Ah, the All-Star break is here for the NY Knicks. They achieved what I predicted for them - that they would match their win total from last season before the break. In fact, speaking of prediction... check out what we wrote on 2/7/07:
Look for the Jazz and Lakers games to be close, and avoid the Warriors game, which will probably end up being a 30-point defeat...
True to their pattern, the Knicks just barely lost to the Jazz, in OT by a point. They barely beat the Lakers (by a point), and then threw up a stinker against the Warriors yesterday. Golden State lead by as many as 30 in the 3rd quarter before Renaldo Balkman energize the Knicks on a run, helping get them within 9 with 8 plus minutes left in the fourth. Still, the Knicks ran out of gas. It's sad, but predictable: The Knicks will play well against good teams, but they will play bad against bad teams. They also play bad against teams that can really run and score quickly and capitalize on the Knicks bad ballhandling. In fact, teams like GS have given the Knicks problems all season - they like to gamble on defense, and the Knicks just don't handle the ball well. Plus they get up the court quickly, exploiting the Knicks weakness in getting back on defense, especially in the paint (the problem being the Curry ain't get back there fast enough). And they exploit the Knicks on fast breaks, since the Knicks are one of the worst teams at stopping the break - all you have to do to beat the Knicks is rebound and run out quickly on the Knicks.
On the other hand, rebounding on the Knicks is not easy - they are the top rebounding team in the NBA, just ahead of the Nuggets. They can own the glass for long periods of time, allow them to catch up when they fall behind (as they have done so many times this season), thanks in large part to David Lee (and occasionally Balkman) off the bench, plus good rebounding guards like Richardson, Francis, and even Crawford. Also, Jeffries and Frye are good rebounders for their position with solid techniques.
The Knicks are next to last in blocks differential, illustrating that the don't own the paint on defensive - Curry is anything but a defensive presense, and Frye is only good at taking charges. Lee also has no presence. The only shot-blocker on the Knicks of any significance are Balkman and Jeffries, and neither has played enough to really make a difference. Even worse, the Knicks are a team that can only reliable manufacture points two ways - down low to Curry, or when the guards are attacking. Crawford of course can manufacture points on his own, but he is not reliable. So it falls upon Marbury, Francis, and Crawford (and lately Richardson) to attack the rim for the Knicks to have a chance. When they can draw fouls, they do well. When they aren't getting the calls, or when the other team has superior shot-blocking skills inside, the Knicks are done for the night.
Finally, despite all you have read or heard about the Knicks, they are not a bad team... they are the definition of mediocre. Since their 4-9 start, they have been .500 almost the entire way. Expect more of the same the second half, as a 37-38 win season seems almost a certainty at this point, barring significant injury or trade.
Speaking of trades... I don't Isiah will make a move; like I've said early, he's handcuffed by either James Dolan (the owner) or the witch-hunt media... he has gone a record amount of time without making a move, and I believe that indicates Dolan put the clampdown on Zeke. If he was to make a move at this point, his favorite type of trade to do at the deadline is to trade an expiring contract for a player with one year left on his contract (since Isiah rightfully doesn't care about the salary cap) and pick up a late pick with it (usually a late first rounder or a second rounder). In doing so he can do what he does well - draft. And the contract then becomes an asset at next year's deadline. He's done this every year, but this year's expiring contracts - Jalen Rose, Maurice Taylor, Jerome Williams, Shannon Anderson - are all brought out or waived, so they can't be traded. He does have one huge expiring contract left - Allan Houston. No chance he can trade him unless he takes back a $20 million albatross from someone else....
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They also achieved what I thought they would: no representatives in the All-Star Game.