You Mav lovers need to think a little, to win you veteran leadership. At least if you want to win big. Finley may not have contributed as much on the floor like he used to but he was a locker room presence, an elder figure that kept things in line. Dirk is definitly not that type of leader. Look at what happend to the Kings when they let go of Vlade. Sure they had better talent with Brad Miller starting there, but the team never played with the same heart after that. Dirk was exposed in the playoffs, and i expect him to keep being exposed for the lackluster player that he is. Why do you care so much about a team with NO HEART?
Dirk was exposed in the playoffs? Last year was the first season where Dirk didn't completely carry the Mavs. Avery played him differently during the playoffs and Dirk will play this entire season at the low post so come playoff time he will be fine. Finley was such a leader that Nick Van Exel led them verbally to the WCF 3 years ago. All this Finley leader talk cracks me up. It simply isn't true. The fact is that the Mavs have never had a vocal leader outside of NVE.
I strongly disagree that the Knicks are "WAY" behind the Cavs. In my opinion, the Cavs should be considered among the 3rd tier. Eastern conference 1st tier 1. Detriot 2. Miami 3. Indiana Eastern conference 2nd tier Boston Philly Nets Eastern conference 3rd tier Chicago Cleveland Milwaukee New York DC Orlando "Unpredictable" Atlanta Minor league NBA (EAST) Toronto Bobcats
Well, this Knicks team has a lot of potentials, but is a bit too young to be an ideal Larry Brown team. The core of the group is now Marbury, Crawford, Q, Ariza, MoT, Rose, Curry, and James. None of these guys are over 30 years old. Frye and Robingson may make an impact in their rookie seasons, whth Houston and Penny playing limited roles off the bench (it appears that Davis may get cut). Rose may get a lot of playing time under the new coach since he appears to be a Larry Brown type of player. I think that the Knicks will make the playoffs this year. They are just too talented not to.
before you give Isiah Thomas verbal backrubs, remember why exactly he was able to get Curry so cheaply: http://www.nydailynews.com/front/story/353465p-301226c.html
I think the Knicks have to look up to see scratch. If for some reason the Knicks were allowed to dump every contract and start at zero, they would do it in a heartbeat. That being said, I have a lot of faith in Larry Brown, and expect that he will pull them into the playoffs. How he will do that, I just can't imagine.
I am not as sold on Cleveland as some (don't deserve elite EC designation just yet), but I do think they are better than your 2nd tier, or at minimum belong there. I see no way Boston is better than them. I don't see why Boston is ahead of Chicago or Washington either, Boston IMO is one of the more susceptible of last year's playoff teams for dropping. I think we at least agree that we see the Knicks behind most or all of these teams. Orlando or Milwalkee has as good of a chance to surprise as well.
PG: Crawford, Robinson SG: Marbury, Richardson, (Crawford) SF: Ariza, (Richardson), Lee PF: Rose, Frye, Taylor, (Curry) C: Curry, James, Davis Will play no more than 15 games combined: Houston, Hardaway Larry Brown is reportedly looking to make Marbury an Iverson-esque SG. Which is smart, becase Marbury is the absolute antithesis of a Larry Brown point guard. Don't be surprised if the Knicks bring in another PG. I'm thinking Robinson has a good shot at getting the bulk of PG minutes simply because he's the only one that's not a masquerading 2 guard. Curry may play some PF, since Rose, Frye, and Taylor are a mess. Antonio Davis was a 4 once upon a time, but he's far too slow to play minutes there today. I'd pencil these guys in for 40 wins. Brown won't allow them to underachieve or slack off on D (which guarantees no less than 4 fueds with this roster). Half of the Eastern conference is out-and-out hapless, and they can feast on those teams for at least 25 wins. Snag 8 wins against the bottom third of the West (GSW, NOH, Mem, LAC, Sea, Min). Steal 7 games against the other 16 teams in the league over the course of the year, and there you go. That said, they've got serious issues: -Marbury only helps teams by leaving them, no matter the numbers he puts up. -The PF spot is wretched. -Rose, Taylor, Frye, James, and Curry are all pitiful rebounders. Not below average. Pitiful. This team could get raped by opponent second- and third-chance putbacks. No one on this team is likely to bring down even 9 RPG. -Curry didn't even workout this summer. Not that he ever has or will. He's just found out that he doesn't have to put in effort to earn a near-max contract. Think about how that'll affect his stellar work ethic. Richardson is the sole perimeter threat. That's not going to help open lanes for Marbury's slashes. Evan
The Pistons were in the conference finals the two years before Brown got there ... not exactly a bunch of misfits and a far cry better than these Knicks. Brown is good, but I'm not expecting a miracle.
