous contract Isiah Thomas gave him aside, Jeffries does have skills that can be useful, but running an offense through him is not one of them. He can play the pick-and-roll like David Lee does, mainly because he should be able to use his length and quickness to dive down and finish. He should never be stationed out in the corner like he has been recently, especially when he's on the same side with Nate Robinson. Nate goes right 99 percent of the time and his only bailout on the double is Jared? Ugly.

Jeffries also has the skill set to be a good defender, but he might be better off the ball than he is on-ball. For instance, if you can get him on the weak side, low, he can come as the help out to redirect or even swat away shots from driving guards. The Knicks have no one on the active roster that has the length and athleticism Jeffries has, so they need to utilize him more as a big and not as a wing player. D'Antoni originally planned to use Jared as a center if you remember, but we haven't really seen that yet.

Just bloggin.

* * * *

* - Eddy Curry is more than a week away from returning to action, but could be getting more and more involved in practices in the coming week. The key with Curry is his conditioning. They won't play him if his conditioning isn't where it needs to be.

Noticing a great deal of chatter in the comments area involving Stephon Marbury's absence and how it's apparently directly related to the Knick woes.

Let's review his four previous full seasons with the Knicks, plus this one.

With Marbury in the lineup, the Knicks were 88-151, for a .368 winning percentage.

I'm doing this on the fly (en route to the airport for Charlotte) so correct my math if I'm wrong:

2004-05: Marbury played in all 82 games (33-49)
2005-06: Marbury played in 60 games (18-41)
2006-07: Marbury played in 74 games (31-43)
2007-08: Marbury played in 24 games (6-18)
2008-09: Marbury played in 0 games (0-0)*
*- I will not count the games he was on the active roster but was a DNP

Without Marbury in the lineup, the Knicks have gone 35-83, for a .296 winning percentage.

2004-05: 0-0
2005-06: 5-18
2006-07: 2-6
2007-08: 17-41
2008-09: 11-18

So we're talking about a player making a .072 percent difference between wins and losses.

Our lines are open....

Mike D'Antoni has responded to Newsday.

Just kidding.

But clearly the Coach wanted a new look.

Out are Nate Robinson and Al Harrington and in are Tim Thomas and Jared Jeffries.

Quentin Richardson is back after an ankle injury kept him out of Friday's game. He'll come off the bench, too.

Also . . .

Considering the Nuggets roster of characters -- Balkman, Birdman, K-Mart and JR -- is it coincidence that the Garden sound system chose Gnarles Barkley's "Crazy" as one of the songs in the pregame set?

Aw man, crazy.

In a previous era, Friday's loss to the Wolves would have had everyone yelling 'Tim-ber!' That performance was the definition of a fire-able loss. No question.

But we know Mike D'Antoni has job security at least up until the 2010-11 season, when wins and losses will have greater emphasis over the R & D (research and development) project going on this season.

Let me remind you of something Quentin Richardson said to me in the preseason:

“If we don’t get the job done, I don’t look at it as it’s on Coach. I look at it as it’s on us, because after three or four coaches, it’s not the coach. It’s not his fault, the team ain’t listening. If we don’t want to listen, we’ve got to get guys that want to listen. That’s just the bottom line.”

The players are "tired" because of the tight seven-to-eight man rotation? That's a poor excuse. Only Chris Duhon (39:31) and Al Harrington (37:28) -- both tireless athletes -- are averaging an obscene amount of court time. Everyone else is in the mid-30s, which is exactly what any NBA player - especially ones looking for a new contract - would tell you he would want to average in a season.

Fatigue is the easy angle. Yes they must be exhausted. Maybe they're just not that good. Maybe more than three-fifths of this roster won't even be here after next season, if all goes accordingly. Maybe there is a need to see all of the warts in young players such as Nate Robinson, David Lee and Wilson Chandler to get a full understanding of who they are as players and what they are worth going forward?

Trust me here, Fixers. When Danilo Gallinari is finally ready to play, you have to expect the kid is going to play. A lot. You have to find out what he is, what his strengths are in this system and what his limitations might be.

Look, this isn't about being easy on the coach and his system, this is about understanding reality: the new regime isn't going to be on the hot seat here for quite some time. So whatever you're seeing right now is, as Q-Rich said, all on the players.

We see now that Harrington's POTW run earlier this month might have been fool's gold and, subsequently, gave him a sudden sense of entitlement to almost 20 shots per game (now that's how you get fatigued). You love Al's passion for being a Knick, but for three games I've noticed he also has an appetite for gettin-his, which is an attitude that will make you look really bad in this type of offense.

My fellow Fixers who see this game like Kasparov sees a chess board would have recognized two major issues that have hampered the offense, aside from poor shooting (which, I will argue, is a result of taking bad shots more than it is simply just not being "on"). The first issue is spacing. Duhon and Lee were working the pick and roll to near perfection about two weeks ago, mainly because the middle of the floor was so wide open. But if you watch the team now, you're finding more bodies near the painted area, more clutter.

[Say what you want about opponents scouting the Knicks and adjusting to the pick-and-roll, but with the right spacing and the defensive three-second rule, there is no way to easily defend that play if you have shooters in the corners. It's fundamental basketball.]

Harrington said he wanted to put more of an emphasis in his post-up game and in scoring down low and not take so many threes. Commendable. But while his inentions are in earnest, his methods have been detrimental. He goes into the post, sometimes after Lee has already completed the dive-down off the screen. Now the offense has to re-set with half of the shot clock already gone.

Another issue I've noticed is this group has taken the "up" out of up-tempo. This system is predicated on running hard. Not just fast-breaking like the And-1 Golden State Warriors. I mean running hard on makes and misses to get to spots on the floor. Both corners have to have bodies there spotting up for kick-outs well before the ball gets to the top of the key.

Getting back to Richardson, he mentioned in the preseason how players may have a tendency to not run as hard if they aren't getting the ball. But not running hard hurts the rest of the team. It's like a wide receiver loafing on a decoy route. Once the defense sees that you know you're not getting the ball, they can cheat off you. Plus, you never know, sometimes the decoy route suddenly becomes the best option.

The rotation just hasn't gotten set since the two big trades went down, for various reasons (injuries are a prominent one). I think D'Antoni made a mistake in starting Nate Robinson at the two because you lose his energy coming off the bench, where he is clearly much more valuable. Nate, like Al, tends to try to do too much -- the wrong thing for the right reasons -- and it needs to be corralled.

Defense . . . ? Where to begin?

Not here. Gotta get to the Garden for today's game against the Nuggets. Just felt like ranting over breakfast.

DEEEEE-fense!

It wasn't a chant, it was a plea from the Garden crowd during Friday's embarrassing loss to the lowly Minnesota Timberwolves.

DEEEEE-fense!

Some observers would like you do think that Mike D'Antoni turned to the crowd and yelled, "Are you f---ing kidding me?" That he called a timeout nine seconds into the fourth quarter, down by 21, to congratulate his team on showing complete disinterest in guarding anyone on that first play of the quarter, when Sebastian Telfair ran Chris Duhon off a screen and sliced right to the basket for an easy two.

No, Fixers, that was anger you saw on D'Antoni's face as David Lee trudged toward the Knick bench. Seconds -- literally seconds -- after the coach had just discussed a strategy to defend the pick-and-roll and keep Telfair out of the paint, Lee misreads the play and doesn't provide the properly positioned help. D'Antoni screamed for a timeout and then tore into his players in the huddle, with Lee getting an earful.

“Yeah and deservingly so . . . it was my fault," Lee said afterward. "Sebastian got an easy layup and [D'Antoni] let me hear about it.”

Here I was led to believe D'Antoni doesn't care about defense.

* * * *

Let's continue to debate it again. I ask you, Fixers, what benefits this franchise more this season: a lottery pick or the eighth seed?

My argument remains that, while I don't condone tanking, I do not believe making desperate roster moves for middling players to make a run at a playoff berth makes any sense at all for the Knicks. The Plan has to be adhered to, no matter how difficult it is to endure the pain of patience. In 2010, there will be a long list of top-shelf talent available and you MUST be in that game. LeBron James may or may not be an option by then, but he's not the only player on the list. It is irresponsible for a team like the Knicks and with the Knicks' recent history to not be in position to have the kind of summer that could compare to the kind of winter the Yankees just had.

Bottom line: you have a first-rounder this season. You don't have one in 2010. And by 2011, you're hoping to be well on your way to contending for a championship, so the lottery shouldn't be an issue.

So why not collect one more lottery pick here in 2009?

In arguably their most embarrassing loss of the season, the Knicks fall 120-107 to the lowly T-Wolves. It was a terrible defensive effort, allowing that many points to a team that was averaging 94 a game (25th in the league). Nate Robinson and 26 points and 10 rebounds, but really didn't play well. He was often out of control and took a lot of bad shots. Al Jefferson led the Wolves with 21 points and 15 boards, and Randy Foye had 19 points. The Minnesota bench scored 57 points, compared to the Knicks' 18. It was the Knicks' fifth straight loss, and the first win for Minnesota in 14 tries. It was Kevin McHale's first W since taking over the team.

The story of this game has been defense -- make that a lack of defense, on the Knicks' part. After three quarters they're down 94-75 to Minnesota, a team that's averaging 94 points a game. Foye has 19 and Jefferson 17, and they're shooting 11-for-19 on threes. Chandler and Harrington both have 17 for the Knicks, but it's the play by the guards that has hurt them. Duhon has been erratic most of the game, even before he got hurt, and Robinson is just 5-for-15 for just 11 points.

Duhon update: He needed nine stitches but his return is probable.

At the half the Knicks are down 63-55, and they needed a 10-0 run at the end of the half just to get that close. They had been down by 18 at one point in the second quarter. Bad defense and poor shooting is a bad combination, and the Knicks suffered from both during much of the first half, allowing the T-Wolves to shoot 8-for-14 on three-pointers. Wilson Chandler leads the Knicks with 16 points, while Al Harrington, after being a non-factor most of the game, got hot at the end of the second quarter and now has 12 points. Chris Duhon took an elbow to the face and had to be helped to the locker room. For Minnesota, Randy Foye has 18 points, and Rodney Carney and Rashad McCants each added 11 off the bench.

The Knicks lead by five points, 30-25, at the end of the first quarter. Wilson Chandler was 3-for-5 for 10 points, and Nate Robinson, the smallest player on the floor, had six rebounds and seven points. For the T-Wolves, speedy Randy Foye had 12 points in the first quarter.

Hey Knicks fans. Andy Levenberg here with you tonight. After falling to Kevin Garnett and the Celtics, 124-105, on Sunday, the Knicks are back in action tonight against Garnett's former team, the Timberwolves. Minnesota is having an awful season, with only four wins, and they've lost their last 13 in a row, including the last eight since Kevin McHale took over as coach. The Knicks have lost four in a row themselves, but Minnesota is a team they should be able to handle.

Jared Jeffries is back tonight, but Quentin Richardson is out after rolling his ankle in practice. Nate Robinson will start in his place.

Contestant, that is.

Hot Rizzle here covering practice for Alan today.

Nate Robinson will be feeling the love from the All-Star Weekend US Airways Center crowd on Valentine's Day. Along with the Magics' Dwight Howard and the Grizzlies' Rudy Gay, N8 the Grrr8 was selected today to participate in the slam dunk contest.

The 2006 slam dunk champ can decape "Superman," last year's champ. Besides Robinson, Howard and Gay, there will be one more contestant and fans can choose between the Milwaukee rookie Joe Alexander, Portland's Rudy Fernandez or Oklahoma City rookie Russell Westbrook in an online vote on NBA.com.

Robinson lost out to Gerald Green in 2007. With the event being in Las Vegas and all, he had visions of jumping over a craps table, but the league wouldn't let him.Unseating Howard, whose Superman dunk drew plenty of water cooler talk, won't be easy.

When asked if he could defeat Howard, Robinson got all Kevin Garnett -- without the screaming.

"Anything's possible," Robinson said following practice today. "Anything is possible."

"I've got a couple of tricks up my sleeve," he added. "Trust me."

I jokingly said, "What, a couple of costumes?"

I'd like to pause here for Christmas and share with you our annual Yule Blog. I hope you enjoy it. All the best this holiday season to everyone in Fixer Nation, whether you celebrate Christmas, Hanukkah, Kwanzaa or, like, Festivus.

For a newsy topic, see my story in today's Newsday. Note we do not publish on Christmas Day. We will be back for Friday's game against the Minnesota Timberwolves.

Enjoy. God Bless.

Yule Blog 2008

Twas the night before Knicksmas
Our third year on the beat
Fixer Nation gathers together
For our annual holiday treat;
A season again filled
With intrigue and wonder
And some major concerns
With them five games under;
Donnie’s cutting cap space,
Mike’s got the mirrors and smoke,
At least you can say
The team’s no longer a joke.
And in 18 months, there’ll be such a buzz
As we wait with baited breath
To see what LeBron does.
Away to the laptop to get your daily Fix
This has been the place since 2006.
The Starbury buyout will come in due time
Then no longer I’ll need to
Include him in rhyme.
And what do your wondering eyes wait to see?
How to stay under the cap
Without trading D-Lee.
Stick to the plan, handle difficult choices,
And it’s best not to succumb
to those dissenting voices.
And when all else fails,
just do the opposite of Zeke
(I know it’s egregious,
but I had to give him a tweak).
In the meantime compete
with the best that you got.
Stay in close enough range
to that final eighth spot.
(Most Fixers disagree, but I think it’s fine,
To get another lottery on draft day ’09).
But more rapid this offense will keep them in games
D’Antoni, finger up, will call out their names:
Now, Quentin! Now, Wilson! Now, David and Chris!
On, Jared! On, Harrington! Now who did I miss?
Right, the kid they call Gallo;
His back’s got a crick.
Got the franchise worried that they wasted a pick.

-----break-----

Danilo with your silky-sweet J
When the hell you finally gonna play?

-----return----

With these troubled Knicks,
tabloids never short on supply,
Of Starberman’s campaign;
And Isiah’s OD alibi.
Eddy show up out of shape
And then came up lame
Allan Houston tried it one more time
But couldn’t get in a game.
For a while there we wondered
What Donnie Walsh was doing:
How do you keep Jerome
And cut the Younger Ewing?
Big trades then shook the roster
And took less contract back,
Jamal still owes us one more blog,
And we’ll miss those laughs with Zach.
And take a brief moment to think
of Cuttino and his son;
Can’t imagine what might have been,
if that trade never got done.
I hate to mention him again,
but I can’t help but deride;
Please explain to me once more
Why Steph was sitting courtside?
So odd he would sit there, alone and perplexed
He spent $2,500 to make calls and to text.
He’s a good “businessmen”
I read this someplace,
How can anyone type this
And keep a straight face?
Enough of this issue, the blog war is done
(We all know the site that was voted No. 1)
So to Willis and david, Sec11 and Trane,
And to so many others that have slipped from my brain,
Fixer Nation sets records, the growth doesn’t cease,
(We even have tolerance for your antagonism, Peace)
With all of your varying points of view,
You each are related by orange and blue.
So thanks for the clicks,
For the boos and the cheers;
Merry Christmas, dear Fixers,
And have a Happy New Years.

Some Christmas memories....