Major blow to the Knicks playoff hopes. Crawford is not only the second-leading scorer on the team and the coolest player they have in crunch time -- he goes out with a big three-pointer off a broken play with 20 seconds left in Monday's win over Miami -- he is the best at getting Eddy Curry the ball. Those electrifying drive-and-lob alley-oops between Crawford and Curry -- which beat the Lakers in LA a few weeks ago -- could make the Garden roar and even had road arenas buzzing.
The Knicks could not afford to lose four players -- Curry, Stephon Marbury, David Lee and Crawford. Right now, Lee is out with an ankle sprain and now the news about Crawford's mysterious stress fracture.
It leaves a lot of questions:
* - Stephon Marbury has to pick up the scoring load, like he did in the fourth quarter against Miami. But on a balky knee, can he physically sustain it?
* - Does Steve Francis gut through the pain in his knee and give Isiah Thomas whatever minutes he can give him?
* - Can Isiah get more out of Nate Robinson other than overly-dramatic swan dives into the first row and poor shot selection?
* - Can Quentin Richardson handle the 2-spot on a regular basis? More importantly, can Jared Jeffries give them anything at the 3?
* - When he does return to the lineup, would Isiah consider starting Lee -- finally -- at the 3?
Comments (4)
Marbury-Richardson-Balkman-Lee-Curry
Frye-Robinson-Jeffries-Collins
A 9-man rotation. No more James starting. No more Francis, even if he’s healthy enough to come back. No more Rose.
That’s the Knicks’ best chance. Truth is, I don’t know if they make the playoffs with Crawford anyway.
What will we do without our clutch player! He is the man we go to at the final seconds.
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