The Knicks Fix

Congrats Alan.... keep up the good work homie

Congrats Alan...
you do a good job of
keeping us knick fans informed.

I watched that knick practice on NBA TV
can't wait to see them play on wed against TOR

i wonder how the tandum of
chris bosh and jermaine oneal will mesh

Good evening Fixers.

Willis, I have been trying to respond to your Bynum post since 4:00am and the administrator won't let it through. I'm not sure why, since I didn't use any recognizably bad words; maybe it was my reference to Stalin being the product of Roosevelt, Churchhill and Truman that got me banned.

If this get's through, I will try ot get the message to you in pieces to determine what the offensive section is that requires locking me out.

Good morning Fixers. Hey Willis, this bud’s for you.

I had a deliciously fun Sunday, capped off with something sweet, laced with bourbon, which required me to hit the haystack a little prematurely. But the fun was foretold the night before when I hit the hay crackin’ up at your gift @ 00:53 on the 5th of October.

My brother, my brother, I understand your pain; the excruciating over-stretching of your Knick loyalty on Zeke’s rack, but I still can’t tell what was more tortured; you from that Isiah-in-your-head chinese water torture or the logic that suggests Mr. Thomas is responsible for every possible omission during his MSG residency.

Alan,
Your active stewardship of this site as well as the live chats and direct responses to blogger are what made this site great and a force to be reckoned with.

Bubbles Berman got all garbage. Don't even waste your time with that dude.

You've raised the bar.
Great job.

(O.K. so it wasn't that section) Cont.

I guess we are all subject to a little revisionism (Stalin’s not responsible for it all by his lonesome: some would argue that late-Stalin was created by a cozy early-relationship with Roosevelt and subsequent failures of the world community (Truman’s and Churchhill’s cold war strategy included) so I had to go back to DraftExpress just to fact check my memory on Bynum, because it’s so full of stuff that I could be very confused. We all like to scotch tape our memories with a little revisionism now and then.

(O'K so my multiple html. references were holding it up. This is the conclusion of the comment).

Now, I wasn’t one to hang on Isiah’s explanations about much because of his poor relationship with the press – I could never tell which was more disingenuous. But, I found http://www.draftexpress.com/article/The-Andrew-Bynum-workout-196/ that may explain why Isiah thought the kid was not ready for the Garden (note the eight adults hovering around him) and why I did not see in Bynum a player that was any more a lock for success than Kwame Brown, Michael Jordan’s 12th grade mistake in 2001. Note that the Knicks were at this particular workout. You may also want to check out -- http://www.nbadraft.net/mocks/2005_nba_mock_draft.html -- nbadraft.net’s 2005 Mock draft where Bynum was slated for the 23rd spot.

(Crazy. But, here's the conclusion)

And after the Lakers drafted Bynum, shocking everyone because of knee problem rumors, Draft Express gave the Lakers an -- “incomplete">http://www.draftexpress.com/article/2005-NBA-Draft-Grades-1029/”>“incomplete -- as a grade for its draft picks.

I think you need to find some other tragic error to blame on Zeke – perhaps global warming for his constant failure to reduce the Knicks carbon footprint by turning off Stephon’s lights at night. Oh wait a minute, there probably is a logical nexus between him and that omission. Just bloggin’.

Still, my friend, no one is responsible for every omission no matter how badly we want them to be.

That last reference regarding the Laker's 2005 draft grade was

http://www.draftexpress.com/article/2005-NBA-Draft-Grades-1029/

(That was too much effort.)

The biggest event of the practice has gone un-noticed in my oppinion:

Stephon Marbury came down, jacked up one of his patented 22 foot jumpers without letting anyone else touch the ball, and Nate said "Oh my god". Then as they were running up the court.. Nate said "hey Marbury" like 3 times... then when Steph ran by him he said "That was an easy 21 right there" I'm assuming he was referring to a play or something that Steph could have run instead of jacking up the shot. But Steph totally ignored him and Nate annoyingly said "OK! Don't hear me then......" And continued to talk to Duhan about it saying again "that was an easy 21..." Nate sounded very frustrated. This was a key example of Stephon's Cancer on full display.

I was able to watch the practice on NBAtv after school. I'm amazed at how much stamina Nate has, by the end of the practice, he barely seemed to work up a sweat. I can't see Eddy starting anytime soon. Maybe in 2-3 months when he's in shape. I'm pleasantly surprised at how Zach looked at the practice, I'm glad he showed up in shape and ready to play.

Alan,
I do not post regularly, but I read this blog everyday. I find it to be the most informative place to go for a real Knicks fan yearning for information. Especially during the dog days of summer!!

I am a positive fan, but I enjoy the negative posts as well. That's what New York is all about.

Congradulations and keep up the good work.

Thanks for the heads up Alan, I was able to watch today. I was glued to the tv the whole time, couldn 't help it. First thing I noticed, was a look of distaste from Marbury when he turned right toward the camera after D'antoni callled out the white and blue team. Granted, Steph always has that look, but it was interesting to say the least. Other thoughts..

-I have to agree with you, Nate has endless energy. Never saw him frown or down the whole two hours. We give him a hard time for acting like a kid all the time, but I will take that any day over guys going through the motions.

-Allan looks ok, noticed he moved very slowly through the footwork drills. But I guess thats to be expected.

-Curry looked ok to me too. He looked better then I expected actually after his illness.

-I noticed Lee, Randolph, Nate, and Crawford talking to the coaches a few times asking questions, clarifying what they should be doing on a play. Encouraging to see.

-Danilo looked very good on the stairmaster or whatever it was. Lol, just kidding. I did see him give Duhon a big attaboy slap on the butt after one of the fast break drills. Don't usually see those things from a rookie.

-Glad to see Jeffries still involved with the practice and also caught him working on his shooting form on the sideline. Nice.

-I did not see anything from Ewing Jr. Yes, he dunked a time or two but the few jump shots I saw missed badly. Unless they really feel he can help on defense,he may not make the team. I would love to keep him and I think he can be a good defensive role player, but I have a feeling he will be one of the 3 cut unless buyouts occur. One other will be Grunfield. The third will be interesting. If there is no buyout of James or Rose, I think it comes down to Roberson, Houston, or Collins. I think each of those bring some things to the table that we need. I will bet Collins goes though, even though D'antoni has been braggin on him. I just think D'antoni values good shooters too much in his offense, thus Ewing and Collins may not fit. I think I would rather see James and Rose be bought out though.

-Overall, I thought it was a mediocre practice. No one stood out to me on the court. Other then just noticing Nate always going full speed, which I liked.

-Interesting comments today. Walsh seemed to say pretty strongly that Marbury should just play and not worry about if he is starting or not. Seems clear they want him coming off the bench. Also, saw Curry said today that he plans to start too. So, this will either be a good thing as wanting to start will motivate Marbury and Curry to do their best or if they pout when they don't start, it may be the beginning of another black cloud over the team.

All this practice did was take me from 95% sure to 99.9% sure I will buy nba league pass now. There's always plenty of optimism in the preseason right?

I loved watching the practice today on NBA TV. I'm grateful the new management regime let them film the practice.

My observations:

D'Antoni has the team's attention and they seem to be responding to him. He's a great teacher, super organized and he knows when to give his players an attaboy.

Quentin Richardson looked extremely good. He's definitely quicker, moves better and he seems to be shooting well.

No comment on Jerome James. Glaciers move faster.

Curry did OK considering how sick he was, missing all last week and this being his first practice. I read the reports he was over 300lbs but I think he looks the same as last year, 285 or so, and when he wants to he can be very athletic for a big man. I doubt he starts though.

I thought Marbury played hard. His facial expressions are a mystery and nobody seems to buddy up to him but he hustled and he looked pretty sharp for so early in the year. He did jack up that one shot but D'Antoni doesn't mind those shots as long as they are good shots and nobody has a better shot.

I was really impressed by Zach. The switch seems "ON" with him and he was really hustling and he seemed receptive to coaching. I like him as our starting center.

They say Lee hit a jumper but I didn't see it. No matter though because next to Nate nobody worked harder. In my book he's our starting power forward.

I didn't see Wilson Chandler hit a jumper either and he had some defensive lapses but I know he can shoot and I am hoping he does start at small forward as we will need his defense, rebounding, athleticism, size and scoring ability. The kid can get to the rack at will and he's not afraid to to grab the moment offensively.

Duhon made some nice passes and he works hard on defense. I didn't see him shoot at all so the jury is still out but for now he seems to be the favorite to start at point guard. I wouldn't rule Marbury out though. Not by a long shot.

I thought Jamal Crawford had a nice practice. Like Lee and Nate he has a lot of energy, works hard and he made some nice shots.

Nate Robinson was the star of the practice hands down. No further comment needed.

Allan Houston hit a couple of his classic jumpers but he does seem tentative. He just might be taking it easy but I do think he has a chance.

Malik Rose always works hard but once Gallo comes back he likely wears a suit to the games.

Mardy Collins is a changed man. ; ) Not only is he slimmer, and more athletic he also seems to be playing with a lot of confidence.

I'm down here in Gainesville, FL and Anthony Roberson is a former UF Gator but right now it looks like he may be odd man out.

Pat Ewing, Jr. needs the NBADL.

I agree that the team looked tired towards the end of the practice. That will change but by and large I think we will be a better team, we will be a lot more competitive and fun to watch. Today I like Chandler, Lee, Zach, Marbury and Crawford as my starters with Nate off the bench first. That could easily change.

I think Lee and Chandler will have break out years. I do think Gallinari is the real deal IF he can get healthy. I like what Zach is doing but Walsh wants cap room and Randolph should have a lot more value towards the trading deadline. Call it a guarantee we will get more than a second round pick for him and if we send a first round pick of our own it will be well worth it. I don't see Curry fitting into the game plan unless it's to play big centers. I hope he surprises me but Eddy has taught me not to expect surprises.

@lives.....impressive effort fixed brother.

@alan....congratulations. All of your hard work is paying off, you're the glue that makes it stick here, the honey to the fixer bees. Now that we're #1, maybe your i.t. guys can fix the recurring security/posting problems with the site.

Two Non-Basketball Related Highlights of the Telecast:

1)

Wilson Chandler: "Yo, who does Eddy look like?"

Nate Robinson: "The Black Jay Leno"

2)

Rick Kamla: "There's a shot of New York City and the Empire State Building..."

Clyde: "Rick...you're wrong. That's the Chrystler Building."

Alan - any way we can see the Toronto game? Is it being televised anywhere?? Thanks!!

Can someone explain to me how Curry can state that he came to camp expecting to be the starter, when he comes to camp not in very good shape. Doesn't Curry realize that the two are not mutually exclusive?

Mark,

Its being televised on MSG at 7 tomorrow night.

Congrats Alan. You really are the best of the bunch.

Hey Lives - glad to oblige, back in the day, I would have been in bed by 10:30 myself, but as you can tell from the time signature, bloggin with baby means late nights.

You are right of course, all things Zeke are not wholly evil - like I've said in the past - I thought Curry was a good gamble - only problem was the fact that he didn't drive a hard enough bargain - Skiles was ready to kill him, he had the heart problem, he hadn't yet performed. I like Lee, Balkman, Robinson, Collins, Chandler. I like Jared Jeffries. The problem was never that he couldn't shop for groceries, but that he couldn't cook. He always drafted better than he traded, and his greatest sin was always when he traded draft picks. And sometimes, he'd just plain panic - no center? overpay Jerome James, and then Curry becomes available and you get him too. Never have a plan to develop players, but acquire players that have never done anything (Crawford, Curry, Marbury) but have potential, and expect the gamble to work. The reference to Stalin was supposed to be about the Kremlin, control of information, disappearing of political rivals, propaganda, etc... I realized after I posted, I was not clear.

By the way, kudos to Marbury for his statements about not rocking the boat and doing what it takes to win. Real or not, it is welcome and maybe the first time I've heard something so team-like from him.

@ Willis - keep in mind, it's a contract year! Saying and DOING are 2 completely different things.

Old School Oakley - good point, so long as that next contract is with some other team.

Willis, we are on the same page, as we are much of the time, on Zeke's inability to come up with good trades and failure to develop the potential he drafts. Isiah did so many things wrong and some of them are absolutely unbelievable to me -- for example he totally misused Nate Robinson last year and all of a sudden Nate is a revelation. Nate was ready last year and Isiah treated him like persona non-gratis at the beginning of the season. What was that about? And why wasn't Balk developed -- and that basketball IQ judgment is nonsense. The word is that Denver loves Balk's game and basketball mentality. I don't think much of Karl, but I'll trust that he knows a baller when he sees one.

I like all the players you mentioned and I'm betting we'll see that these are some decent NBA players under an excellent coach who brings a plan which includes an attitude, an identity and some accountability. I'm ready and sorry that I missed the practices, but the guys here are giving great accounts.

Steph is an interesting problem. It is really hard to guess on which side of the Knicks' rational/irrational line he will fall. I think he wobbles like a weeble until someone takes him off the line and hands him to some other team.

Oh Willis, I can't get to it now, I'm on the run, but check out the fact at Hoopshype that many of the 2005 class first 10 are going into the season without extensions. But Bynum is expected to get maxed baby. I think I should have introduced myself when he was a bum of a high schooler (LOL).

@ Alan - Great job...keep it up, man. I come here multiple times daily, can't always post, but look to you and the Fixers for great info, opinions & talk about the NYK.

Keepin' it Old School...

Alan

Thanks for everything you do to make this the ultimate place to get all there is to know about the Knicks.
Parenthood prevents me from sharing as often as I would like, but I read your column and blog daily. You help to feed a hungry, devoted group of Knicks fans.

I saw the end of the NBATV telecast. Great moment there with Nate giving Curry directions where to position himself. Don't be surprised if Nate starts at the point with Crawford at the deuce. That gives the Knicks speed. They could go with 3 guards too and let Zebo and DLee work the front court alone.

Steph for 6th man of the year? That could actually work. It's obvious that Crawford is not fond of him, and since Craw is the Chosen One, Marbury probably should play less with him. Marbury also could be the first guard off the bench, play PG or SG, and become the instant offense that is needed with a second unit.

I'm still not buying "Nate the Great." Can he defend the great guards in the NBA? Will he be a huge liability that the team collectively have to cover for? I recall lots of problems on the defense end with him. He still hasn't shown much maturity yet. Working hard? Probably. We'll see.

My first guards off the bench: Marbury-Houston, along with Chandler at SF.

All of New York is wrong on Marbury. I'll bet the house that he'll bring it. Duhon couldn't beat Kirk Hinrich, who lost his job to Derrick Rose. Don't believe the hype. Duhon is not the replacement.

Harlem,

It's great to read you as always. I hope and pray all is well and that you and yours are surviving (and thriving in) this economic tsunami. I look forward to jamming with the ForceMDs this fall.

If you have time please tell us why all of New York is wrong about Marbury. I'm really not sure what there is to be wrong about since he has already demonstrated who he is and what he is about. But, I for one would like to know, what it is I don't know about Marbury after watching him for four years.

And I bet Marbury will bring it too -- the problem will be the "it" he brings.

I

BTW, Curry wants to be a starter. I guess this malignancy hasn't metastasized into a detectable state. Too early for chemotherapy on this superstar.

HELL YEA BABY !!!!