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My assessment of Crawford at the end of games has to do with seeing him hit many clutch shots at the end of games with less than 20 seconds left. He does have a knack for the clutch and his ability to create helps him out.

Yes, Millsap would have been great, but you can say that every year about any team by finding the one or two 2nd rounders that turned out to be steals… I would like to see Marcy develop some more before deciding his ceiling for potential.

Mardy is a nice defensive guard. He would be nice for 15 minutes a game. Zeke should have tabbed Millsap or Daniel Gibson over Collins. Guys like Collins you can find on the scrap heap in the semi-pro leagues.

I don’t see how you can be critical of Stephon Marbury and his All-Star appearances. Much of it is politics. Marbury should have been on more than 2, but that’s life. Crawford has never made an All-Star team and somehow Zeke has managed to make Crawford more of a weapon than Stephon! How does this team belong to Curry and Crawford before Stephon? As far as I am concerned, Zach and Marbury should be option #1 and #2 on this roster. Curry and Crawford should be bit pieces. This is where I think Zeke has officially lost his mind. To make things worse, the fans are wondering whether Marbury is a pg or an off-guard. Who cares? The fact of the matter is the Knicks don’t have the talent to sustain themselves without Marbury scoring more. Have the Knicks EVER shown the ability to win games without Marbury having a heavy influence in the scoring? NO! Why this extraordinarily STUPID strategy of making 3 players better scoring options than Stephon? What’s with the insanity?

I say this. If you remove Crawford from this team and put in a true shooting guard playing 35 minutes (Wally Z or someone of that ilk) the Knicks will have much better floor balance. Not only does Marbury become a more viable threat (you can’t help out on Marbury when he heads to the basket), but you also relieve the pressure on Z-BO when he is in the post. Even Curry benefits. Jamal Crawford is a HUGE detriment on this team. His halfcourt offense is not above average and his defense is straight up miserable. If Seattle gave me Wally Z for Crawford tomorrow, Crawford is on a plane out West the same day. Zeke’s arrogance has completely taken over his mindset. His coaching decisions border on total INEPTITUDE. What coach would give the ball to Curry and Crawford over a proven scorer/passer in Marbury? Does Don Nelson make Baron Davis a 3rd or 4th option? No! Remind me when Wade was turned into a 3rd option in Miami?

Ehus, thank you for you very well thought out analysis. I am not interested in “reducing Jamal’s role” any more than Greg Popvich is interested in reducing Manu Ginobli’s role. I believe Crawford’s game is suited for that 6th man role, and I also don’t like Marbury and Crawford together defensively in the backcourt. Less time as a tandem will mean less defensive possessions and more time where each can become aggressive. The choice to start Marbury is based on the fact that he is more likely to spread the ball around the perimeter in my view, more likely to create fouls IF AGGRESSIVE, and more likely to create better perimeter defense with someone like Fred Jones in the game.

Craw has already been a 6th man for the Knicks and handled it quite fine. If he is the leader that you say he is, then it shouldn’t be a problem. Of course, at the end of the 4th quarter, Crawford and his clutch shooting remains in the game. No argument there.

PS: in the future break up your post with space between paragraphs as it becomes a much easier read…

Modi- I glad you were amused…in whatever way,
The “Kink-pin” analogy is reflective of this crackhead coaching.
In any case,why is everyone been so wrapped up with the talent aspect of an athlete’s resume as oppposed to his ability to make others players around him better.Talent and ability mean absolutely nothing unless they are paired with IQ(*IQ’s surrounding him) and Historic Knowledge of his expertise. Lets look at all the athlete’s that have come into the league straight otta’ high school(1995-current) and have contributed to championships,(1). And he came into a situation with all of the above mentioned and continues to seek out a situation that will make him a champion again. O’ congrats to him on becoming the youngest player to ever get 20k.
I thought Walt Clyde Frasier did an excellent job in his book “THE GAME INSIDE THE GAME” pointing out today’s players simply not being as smart as the players from his era. Clyde outlined Steph as the NYK who he though had the best game inside the game. For reasons you guys stated, Steph has the savy to get to the rim and we know the rest.
I have the propensity to view players based on their ability to reinvent/recreate their games,acquire as well as develope other areas of their game,and consistanly play at high level(no matter what the level of skill around him is). Starbury has not done that.This is the 2x All Star’s 11th season.That means there were 8 yrs that another PG played at a relatively higher level then he. All Star teams do not neccessarily suggest that a player is not playing at a high level ,but my point is you are who you are, no matter where you go. 2 for 10, as we can attribute none of those appearances to his tenure as a NYK. He Must show consistantcy!
Much can be made of his relationships with his team mates and all of his coaches. But the very core of the teams success is deeply rooted in Stephon Marbury’s personality as much as his play. I myself am having a hard time dealing with the inconsistant play and lack of owness on his and coach Thomas’s behalf when it comes to shouldering the burden of a lose or why you are losing. Yes Steph has been used wrong and will continue to be ,until he is definatively assigned an identity/role. He does not know if he is a point guard or a two guard? He states he is struggling in his role because he was asked to get the other players more involved.I expect some backlash from the change of mentality of a scoring pg guard, but indentity theft explains what happened when he recorded a game last year without a FG attempt, at which point mother Marbury reminded him he was. Great Job MOM!
I have been very critical in my assessment of Marbury since back in NY…and the one thing that is apparent to me… is his lack of leadership and inability to support his team mates. Why are we hearing reports that Jamal Crawford is now stepping up to the plate and becoming a leader? Has his play demonstrated he ready to lead?
In my view yes! Here’s why, Jamal obviously is very streaky (So is Allen I., DWade,& 1x NYK Spree..all bad shot shooters w/ bad Shooting%’s)with a knack for the big shot. But his ability to create his own shot in a stagnant ‘half court’offesene has save the NYK on countless possesions/games where the shot clock/game clock is 4secs or less. Which results in low percentage shots and most often turnovers (which coaches that “SIT DOWN’ for 38min. with inexperienced TALENT on the floor should take the blame for!)Jamal could stand to put on some more muscle, but has developed an expectionable mid-range(floating whatever you call it) game..which equates for a majority of the foul calls he gets. However ,I can not stress enough how he continues to bail out the defense when he settles for the jumper, flat out he can get any shot he wants..because of his handle!, it is a matter of a mental approach towards your opponent, understanding high percentage offense’s work the ball to get open shots, and get to the freethrow line..and actually make their freethrows!
Jamal is a walking turnover?
DWade,J.Kidd,Lebron,Dwight Howard,Kobe,Shaq,Baron Davis,Allen I, and Zach(3.1) Randolph all have turned the ball over more the Jamal(2.9) has this season.This comes with handling a bulk of the offense! Numbers dont lie…people do!
Area’s for improvement: look no further than efficiency! That which comes with familiarity with your coach, your teammates and their ability to get you the ball where you are most effective.
I am not opposed to Crawford coming of the bench, However I would be concerned with how his response, considering his acceptance of the leadership role of this team. He ,like Marbury may be confused by his deployment and may never accept it as… ‘what is in the teams best interest.’ I just find it ironic that you would in some ways reduce a players role when they have expressed interest in accepting more responsibilty. Lastly, the kid is our best clutch performer. ‘U cant coach that!’

Marbury’s strength is getting fouled, but the real fear with Stephon is his ability to get right to the rim. That makes defenses very aware and leads to players leaving their own man to cover for the guy Marbury just beat. I rather see Marbury force 10 drives to the basket where players have to leave their man to help out. He either gets fouled or he leaves rebounds up there for guys like Lee and ZBO to take advantage of. He breaks down defenses either 1 on 1 or off the pick and roll. Stephon doesn’t do the Jamal thing and pull up for a little 10 foot floater.

You’re right about Jamal. No winning team starts Crawford. He just isn’t good enough offensively nor defensively for 40 minutes.

Personally I like Crawford as the sparkplug 6th man.

What Marbury also brings that is important is that he gets fouled. It seems that marbury must reach a certain level of agressiveness on the court to be effective. When he gets too passive early he might tend to be passive the whole game.

I completely agree that the long-range shooter and low-post defender are the Knicks greatest needs.

If mardy collins can ev er develop a jump shot what do you see as his future in this league?

– No Balkman can’t knock down a jumper to save his life, however, like Lee he has a great nose for the ball and can get those putbacks that demoralize another team. With Randolph, Lee, and Balkman in the game at the same time they own the glass. However, it comes at a cost of cringing at some of Lee and Balks misses.

– Did you say “Zach’s kickouts”? never seen it happen so I cvan’t answer the question.

– the key is marbury. he can be very effective but his role has to be clearly defined. i feel like he hasn’t been used right the last three years. Id he gets into the flow really early, it tends to carry over for the rest of the game. If he hasn’t penetrated once in the first quarter then the whole game is usually shot.

Here is the bottom line: for defensive reasons, i don’t really like Marbury and Jamal in the backcourt at the same time and don’t really like Zach and Eddy in the front court at the same time. You could hide one liability in either situation, but not two. Lee is not much better of a defender, but he makes up for it with boards, putbacks, and being in the right place at the right time.