Let's take a moment from the NBA Playoffs (tonight we have the Nets, Heat and Lakers) to review the media's review of the Knicks' season. 

First we have Frank Isola's blog post grading each Knick player (a staple of the beat writer).  We linked to it for once because, well, it wasn't terrible.  But still biased.  Let's go through it quickly, from top to bottom, because he makes some good points:

Marbury: "The petulant point guard showed that he was willing to play hurt and buy into the team concept...".  Thank you for admitting that we can, at least for now, put to bed the "Marbury is a selfish player" talk.  Also, keep in mind the postseason Baron Davis (the most-Starbury like player in the league) is having, because that is what Steph can do for the Knicks.  Oh, and keep Steph in mind when watching Jameer Nelson play, as Jameer can only aspire to be Steph.  

"Had he arrived for training camp in shape, maybe he does better than averaging 10.1 points, 4.5 assists, 2.3 turnovers and shoots higher than 39 percent. Maybe the Knicks do better than 6-11 in November and make a serious run at the playoffs"

Agreed.  But we don't attribute to his shape, Frank.  He came into camp in good physical condition, actually.  We attribute to shaking off the Larry Brown beating he took (the entire Knicks team seemed hungover for the first month), and the booing at home from a riled up fanbase (thanks to press like you, Frank).  But agreed that he has to get off to a good start next season, and that the slow start hurt the team.

Eddy Curry– Got a solid review, and a grade of B.  Agree with everything he said.

David Lee– "The notion that fans love him because he is white is somewhat insulting. Maybe there is some segment of Knicks supporters who viewed Lee through that prism."  Um, Frank Knicks fans are not Red Sox fans - they are not composed of mostly racist or biased Massholes.  But like most fan bases, there is a small segment that will always like Lee more than, say, Balkman.  Guess what - that segment is going to be the most vocal when Lee gets traded.  But I like that you made a pretty obvious statement seem like a profound observation that was going against the grain or something. 

"Lee has a knack for rebounding that can’t be taught but he needs to improve his jump shot."  Obviously.

Jamal Crawford– "Crawford plays like he has a constant green light and despite some of his flaws – turnovers, little defense – he is extremely talented. He was enjoying his finest season until an undetected ankle injury ruined his and the Knicks' year."  Well, first off, thanks for admitting that it ruined the Knicks' year.  Secondly, I have to feel good about Crawford's progress this season - it was his best year (the same can be said of Curry and Lee), so that's a good sign for the Knicks.  If these main guys can keep improving, or stay at their level, and other players can pick up their games, that's how the Knicks will get to 40 wins next season.  

By the way, I hated the constant green light for Crawford (especially at the end of quarters), but then seeing other guys (in particular Marbury) run end-of-quarter plays, I changed my opinion - let's have Crawford create at the end of the quarter.  But Isiah would do well to rein him in a bit, and let him set up others more.  And tell him to use the down screen/mid-range game more, and stop limiting himself to just three-pointers mixed with crazy drives to the basket.

Renaldo Balkman- got a C-plus, but Frank had only positives to say about him.  He noted that the C+ was because he didn't play enough games. 

Mardy Collins- "His improvement has made Nate Robinson expendable which may be the best thing to come out of this season. Thomas did a good job drafting a big guard who demonstrates poise and toughness. Has the chance to be a solid pro." 

Wow, he's hating on Nate Robinson a bit.  But he's absolutely right - even I had very limited expectations for Collins, and now we are looking a solid point who can rebounding and play defense.  He can drive okay, but needs to be able to hit a shot and make smarter decisions on his entry passes.  

Quentin Richardson– "Was well on his way to having a strong season before chronic back trouble ruined it. He’s one of the Knicks' few two-way players but you have to wonder if his back surgery marks the beginning of the end for Q as a full-time player."

Interesting.  I actually viewed the back surgery optimistically, like this might finally "fix" Q-Rich's back problems, and make him more reliable.  But yeah, I guess that's kinda silly.  Q-Rich, like Curry, was a gamble the Knicks took, hoping that they could get very talented playmakers who scared off other teams because of their injury problems.  In Curry the Knicks seem to have won the gamble, even if the price they paid is steeper than originally thought.  In Richardson, well, that depends on how many games he can play over the next two seasons.

Channing Frye– "I’m not sure if he wasn’t used the right way or if he just isn’t that good. He may have been the best first quarter player in the league – at least offensively – but he gives you little rebounding, toughness and defense at the power forward position. I’m guessing he’s gone by next season."

Agree (see, told you Frank was on point for once).  No idea if Isiah the coach is mismanaging Frye, or if he was just overrated after his good rookie season.  But, yeah, we won't see the answer here in NY - he'll be somewhere else, unless Isiah is still handcuffed.

Jared Jeffries– "Isiah’s big free agent signing had wrist surgery in October and never really got going. His presence meant fewer minutes for Lee and Balkman as Thomas seemed to want to justify Jeffries’ bloated contract. The one plus is that Jeffries works as hard as anyone on the team. Unfortunately, that work didn’t translate to the court."

Jeffries won't steal time from Lee or Balkman next season.  But it is good to know he works hard.  He's still young and growing, so maybe that offseason work ethic will pay off in an improved Jeffries in '08.   Or not.  If not, then he will just back up Balkman.

Steve Francis– "Has anyone ever fallen so far so quickly? Stevie Disenfranchised never wanted to be in New York, Isiah never wanted him and it showed. He wasn’t the best influence on Nate Robinson either."

Stevie Disenfranchised!  Nice one, Frank.  Very clever.  PS: "Isiah never wanted him and it showed".  Translation: "Hey's got Larry Brown written all over him".  Hey Brown, do us Knicks fans a favor... come and get your boy.  Seriously.  We'll take Willie Green.  We'll take your lowest #1 pick (the 25th?).  But come on... clean up after yourself.  Take your trash with you.

Nate Robinson– "Plays every game as if it is the And-1 Mix Tape Tour. He doesn’t take his job seriously and subsequently no one takes him seriously. It’s a shame because he has lots to offer but he needs to grow up. Or maybe he just wants to be a novelty act for the rest of his career."

Why so harsh on Nate?  He had a couple of good moments this season, but yeah... Nate needs to go.  Collins has supplanted him, and at best Nate is a "2nd quarter quick scorer type". 

Jerome James– "The least he can do is get in shape. May have the worst body in theNBA."

Jerome James will eat Frank Isola if he ever sees him.  Then he'll really have the worst body in the NBA. 

On the real, the NBA passed the "Allan Houston Rule" a few years back to help the Knicks... why can't they pass a "Jerome James Rule"?  They should just allow the Knicks a one-time exemption, to write him off for salary cap purposes.  

Isiah Thomas– "He walked into a perfect situation because there was no way the Knicks wouldn’t win more than 23 games. Especially when Thomas had a luxury never afforded his predecessor Larry Brown: the support of management.

Thomas got his team to play hard which is half the battle in theNBA.He also deserves credit for his tough love approach with Marbury and for establishing Curry as a consistent scorer.

He should get knocked for sticking with Jeffries over Lee and he has to take some responsibility for the team's 4-15 finish.

But the worst moment of Thomas' year was how he constantly used the excuse of injuries for keeping the Knicks out of the playoffs. If your leader makes excuses, the players will follow suit. Just once I would have liked to have heard Thomas utter the phrase “We have more than enough to win with.” I mean, really, isn’t this why the Knicks have the league’s highest payroll? If any team had the resources to survive injuries it should have been the Knicks. Or else why did he sign or acquire some of these guys in the first place?

It would also be nice if he would open up to the media more but that is more of a by-product of the Knicks' paranoid media relations department. That said, his professionalism on a daily basis was greatly appreciated."

We wrote it in full, because there are some good and bad points in here.  For example:  Larry Brown was never afforded "the support of management"?  Explain Steve Disenfranchised again?  Brown was definitely support, up to the point in which he waged a battle for control of the GM duties.  In the public (media) forum.  Dolan hates the media, and is very controlling of the press.   Isola refers to them as a "paranoid media relations department".   Larry Brown would be in charge right now if he hadn't taken his fight public.  So don't tell me he didn't have the support of management up to that point, okay?

"The worst moment... how he constantly used the excuse of injuries...".  Okay, again this is bull.  He didn't "constantly" use the excuse; he used it as an excuse at the end of the season, when it was, in fact, a valid reason why the Knicks were losing games they would normally have won.  I'll let a commentator by the name African explain:

"You also wrote "But the worst moment of Thomas' year was how he constantly used the excuse of injuries for keeping the Knicks out of the playoffs" Frank, the Wizards, who have been together for far longer than these Knicks, lost two key players at the end of the season. If the season was one week longer, they would be out of the playoffs. They lost 23 of their last 31 games. How many teams in the league could lose that many players and compete? Not just two, four key players.
When the Knicks played opposing teams with players injured, earlier in the season, the story was, not that the Knicks won, but who were injured. Now, the Knicks are using injuries as an excuse? It was fine for you to use it before; Wasn't it?
Like I've said before Frank, you lack credibility. You keep letting your hatred for Dolan and Isiah interfere with your professional obligation. That's not very professional.
Dolan has committed to Isiah. Get used to it. No matter what you write, you can't run him out of town. Stop riding Larry's nuts."

Word up.  Indeed, I remember all those games - those two wins against the Lakers (minus Kobe twice, once injury, once suspension), how the Knicks "benefitted from playing a team without its star".  The Bucks, minus Redd and Williams?  Same thing.  You wrote that sh*t Frank.  So why are injuries insignificant when they are to 4 of the Knicks 5 players!  

And didn't you just write this line: "...an undetected ankle injury (to Crawford) ruined his and the Knicks' year."  Um, if you are saying it ruined the Knicks season?...

African also took Frank to task for another line: 

"You said "It’s also telling that once Marbury assumed a greater scoring role with Jamal Crawford and Quentin Richardson sidelined, the team headed south in the standings." Is it Marbury's scoring or the injuries that cause the team to go down in the standings?
You're spinning this injury thing as a negative on Marbury, when he should be credited for the job he did. With the injuries of Q and Craw, Marbury HAD to take on more of the scoring burden, which is a plus. Not the other way around."

Indeed.  Marbury was almost MVP-like (or Baron Davis against the Mavs-like) after the initial injuries to Richardson and Crawford.  He kept the Knicks in games they had no business competing in (the Mavs, for example), and even though they couldn't pull it off, he was definitely throwing the Knicks on his back like Whoa when they needed him.  So don't pin that bad ending on Marbury.

Alright, while Frank Isola is only capable of ripping the Knicks for their past performances, tomorrow we'll look at Alan Hahn on the future of the Knicks.

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