Just Not Getting It

Why do I like the Knicks so much? It's inexplicable really. They have one guy who shows up every day, a veritable superstar in my mind, a guy who not only shows up every day, but does so in the absence of anyone else. That would be Jamal Crawford, of course. Half shooting guard, half point guard, he consistently does either job, whichever one is needed the most that night.

And, yes, there is David Lee grabbing rebounds left and right. He does his job, but at 6'9" and 240, really can't be a presence in the middle. He rebounds and makes a lot of dunks, seldom showing any propensity to shoot the ball from any distance, not because he can't necessarily, but because he has to get in line.

Maybe this Knicks team reminds me of those Mets of the Sixties, those lovable oafs. Who can forget Marv Throneberry, early Eddie Kranepool, Choo Choo Coleman, Rod Kanehl, and over-the-hill stars such as Duke Snider, Richie Ashburn, Gil Hodges and Frank Thomas? How about Roger Craig pitching just well enough to lose 20 games?.

You have to go back that far, and to another sport, to find anything that quite mirrors this bunch. I think you can even draw a remarkable parallel between Isiah Thomas and that first Mets Manager, Casey Stengel. Try to get a straight answer out of either of them.

The Marv Throneberry of this Knicks team would have to be Eddie Curry. I'm not quite sure he's as lovable but he sure is colorful. He plays hard about one game out of every three. A giant of a man at 6'11" and 285 pounds, he has 23 blocks this season, four of them in one game. Just for perspective, let me add that the fine young center, Carlos Boozer of the Utah Jazz, has only 24 blocks but he has grabbed 595 rebounds to Curry’s 247. Boozer is also a fierce defender.

I find it quite amusing now that Eddie seems puzzled by his absence from the lineup. And Isiah justifies it, not by admitting the guy epitomizes "soft" but by philosophizing about the way the game has changed, how more and more, teams are going with smaller lineups. Casey couldn't have said it any better. Isiah is either a very nice man, or he brought Eddie to the Knicks. Or both.

Then there is 6'9" power forward, Zach Randolph. He has 9 blocked shots. I tried to find a picture that would show some kind of vertical leap. Shown above is the result. He could be 8" or so off the ground. Has anyone seen him dunk? Despite his inability to get up in the air, he shoots the ball quite well, and actually does get his share of rebounds, averaging a humongous 10.1. So he does at least serve a useful function on the floor.

Curry, who used to score, can't even do that this year. The team suffers with both big men on the floor. Eddie apparently doesn't know what else he could be doing when the ball goes to someone else.

It’s a shame really. Randolph could have been a great addition despite his defensive liabilities. If only those two could have played together, the Knicks would have had two big scoring threats down low, a tough thing to defend. But, no, Curry elected to pout.

The rest of the team is no bargain either. Quentin Richardson, the starting small forward, has been incredibly inconsistent, and, for one long stretch of critical games (they’re all critical when you’ve won so few), could not find the basket. It seemed to have left the building. It was like watching the Yanks Chuck Knoblauch trying to find first base.

At point guard, there had been Stephon Marbury, of course. Flawed at best, his season started badly, there was a death in the family and then some fairly serious injuries, and ended quite early. There is hope in Nate Robinson, though, who, while small in stature, can jump through the roof, can shoot the ball, and can really be a spark plug when he is not throwing the ball away. I’d compare him to an early Mets fellow named Ron Swoboda, who could be great, but was more often not in his formative years.

There is hope still, however, if you show patience. A starting lineup of Robinson, Crawford, Lee, Richardson and Randolph is not too shabby. Although I’d like to see a more consistent small forward, Richardson does play defense. David Lee also tries to put in a good defensive effort, but doesn’t have those quick feet.

Yes, this Knicks team is exciting to watch, if you don’t expect too much. Even the backups can be exciting. Mardy Collins, listed as Robinson’s backup at the point, can play defense and Renaldo Balkman does the same behind Richardson. Jared Jeffries has been spelling Zach Randolph and is also a defensive specialist. Freddy Jones backs up Jamal, and he shows flashes of real ability.

James Dolan apparently decided not to make any more moves under Isiah, deciding apparently not to send good money after bad, or, at the very least, deciding to let the next man do it. And, although I’ll miss what a new ingredient could have added, in the person of a legitimate point guard, small forward or center, it’s heartening to get an indication that change is on the way.

I have tried to support Isiah all the way. Isiah was such a breath of fresh air over Larry Brown, who did nothing but whine, and seemed to try to lose games, no doubt, putting his bid in for the GM role. Isiah has been, if nothing else, a gentleman, at least in the public eye. Even his player moves could have worked out, if not for Eddie Curry, Isiah’s biggest mistake.

Curry just never had it, and despite Isiah’s most fervent prayers, Curry would never get it. He now occupies the bench much of most nights, a place he richly deserves.