The Frozen Envelope

As the NYT reports today, Nate is obviously having a tough transition to the NBA and the PG position. He has always been a runner/gunner and, despite his size, has never been a true point guard in either high school or college. This is going to be a difficult year for him, but we need to know if he can do it.

Marbury does not want to play the point and Crawford is shaky there at best. More than anything, this team could use a steady and calming force at the point. They have trouble initiating their offense and getting everyone involved, classic signs that the point is weak.

Again, I would love to trade Marbury for a true vetern point guard. I want to make that trade to help the young kids develop, not to win more games. Let's learn if Frye, Ariza, Curry and Lee can really move without the ball, can run effective pick-n-rolls, and can be unselfish. (I know that such a trade is not realistic given Marbury's contract, but I can dream, can't I?)

A good point guard would do wonders. Right now, despite the long road ahead, Nate is the closest we have.

This ESPN article summarizes all that is wrong and raises the interesting question I somehow missed:

What did Knicks Fans do to deserve this?

Second win comes against the Jazz who were held to 62 points, a Knicks record in the shot clock era (according to ESPN). A few notes:

Curry was 3-6 from the floor, 4-8 from the line and got 9 rebounds (only 1 was offensive) in 28 minutes. He had 4 turnovers, but importantly, he had only 2 fouls.

Young guns got very limited minutes capped by Ariza's 19 minutes.

From the interviews, LB's message of radical allegiance to defense seems to be soaking into the whole team. There are worse things for the young talent to be learning. (Chauncey Billups was headed toward oblivion until he learned this religion).

Against the Kings, no less.

I find validation in the fact that Frye led the Knicks in scoring and Ariza led them in assists.

That's the point about rebuilding. Just as you'll lose games you should win, now and again you'll win games you probably shouldn't.

Let's let the young talent chart the course of this team.

On August 31, I posted that I thought the Knicks ought to see if they could move Marbury. Not surprisingly, I thought it was nearly impossible in light of his bad habits, his high mileage, and the money left on his contract.

The NY Post reports that Isiah and LB are shopping Marbury as we speak. According to Vescey's sources, Marbury can be moved but won't fetch much in return. I say: who cares?

A championship Knicks team is 3-4 years away and Marbury is not the heart of that team. Let's free up some minutes and improve the Karma of the team. I would take a journey-man PG who could help mature Nate/Crawford or I would take almost any draft pick I could get. Both of those are hard because we have to line up contracts with similar value.

In the end, this is a positive (I think) because it is a signal that Isiah and LB will make short-term sacrifices for long-term health.

We lost by 2 to the Warriors, an up and coming team.

The bright sides: rookies all played well, especially Frye and Lee. There was much to like in their effort and their offense. It was the most energy we've seen in some time from the Knicks which hopefully LB will recognize.

The problem: Curry seems to be in foul trouble too much. Early in the game, he is offensively effective because he can be aggressive. By the 3Q he is hobbled with fouls and we are back to where we were last year -- deciding who is going to take a contested jumper.

The ship has not sailed. There are things to latch onto, but we are learning that we are not a playoff team as yet. Watch the NCAA and think of who you would like to take with the 6th or so pick in the draft.

One game down and we are already playing to win instead of playing for the future. Antonio Davis is not the future of this team. He ought to be schooling Frye and Lee in preactice and when they are on the bench.

In the opener, only Nate got minutes, and few at that. That is a mistake.

We are not supposed to win, we are supposed to improve. I know it is just the first game and I know that LB has said the rookies will be playing more by December, but I don't believe him.

Benching Crawford is a good move. He needs the discipline and I like Steph/QR with Crawford/Nate coming off the bench. Crawford needs to understand that, contract aside, he has to improve his game to be an NBA starter.

Davis is a veteren who has earned my repsect, but he sends the wrong message because he is in there to rebound. Curry needs to pick up that part of his game and not rely on Davis to do his dirty work. Davis is not going to be getting rebounds next year or thereafter.

Remember, we are hoping to make a team for 4-5 years out of a collection of young but untested talent. Let's drop the pretense and start the testing.