|
|
|
Tuesday, October 31, 2000
Knicks: Three men, one ball, no Pat
|
Team page/schedule | Stats: Preseason / 1999 | Roster
Last year: 50-32, second in Atlantic, third in conference
Coach/GM: Jeff Van Gundy/Scott Layden
Arena, first game: Madison Square Garden (19,763); Feb. 14, 1968
All-time franchise record/NBA titles: 2,156-2,023/2
Notable: Knicks have made playoffs 13 straight years
|
THE TOP EIGHT
|
|
Pos
|
Player
|
Key Stat
|
Skinny
|
|
PG
|
Charlie Ward
|
102 threes
|
Played well in playoffs, just needs to pass
|
|
SG
|
Allan Houston
|
19.7 ppg
|
Team star or trade bait? We'll know soon
|
|
SF
|
Latrell Sprewell
|
.866 FT
|
Might play some point, good team guy
|
|
PF
|
Larry Johnson
|
5.4 rpg
|
Statistically, no league PF does less
|
|
C
|
Marcus Camby
|
2.0 bpg
|
Who knows, maybe it really is his year
|
|
6th
|
Glen Rice
|
15.9 ppg
|
Who's betting he's not any happier here?
|
|
7th
|
Kurt Thomas
|
6.3 rpg
|
The guy you want in a brawl, not starting
|
|
8th
|
Chris Childs
|
4.0 apg
|
Nets still laughing about Childs' contract
|
|
 |
|
|
The Knicks must defend and rebound with unusual lineups. They have players who can shoot, like Allan Houston, Glen Rice and Latrell Sprewell. But can they defend and can they rebound well enough to stay in the game? And can Van Gundy devise a system to use everybody's best skills? On paper, you would say they don't have the players to get it done. But Van Gundy manages to overcome those obstacles and may do it again. Van Gundy doesn't really like the composition of his team. I think they are hoping to make more trades. If they get Dikembe Mutombo, they would move up in rank as a contender. But Van Gundy is prepared to play with what he has and is very capable. He hasn't had ideal personnel alignments for the last two years, and he's done well with it.
|
|
|
By Mitch Lawrence
Special to ESPN.com
The Good
Three first-rate perimeter scorers. Latrell Sprewell, Allan
Houston and newly-acquired Glen Rice give the Knicks more firepower than
ever and will make for tough matchups for most defenses. Between them,
they've scored nearly 40,000 points. But the trick is to get all three
enough shots and minutes without creating any controversy. That'll be
kinda tough in New York. The three will probably finish a lot of games,
giving the Knicks three post-up players. In addition, Rice will be the
last shooter in the corner to get passes off rotations. If his last two
down seasons in L.A. prove to be a fluke, he still could be among the
top long-range threats in the game.
The Bad
No top-rate interior players. Where's the beef? Where's the
size? Where's the low-post scoring? The Knicks were dead last in
offensive rebounding and total rebounding last season, and that was with
Patrick Ewing giving them 10 rebounds a night. They were obliterated on
the glass in the conference finals by Dale Davis. So guess what? In the
offseason, they did nothing to improve their No. 1 weakness. If
anything, they hurt themselves in this area by finally severing ties to
Ewing. They have no dominant frontcourt players who can get a big
defensive board. When they go with Rice-Houston-Sprewell, the ball will
be in Sprewell's hands to set up the offense. No one really knows if
he can handle those chores. Marcus Camby, who played only 59 games last
season and hasn't done anything since the Indiana series in 1999, has to
prove he can be effective for 70-75 games. Sans Ewing, for the first
time in 16 years, the Knicks don't have a low-post scorer who can draw
double teams. Kurt Thomas is a backup and an erratic shooter. Larry
Johnson has seen his better days, although he still mysteriously draws
extra coverage in the post. Point guard used to be a big problem.
Charlie Ward comes off his best season, while Chris Childs is just fair.
The Knicks have always been a high turnover team but don't create a lot
of turnovers. That doesn't figure to change.
|
THE BIG QUESTION |
|
When's Mutombo coming to town? How about Chris
Webber? The Knicks are in the market for a rebounding big man who can
get them double-figures off the boards every night, and give them a
low-post presence. Agent David Falk wants his client (Mutombo) to be a Knick, but so far has
been unsuccessful. Until the trading
deadline in February, count on daily rumors about a deal, involving
Houston or Sprewell. That isn't going to help matters. The Knicks, like
a lot of teams, want Webber. But they'd have to offer the Kings a
sign-and-trade deal, since their payroll now is more than double the
league salary cap.
|
Whose team is this?
Some would say it's David Falk's, since the agent pushed the
Ewing-to-Seattle deal that brought Rice, another one of his clients, to
New York. If the Knicks end up getting Mutombo, another Falk
client, you know this is his team. We know for a fact it's not Patrick
Ewing's anymore. So the players can't use that old excuse that they'd be
better off without him. We heard that a lot over the last few seasons,
even though the records indicate otherwise. If it's any player's team,
it's Sprewell's -- for better or for worse. The last time
Sprewell was in charge was in Golden State, which made the playoffs only
once when he was there. On some nights, it will be Van Gundy's team.
He's one of the top coaches in the game.
| |  | |
| Houston |
How they'll play
Van Gundy believes in defense, rebounding and an
unselfish offense. But this is a team that doesn't fit that mold. In
fact, it's set up to do the total opposite. The Knicks were ranked 27th
last season in offense, at 92 ppg. With this crew, they should surpass
that. But their best players are all weak to mediocre defenders.
Although their fans want them to run, to take advantage of Camby's
talents, they won't be running anywhere unless they crash the defensive
boards as a unit.
Projection
It could be a whole lot worse. Out West, they would be
fighting just to make the playoffs. Until they find another franchise
talent at the four or five, they're looking at no better than fifth
in the East. If they can't rebound, they're looking at around 45 wins.
|
|
|
|
|
