Random Thoughts 11 Games In

[irish2u2]

How would you characterize the Knicks season so far?

Losing 9 of 11 games makes you reflective...or sick.

I did see some very positive things last night. We didn't give up. We let the Pacers and Danny Granger shoot 59% in the first half and 28% in the second half. We came back on the Pacers court from 19 down to win the game by 7 points. We saw the stars align as Larry Hughes and Al Harrington had good games the same night.

Defense and Hughes/Harrington going 14-27? What are the odds of that happening? The same as Jessica Simpson showing some talent past being able to hold her breath for 20 minutes?

BTW, Hughes had 10 boards, 7 assists and 3 steals to go with his 22 points. Lee had his usual steady game of 17 and 8 though it was clear he was outmatched guarding Roy Hibbert. Duhon can't drop kick it into the Atlantic Ocean from Brighton Beach but he did hit a key trey and had 8 dimes.

We also had an Eddy Curry sighting and to make it more interesting Danilo Gallinari had ZERO points while Eddy had 10 in 5 less minutes on court.

It's not cool that Gallo had just 2 shots, didn't move all that much and spent a significant amount of time stretching his back. Maybe it's pre-ememptive but it bothers me when he does the Larry Bird/Steve Nash number on the floor at the end of the bench.

Curry looked terrific. He was quick on his feet, aggressive and he got right into the swing of things. His 48 minute projections off last night are 40 points and 16 boards. Not bad for a first night back in a long, long time.

I have moved to ambivalence about Iverson. He likely helps more than he hurts and without a draft pick this year I like the idea of winning max games and giving Utah a pick in the high teens or low twenties instead of the lottery.

Of course www.nbadraft.net/2010mock_draft has Patrick Patterson, Jarvis Varnardo, Demarcus Cousins, Tyler Smith, Michael Washington, Greg Monroe, and Gani Lawal all preicted to go between 15 and 25 and I'll take any of them.

So we win a game and we play the Nets with a chance to go on a...drum roll pleeze.... a winning streak. Or not.

[pearl]

Irish:

Having lived in south jersey for 20 years now, ( still a Yankee and Knick fan forever), I have seen AI quit a bit. He has a lot of baggage, however, I really respect his all out style. He gets knocked down so often and for a guy who is 165 lbs or so, he is as tough as they come. I figure his arrival can only help, albeit for one year. He will bring excitement to the Garden and with Curry finally in shape, maybe the Knicks become relevant again. Time will tell.

pearl

[mercury]

Since the last draft I have not visited nbadraft.net. It pains me to see we have no pick.
I think a backcourt of Iverson and Hughes would be good. Up front we could have Lee at the four, Eddy at the five, and Gallo at the three. Does anyone else have lineup ideas for when or if we pick up Iverson.

[pearl]

Mercury:

Your lineup sounds on the money to me.

Pearl

[jbnewyork162]

What was the point of trading for Darko if he is never used to his strengths and more importantly NEVER used,lol. Since Jeffries is a dunce cap and now he doesnt even guard against guards well like he sorta did last season let Hil and Darko get the minutes behind Curry.

This may be an abberition but Curry played with a chip and its too little to late with him but I pray he brings more of whatever he brought last night with a focus on hitting free throws. He caused fouls against Pacers in the second quarter before i fell asleep and everything synced for the most part. Let Chandler comes off the bench with Douglas and Mlicic if we sign Iverson.

I like Mercury's lineup and I want Danilo to command the ball in practice and in the game so he can be the Dirk of his team. Because teams wont fear him if he isnt aggressive with gaining respect for his teammates who have"frozen him out". Trade Duhon to a team who needds an expiring and had a decent pick if we sign Iverson. With Nate and Douglas we dont need Duhon not that we did in the first place. But thats besides the point.

I just hope Iverson can do what Marbury never did and be a good teammate in his short stay here and teach Nate to evolve and maybe even rub off on Chandler in the slashing and aggressive department.

-Jason

[irish2u2]

OK, let's say we get Iverson. He has issues coming off the bench so our starting lineup is AI, Hughes, Lee, Gallo and Curry. Not bad. Might be better than just 'not bad" especially if Curry can play with the same enthusiasm he showed last night. Believe it or not Eddy even did some switches on defense and contested shots.

Iverson averages 6 plus dimes a game so maybe he can find Gallo on the perimeter when he drives to the basket. To me that is the key. If we get the new AI that settles for jumpers it's not going to help us all that much. The old AI who went to the foul line a lot and dished off the penetration might be very good for us. If Hughes can play under control, and he has most of the time so far this season, it's not such a bad backcourt and we certainly get some size and scoring up front with Curry, Lee and Gallo.

Even better is off the bench with Chandler, Nate, Douglas, Duhon. Milicic and Hill with a possible sighting from Jefferies if he is feeling high energy. ; ) I like that mix off the bench and the fact that we can go 3 guard with Chandler at PF and Hill at center for some speed and athleticism or we go old school with Milicic, Hill and Chandler up front and a combination of Duhon/Douglas and Nate in the backcourt.

Not a bad rotation if they buy into a commitment to share the ball on offense and play defense.

[mercury]

Irish, you forgot about your main man Al Harrington. But Al along with the players you named above makes for a strong bench.