How cant someone like the way little Nate Rob plays. His energy and enthusiasm just electrifies the crowd every night. Nate Robinson came to the Knicks on a draft day trade which sent Kurt Thomas to the Suns for the Suns 21st pick which was Nate Robinson and Quentin Richardson.
Nate's first wasn't to good and people were annoyed with his style of play. Nate did not play with his head and made numerous mistakes in key situations in the NBA game. Nate played out of control and sometimes didn't know where he was going with the ball. This lead to him getting benched. He was the same way in college at the University of Washington. The question wasn't if he was good enough it was if he can control his self.
The New York crowd became in love with 5'9 point guard. However they also had no idea what he was doing on the court at times. It all comes with maturity and time to adapt to the NBA game.
Also Nate had an attitude problem and would sometime show up his team mates on the court which was unprofessional. In the summer of his rookie year Nate new that he needed to work on his game management abilities and his Personality on the court. He use to try to show up the other teams players when he scored on them or caught a highlight reel dunk which was amazing.
In Nate's sophomore season he became more mature. However he still at times was out of control. Nate also gave the city to talk about because the Knicks were losing he was the talk of the town . Nate also won the slam dunk challenge that year.
When Mike Dantoni was hired as the Knicks head coach Nate Robinson was one of those players who minutes and production was sure to go up because of the type of offense Dantoni runs.
Robinson came into this previous more focus and level headed. He now played under control enough to rum the point guard position, and with the departure of Jamal Crawford and Stephon Marbury, Robinson became the Knicks go to guy at the end of the game.
Robinson averaged 17 points 4 rebounds and 4 assists in the 08-09 season. he also won his second Slam Dunk Challenge.
This year Robinson is a free agent and will command a lot of money on the open and will receive a lot of money because his evolution of being immature on the court to being mature.
The Worlds Best Franchise
Sunday, May 31, 2009
Friday, May 29, 2009
The Evolution of Wilson Chandler
If there is one thing that Isiah Thomas was good at it was drafting NBA ready players. Many Knicks fans were in doubt about the selection of Wilson Chandler with the 23rd pick in the draft. Thomas thought very highly of Chandler and it seemed that he was the only one who believed in his abilities. Chandler came out of Temple University. He wasn't highly scouted and many people never heard of him before the NBA draft. The 6'7 small forward was coming into a Big City and was the Knicks first pick in the draft. Chandler also had a lot of pressure on his shoulders.
How would Chandler fair out?
In Chandler's first year as a NBA player he didn't received a lot of playing time. Also Chandler did experience a lot of winning, the team went 23-59 in Chandler's first year. Wilson Chandler would go numerous games on the inactive list, and if he wasn't on inactive list then he was left sitting on the bench all game. His confidence was shot and also affected him when he got into the game.
Lights, Camera, Action and Chandler was not ready when that happen. The media also affective Chandler. New York's media is like no other around the globe. Nothing compares to the type of pressure players face when they come to the New York Knicks. Only a real player with thick skin can survive, and that was Chandler's problem in the beginning of his career. He wanted to please everyone and as and NBA player you cant do that. You just have to forget about everything and just play the game of basketball.
Mid season of Chandler's rookie year he was lost and people begin to give up on him. Even when he got on the court, he was tentative and was thinking instead of reacting to every play. However Isiah Thomas didn't give up on him and said that he is still in the Knicks plans.
Now the Knicks were out of playoff hunt and multiple games under .500. Thomas Began to play all of the younger players and this was Chandler's chance to show what he has on a consistent bases with about 25 games. Chandler averaged about 15 points the rest of the way and opened people eyes with his athleticism and his ability to defend on the perimeter.
Wilson worked on his game in the summer and got even better. In the Las Vegas Summer League Chandler was even better. he was much faster, quicker and his awareness of the game improved. Chandler averaged 20 points in the summer.
With the hiring of Mike Dantoni it was almost a given that Chandler would take his game to the next level because of the open offense that Dantoni runs.
Dantoni compared Chandler to Shawn Marion which said a lot about his improvement in his game
In his sophomore season Chandler went to the Rookies vs Sophomores game. He averaged 15 points the whole season and earned himself a starting spot in the lineup.
Chandler in a blink of an eye became one of the Knicks best players and his confidence soared to the roof and so did his overall game.
How would Chandler fair out?
In Chandler's first year as a NBA player he didn't received a lot of playing time. Also Chandler did experience a lot of winning, the team went 23-59 in Chandler's first year. Wilson Chandler would go numerous games on the inactive list, and if he wasn't on inactive list then he was left sitting on the bench all game. His confidence was shot and also affected him when he got into the game.
Lights, Camera, Action and Chandler was not ready when that happen. The media also affective Chandler. New York's media is like no other around the globe. Nothing compares to the type of pressure players face when they come to the New York Knicks. Only a real player with thick skin can survive, and that was Chandler's problem in the beginning of his career. He wanted to please everyone and as and NBA player you cant do that. You just have to forget about everything and just play the game of basketball.
Mid season of Chandler's rookie year he was lost and people begin to give up on him. Even when he got on the court, he was tentative and was thinking instead of reacting to every play. However Isiah Thomas didn't give up on him and said that he is still in the Knicks plans.
Now the Knicks were out of playoff hunt and multiple games under .500. Thomas Began to play all of the younger players and this was Chandler's chance to show what he has on a consistent bases with about 25 games. Chandler averaged about 15 points the rest of the way and opened people eyes with his athleticism and his ability to defend on the perimeter.
Wilson worked on his game in the summer and got even better. In the Las Vegas Summer League Chandler was even better. he was much faster, quicker and his awareness of the game improved. Chandler averaged 20 points in the summer.
With the hiring of Mike Dantoni it was almost a given that Chandler would take his game to the next level because of the open offense that Dantoni runs.
Dantoni compared Chandler to Shawn Marion which said a lot about his improvement in his game
In his sophomore season Chandler went to the Rookies vs Sophomores game. He averaged 15 points the whole season and earned himself a starting spot in the lineup.
Chandler in a blink of an eye became one of the Knicks best players and his confidence soared to the roof and so did his overall game.
Wednesday, May 27, 2009
The 2009 Free Agency Class
It is not a lot of talent in the upcoming free agency period. The have a couple of unrestricted free agents on there roster, such as two rising stars David Lee and Nate Robinson new system
The Knicks first need to address both of those situations. David Lee flourished under the new system brought upon by Mike Dantoni. David Lee averaged 17 points and 11 rebounds. Most people thought that David Lee would struggle because he lacked an offensive game, however he proved all of the doubters wrong, by improving his jump shot entirely. The Knicks are not sure if they want to pay David Lee alot of money due to the fact that this is his first year producing these numbers. Also the Knicks dont want to over pay David Lee.
There will be many teams in the contention for Lee's services . Lee can do multiple things such as rebound the ball shoot at a high percentage and play tough defense.
The Knicks should match any teams offer to David Lee because he is a good player who is only going to get better and he is a hard worker. David Lee does not come with bagged and the Knicks be able to trust him when they give him the big dollars. This is the first move the Knicks should do in the off season.
Nate Robinson is a young energetic player who can score 20 points on any give night. Nate Robinson has matured over the past couple of years, from a shoot first PG to a PG that plays under control and has good judgement. Nate Robinson averaged 17 points 4 rebounds and 4 assists. He gets the crowd hype and plays hard on every single play. His attitude has improved drastically.
I think the Knicks should try to resign Nate Robinson however they should not over pay him. If another team goes over the Knicks price limit then the Knicks should let Nate Robinson go. Nate Robinson should take a pay cut because this is where he started his career.
What ever happened to Eddy Curry?
The Knicks should try to market Curry value as best as they can because Eddy Curry does not fit into the Knicks future plans. In the off season the Knicks should definitely try to trade Eddy Curry as soon as Possible.
If the Knicks feel that they can get better by making a move in free agency. However they should not spend a boat load of money.
The Knicks first need to address both of those situations. David Lee flourished under the new system brought upon by Mike Dantoni. David Lee averaged 17 points and 11 rebounds. Most people thought that David Lee would struggle because he lacked an offensive game, however he proved all of the doubters wrong, by improving his jump shot entirely. The Knicks are not sure if they want to pay David Lee alot of money due to the fact that this is his first year producing these numbers. Also the Knicks dont want to over pay David Lee.
There will be many teams in the contention for Lee's services . Lee can do multiple things such as rebound the ball shoot at a high percentage and play tough defense.
The Knicks should match any teams offer to David Lee because he is a good player who is only going to get better and he is a hard worker. David Lee does not come with bagged and the Knicks be able to trust him when they give him the big dollars. This is the first move the Knicks should do in the off season.
Nate Robinson is a young energetic player who can score 20 points on any give night. Nate Robinson has matured over the past couple of years, from a shoot first PG to a PG that plays under control and has good judgement. Nate Robinson averaged 17 points 4 rebounds and 4 assists. He gets the crowd hype and plays hard on every single play. His attitude has improved drastically.
I think the Knicks should try to resign Nate Robinson however they should not over pay him. If another team goes over the Knicks price limit then the Knicks should let Nate Robinson go. Nate Robinson should take a pay cut because this is where he started his career.
What ever happened to Eddy Curry?
The Knicks should try to market Curry value as best as they can because Eddy Curry does not fit into the Knicks future plans. In the off season the Knicks should definitely try to trade Eddy Curry as soon as Possible.
If the Knicks feel that they can get better by making a move in free agency. However they should not spend a boat load of money.
Tuesday, May 26, 2009
Picking at 8!!
The Knicks have experienced some good and bad draft picks. Isiah Thomas was an expert at picking young players such as Tracy Mcgrady, Damon Stodimire, David Lee, Trevor Ariza and Nate Robinson. All of these players are starting players on a NBA roster.
In Donnie Walsh's first draft in New York, he picked Danillo Gallanri which many people think that was mistake.
The Knicks went into the lottery hoping to get the number 1 pick however they didn't and as projected the Knicks were 8th in the lottery with the Clippers getting the number 1 pick and they already said who they were picking, which is highly talented Blake Griffin.
Most scouts think that Spain's Ricky Rubio would be the perfect pick for the New York Knicks and he will fit right into the Knicks plans. And if they don't trade up to get him the Knicks should select Stephen Curry who is the son of former NBA payer Dell Curry.
In my opinion the have three options. The first one is to try to trade up in the draft to select Ricky Rubio who is being compared to a young Pete Merevich. Ricky Rubio would flourish in the Knicks playing style.
If the Knicks can't trade up in the draft they should select Stephen Curry who is a pure scorer and will give the Knicks many options at the point guard position. However Curry needs to get stronger and his decision making needs to improve.
If Stephen Curry isn't there the Knicks should trade down in the draft and just gain multiple picks. Even though the Knicks don't have a pick in the 2010 the Knicks should still trade down.
In Donnie Walsh's first draft in New York, he picked Danillo Gallanri which many people think that was mistake.
The Knicks went into the lottery hoping to get the number 1 pick however they didn't and as projected the Knicks were 8th in the lottery with the Clippers getting the number 1 pick and they already said who they were picking, which is highly talented Blake Griffin.
Most scouts think that Spain's Ricky Rubio would be the perfect pick for the New York Knicks and he will fit right into the Knicks plans. And if they don't trade up to get him the Knicks should select Stephen Curry who is the son of former NBA payer Dell Curry.
In my opinion the have three options. The first one is to try to trade up in the draft to select Ricky Rubio who is being compared to a young Pete Merevich. Ricky Rubio would flourish in the Knicks playing style.
If the Knicks can't trade up in the draft they should select Stephen Curry who is a pure scorer and will give the Knicks many options at the point guard position. However Curry needs to get stronger and his decision making needs to improve.
If Stephen Curry isn't there the Knicks should trade down in the draft and just gain multiple picks. Even though the Knicks don't have a pick in the 2010 the Knicks should still trade down.
Friday, May 15, 2009
Another lossing Season!!
The Knicks were going into the 08-2009 season looking to improve in multiple aspects of there overall game. Eventhough they had there 7th straight losing season there were still some positives that came out of the season
With the firing of Isiah Thomas who was running the organization for multiple years and has experience seven losing season in a row. The Knicks brought in Donnie Walsh, was at the helm of the Indiana Pacers organization. Donnie Walsh fired Isiah Thomas, then later hired former Suns coach Mike Dantoni. The Knicks Drafted a rookie from Italy by the name of Danillo Gallinari, who they thought into the run and gun style offense. The Knicks were not very sure what to do with there star player Stephon Marbury who hadn't played in over a year. Which made it more interesting was that the Knicks signed Chris Duhon. Most people were not sure if the Knicks had the right personal to run this type of offense.
The Knicks did not play Stephon Marbury in the first couple games, then they just sent him home. The Knicks got off to a hot start by going 6-1 in there first seven games. Everyone was excited and there was no drama involved. The Knicks did hit a dry spell where they 5 in a row, however anything is better then last seasons record. The Knicks goal was to get under the cap for 2010. Therefore They traded Jamal Crawford and Zach Randolph who were there leading scorers. This dramatically affected the team in many ways. The positive thing was that the knicks released a lot of money by trading these high profile players.
Now a quarter through the season the Knicks had to fit Al Harrington and Tim Thomas into there game plan. Tim Thomas previously played with Mike Dantoni in Phoenix, also the Knicks acquired Cuttino Mobley in the trade, however he was forced to retire due to previous heart problems. The new coach was upbeat about the new team wanted to get everyone acquainted with there roles.
How would the New York Knicks react to this trade?
It was proven that the team could not handle that much adversity yet. Therefore the Knicks went 2-8 in there next 10 games. It wasn't time for panic and that is exactly what the Knicks did.
Also the Knicks roster was depleted. Stephon Marbury was gone, Eddy Curry, Danillo Gallanari and Cuttino Mobley were injured, and to add on top of that Mike Dantoni only played about 7 to 8 players a night.
By the All star break the Knicks had 21 wins which meant they were way on pace to overlap there previous record. Wilson Chandler and Nate Robinson were invited to all star weekend and David Lee almost mad the all star team.
However by the trade deadline the Knicks again were revamped in two trades. One trade sent forward Malik Rose to the thunder for Chris Wilcox, and the other one sent newly acquired Tim Thomas, Anthony Roberson and Jerome James to Chicago for Larry Hughes.
There was no doubt that this made the Knicks a better team all around however the bigger question was how would the Knicks react to this for the second time.
Again the Knicks failed to get in sink with the new players, and it took them a while to get to know each other.
Also the highly thought of draft pick of the Knicks Danillo Gallanari returned and immediately contributed to the team with his outstanding shooting.
Then the Knicks were hit by injuries which included Chris Duhon and Eddy Curry. Chris Duhon was in the top five in the whole NBA fro minutes played, which eventually caught up to him. Larry Hughes was very inconstant and would score 30 points on game and 5 the next game. Nate Robinson, David Lee, and Wilson Chandler were the real bright spots for the Knicks this season.
David Lee improved on his jump shot drastically, Nate Robinson played under control and Wilson Chandler played with more heart. David Lee averaged 17 points and 11 rebounds, Nate Robinson average 17 points and Wilson Chandler averaged 14 points. Chris Duhon out played his contract by averaging 12 points and 7 assist. Al Harrington who was the Knicks leading scorer averaged 20 points and was a great team player. Gallanari has a bright future ahead of him and really was hit by injuries the whole season. However he is a rare talent. Gallanari is 6'11 and he can shoot, dribble and pass. He needs to get stronger and speed his game up to the NBA game speed.
Although the Knicks did not reach there goal and finished the season 32-50 which granted them there 8th losing season in a row, they still improved there roster and set them selves up for the future which wasn't happening with the previous administration.
With the firing of Isiah Thomas who was running the organization for multiple years and has experience seven losing season in a row. The Knicks brought in Donnie Walsh, was at the helm of the Indiana Pacers organization. Donnie Walsh fired Isiah Thomas, then later hired former Suns coach Mike Dantoni. The Knicks Drafted a rookie from Italy by the name of Danillo Gallinari, who they thought into the run and gun style offense. The Knicks were not very sure what to do with there star player Stephon Marbury who hadn't played in over a year. Which made it more interesting was that the Knicks signed Chris Duhon. Most people were not sure if the Knicks had the right personal to run this type of offense.
The Knicks did not play Stephon Marbury in the first couple games, then they just sent him home. The Knicks got off to a hot start by going 6-1 in there first seven games. Everyone was excited and there was no drama involved. The Knicks did hit a dry spell where they 5 in a row, however anything is better then last seasons record. The Knicks goal was to get under the cap for 2010. Therefore They traded Jamal Crawford and Zach Randolph who were there leading scorers. This dramatically affected the team in many ways. The positive thing was that the knicks released a lot of money by trading these high profile players.
Now a quarter through the season the Knicks had to fit Al Harrington and Tim Thomas into there game plan. Tim Thomas previously played with Mike Dantoni in Phoenix, also the Knicks acquired Cuttino Mobley in the trade, however he was forced to retire due to previous heart problems. The new coach was upbeat about the new team wanted to get everyone acquainted with there roles.
How would the New York Knicks react to this trade?
It was proven that the team could not handle that much adversity yet. Therefore the Knicks went 2-8 in there next 10 games. It wasn't time for panic and that is exactly what the Knicks did.
Also the Knicks roster was depleted. Stephon Marbury was gone, Eddy Curry, Danillo Gallanari and Cuttino Mobley were injured, and to add on top of that Mike Dantoni only played about 7 to 8 players a night.
By the All star break the Knicks had 21 wins which meant they were way on pace to overlap there previous record. Wilson Chandler and Nate Robinson were invited to all star weekend and David Lee almost mad the all star team.
However by the trade deadline the Knicks again were revamped in two trades. One trade sent forward Malik Rose to the thunder for Chris Wilcox, and the other one sent newly acquired Tim Thomas, Anthony Roberson and Jerome James to Chicago for Larry Hughes.
There was no doubt that this made the Knicks a better team all around however the bigger question was how would the Knicks react to this for the second time.
Again the Knicks failed to get in sink with the new players, and it took them a while to get to know each other.
Also the highly thought of draft pick of the Knicks Danillo Gallanari returned and immediately contributed to the team with his outstanding shooting.
Then the Knicks were hit by injuries which included Chris Duhon and Eddy Curry. Chris Duhon was in the top five in the whole NBA fro minutes played, which eventually caught up to him. Larry Hughes was very inconstant and would score 30 points on game and 5 the next game. Nate Robinson, David Lee, and Wilson Chandler were the real bright spots for the Knicks this season.
David Lee improved on his jump shot drastically, Nate Robinson played under control and Wilson Chandler played with more heart. David Lee averaged 17 points and 11 rebounds, Nate Robinson average 17 points and Wilson Chandler averaged 14 points. Chris Duhon out played his contract by averaging 12 points and 7 assist. Al Harrington who was the Knicks leading scorer averaged 20 points and was a great team player. Gallanari has a bright future ahead of him and really was hit by injuries the whole season. However he is a rare talent. Gallanari is 6'11 and he can shoot, dribble and pass. He needs to get stronger and speed his game up to the NBA game speed.
Although the Knicks did not reach there goal and finished the season 32-50 which granted them there 8th losing season in a row, they still improved there roster and set them selves up for the future which wasn't happening with the previous administration.
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