by Stop Mike Lupica on December 22 at 2:26PM
Quick notes on the game yesterday:
Damn. Could the Knicks have traded a healthy Jerome James (identical contract to Nazr's) if he was healthy and able to put together two to four weeks of decent play?!?
Anyway, to answer the question... I don't think too many teams would take Jason Richardson's contract in a trade, but even less would take Quentin's right now. However, in one year, if J-Rich dips anymore offensively, and Q-Rich can play consistently and get his three point shot back into the mid to high 30%, maybe Q-Rich's contract could be more tradeable than J-Rich's.
Time for some analysis. There are only three Knicks on the team capable of being "leaders" - Malik Rose, Marbury, and Quentin Richardson. The rest of the team is too young (Mardy Collins, Balkman, Lee, Morris, Chandler, Robinson), too new (Randolph, Jones), or too laid back and happy/apathetic (Crawford, Curry).
So far this season Isiah has publicly feuded with Marbury (over a benching), Rose (over playing time, resulting in a trade request), and now Richardson.
I'm not saying this is the reason the Knicks suck, but it ain't the answer, either. Thomas (presuming he's not trying to get fired) needs to talk to all three of them, and get them on board with whatever he is trying to do. If he does, then maybe the team has a chance to come out and play with effort on a regular basis, which is what is missing right now.
Speaking of effort: The second half featured a "comeback", from a 75-46 deficit, to cut it to a 7-point lead at one point. That effort was the result of this unit: Nate Robinson (impressive game from him), Fred Jones (of course), Malik Rose, David Lee and Jamal Crawford. The comeback was hurt by missed free thows, bad officiating (David Lee was abused in the second half, and three times he was "blocked" while going up for a dunk or layup with a lot of body contact), and lack of size (Nazr was able to grab too many boards and points because he was much taller than the Knicks three guards plus Rose and Lee lineup).
Still, the point was those guys cared. They gave effort, throwing their body around, diving for loose balls in a blowout, etc. Jared Jeffries cares, too. I think Zach Randolph is a player, too. The Knicks need to channel more effort from both the starting and second units on a regular basis. That's the only hope Isiah Thomas has of turning this around.
The Eddy Curry Tracker:
Just in case you want to see how Eddy did:
1. On the first possession, inside to Curry. No double, so he goes up with it and hits. 2-0 Knicks 11:15 to go.
2. Richardson to Curry, makes move, gets stripped by Okafor. One TO, 9:55 to go.
3. Curry gets it inside, does a spin move, shot rims out. Charlotte rebounds. 9:23.
4. Inside to Curry, gets knocked out of bounds. No result.
5. Jones to Curry, who shoots and misses a 14-footer (in and out). That's not his shot. 8:25.
6. Pass to Curry, deep in the post, easy field goal. That's the move. 15-14 Knicks, 8:10.
7. Randolph inside to Curry, who misses the layup. Rebound Charlotte. 4:35 to go.
8. Curry doubled, back to Jones for an open three pointer. Jones misses, but that was a good pass by Curry.
9. Curry grabs an offensive rebounds, quickly passes to Jones, to Randolph under the basket. 22-24, 3:05 to go.
Curry comes out, Lee comes in. Lee, btw, had a tough game. He gets blocked on his first touch; his second touch is a bounce pass he throws to the wrong team; he gets doubled on his third possession, and stripped. On the fourth possession, he gives up his position just as Crawford throws him a pass, resulting in a turnover. Ouch.
He would also go on to miss a dunk, and get blocked three more times. Not a pretty game for Lee, who apparently Charlotte must have prepared for, after watching footage of the Knicks-Cavs game.
Back to Curry.
10. Curry comes back in the second quarter. He tips in a Robinson miss. 28-42 Knicks are trailing.
11. Eddy Curry shots a jump hook, rims out. He got fouled on the play, though. 2 FTs, he hits both. 31-47, 5:20 to go.
12. Curry fouled deep in the post, under the basket. He hits 1/2 FTs. 49-33, 4:53 to go.
13. Curry grabs offensive rebound off a Randolph miss (Randolph was doing the rare post there, meaning that was one of the few times both players were deep in the paint... Randolph's post move freed up Curry for the offensive rebound). Curry is fouled as he goes up with it. He hits 1/2 FTs. 51-34.
14. Curry gets doubled, makes a move quickly to break the double, and the short jump hook is good. 36-53. Curry has contributed to 5 of the Knicks last 6 points.
N/A. An alley oop pass to Curry doesn't make it... it's short, and stolen by the fronting defense. The Charlotte Bobcats did front Curry a bit this game, and the key to beating a fronting defender in the post - one, getting your hands high, so you can establish a target (Curry doesn't do that well), and two, getting the passes high and behind the defender, so Curry can just grab it and dunk it. Crawford is good at those passes, and Randolph is getting better. Unfortunately, no one else on the Knicks is really good at that.
That was it for Curry's first half.
In the second half:
15. Into Curry, who misses the little jump hook (in and out). 11:43 mark in third.
16. Jones to Curry, who loses balance and travels. 11:05 to go.
Curry and Richardson were soon benched.
Final Curry Numbers:
16 touches: 9 positive results, 6 negative, one no result (11 times he went up with it; twice he turned it over; twice he kicked it out, and once it was no result).
Final line: 4-8 on FGs (one which was a bad decision; the rest were good moves); 3/6 FTs (for some reason my notes say 4/6, but boxscore says 3/6), 2 TOs. 5 rebounds in 18 minutes.
Two times he passed it out: Once to an open Jones (missed the three), one to Jones who quickly hit Randolph for an assist.
Not a terrible offensive game (again, pretty efficient) - his 16 touches resulted in 13 points.
PS: Props to Brian of Depressed Fan for the graphic.
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- After falling behind early 10-4, the Knicks climb back to take a 13-12 lead, thanks to better defense and good ball movement. This would be the only time in the first half they would display either of those traits.
- Quentin Richardson hits a jumper during this streak. Q-Rich hitting is always a good sign. Of course, he would barely hit again in the first half, miss some key defensive assignments, get pulled quickly in the second half, and get into an argument with Isiah Thomas on the bench in the third quarter (more on that in a bit).
- After Jason Richardson drops two threes in a row to give the Bobcats a 22-20 lead, I wonder whether Q-Rich has more trade value that J-Rich. J-Rich has surprisingly little trade value - he has a bad knee (limiting his explosiveness), though he still has a great outside shot. He's a poor FT shooter, not great defensively (or rebounding). He is a good passer, though. His contract is atrocious ($15 million rising for the next three seasons after this).
Damn. Could the Knicks have traded a healthy Jerome James (identical contract to Nazr's) if he was healthy and able to put together two to four weeks of decent play?!?
Anyway, to answer the question... I don't think too many teams would take Jason Richardson's contract in a trade, but even less would take Quentin's right now. However, in one year, if J-Rich dips anymore offensively, and Q-Rich can play consistently and get his three point shot back into the mid to high 30%, maybe Q-Rich's contract could be more tradeable than J-Rich's.
- There is absolutely no defense on the Bobcats in the first half, who scored 67 points. No defense, no hands in faces, due to no energy. Why is there no energy on the Knicks?
- In the second half, Q-Rich and Curry get benched, and Richardson curses out Isiah Thomas (he can clearly be seen saying "F*ck that, F*ck that" in Isiah's direction). Isiah Thomas looks like he's about to beat Quentin down, but Herb Williams steps in. Thomas then sits down, and talks calmly to Richardson, explaining whatever he's explaining.
Time for some analysis. There are only three Knicks on the team capable of being "leaders" - Malik Rose, Marbury, and Quentin Richardson. The rest of the team is too young (Mardy Collins, Balkman, Lee, Morris, Chandler, Robinson), too new (Randolph, Jones), or too laid back and happy/apathetic (Crawford, Curry).
So far this season Isiah has publicly feuded with Marbury (over a benching), Rose (over playing time, resulting in a trade request), and now Richardson.
I'm not saying this is the reason the Knicks suck, but it ain't the answer, either. Thomas (presuming he's not trying to get fired) needs to talk to all three of them, and get them on board with whatever he is trying to do. If he does, then maybe the team has a chance to come out and play with effort on a regular basis, which is what is missing right now.
Speaking of effort: The second half featured a "comeback", from a 75-46 deficit, to cut it to a 7-point lead at one point. That effort was the result of this unit: Nate Robinson (impressive game from him), Fred Jones (of course), Malik Rose, David Lee and Jamal Crawford. The comeback was hurt by missed free thows, bad officiating (David Lee was abused in the second half, and three times he was "blocked" while going up for a dunk or layup with a lot of body contact), and lack of size (Nazr was able to grab too many boards and points because he was much taller than the Knicks three guards plus Rose and Lee lineup).
Still, the point was those guys cared. They gave effort, throwing their body around, diving for loose balls in a blowout, etc. Jared Jeffries cares, too. I think Zach Randolph is a player, too. The Knicks need to channel more effort from both the starting and second units on a regular basis. That's the only hope Isiah Thomas has of turning this around.
The Eddy Curry Tracker:
Just in case you want to see how Eddy did:
1. On the first possession, inside to Curry. No double, so he goes up with it and hits. 2-0 Knicks 11:15 to go.
2. Richardson to Curry, makes move, gets stripped by Okafor. One TO, 9:55 to go.
3. Curry gets it inside, does a spin move, shot rims out. Charlotte rebounds. 9:23.
4. Inside to Curry, gets knocked out of bounds. No result.
5. Jones to Curry, who shoots and misses a 14-footer (in and out). That's not his shot. 8:25.
6. Pass to Curry, deep in the post, easy field goal. That's the move. 15-14 Knicks, 8:10.
7. Randolph inside to Curry, who misses the layup. Rebound Charlotte. 4:35 to go.
8. Curry doubled, back to Jones for an open three pointer. Jones misses, but that was a good pass by Curry.
9. Curry grabs an offensive rebounds, quickly passes to Jones, to Randolph under the basket. 22-24, 3:05 to go.
Curry comes out, Lee comes in. Lee, btw, had a tough game. He gets blocked on his first touch; his second touch is a bounce pass he throws to the wrong team; he gets doubled on his third possession, and stripped. On the fourth possession, he gives up his position just as Crawford throws him a pass, resulting in a turnover. Ouch.
He would also go on to miss a dunk, and get blocked three more times. Not a pretty game for Lee, who apparently Charlotte must have prepared for, after watching footage of the Knicks-Cavs game.
Back to Curry.
10. Curry comes back in the second quarter. He tips in a Robinson miss. 28-42 Knicks are trailing.
11. Eddy Curry shots a jump hook, rims out. He got fouled on the play, though. 2 FTs, he hits both. 31-47, 5:20 to go.
12. Curry fouled deep in the post, under the basket. He hits 1/2 FTs. 49-33, 4:53 to go.
13. Curry grabs offensive rebound off a Randolph miss (Randolph was doing the rare post there, meaning that was one of the few times both players were deep in the paint... Randolph's post move freed up Curry for the offensive rebound). Curry is fouled as he goes up with it. He hits 1/2 FTs. 51-34.
14. Curry gets doubled, makes a move quickly to break the double, and the short jump hook is good. 36-53. Curry has contributed to 5 of the Knicks last 6 points.
N/A. An alley oop pass to Curry doesn't make it... it's short, and stolen by the fronting defense. The Charlotte Bobcats did front Curry a bit this game, and the key to beating a fronting defender in the post - one, getting your hands high, so you can establish a target (Curry doesn't do that well), and two, getting the passes high and behind the defender, so Curry can just grab it and dunk it. Crawford is good at those passes, and Randolph is getting better. Unfortunately, no one else on the Knicks is really good at that.
That was it for Curry's first half.
In the second half:
15. Into Curry, who misses the little jump hook (in and out). 11:43 mark in third.
16. Jones to Curry, who loses balance and travels. 11:05 to go.
Curry and Richardson were soon benched.
Final Curry Numbers:
16 touches: 9 positive results, 6 negative, one no result (11 times he went up with it; twice he turned it over; twice he kicked it out, and once it was no result).Final line: 4-8 on FGs (one which was a bad decision; the rest were good moves); 3/6 FTs (for some reason my notes say 4/6, but boxscore says 3/6), 2 TOs. 5 rebounds in 18 minutes.
Two times he passed it out: Once to an open Jones (missed the three), one to Jones who quickly hit Randolph for an assist.
Not a terrible offensive game (again, pretty efficient) - his 16 touches resulted in 13 points.
PS: Props to Brian of Depressed Fan for the graphic.
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marvelous. Man, Brian really does hate Eddy Curry, huh?