« Planet GOP | Main | The Origins of Liberal Fascism » Line of the Day06 Jan 2008 12:49 pm While David Simon deserves all due credit, it should be noted that Isiah Thomas has also "prepared an elaborate, moving brief for despair and (ultimately) indifference" – the New York Knicks. Some people I know thought Z-Bo would dominate the Eastern Conference and put the Knicks in the playoffs. Comments (17)
"Some people I know thought Z-Bo would dominate the Eastern Conference and put the Knicks in the playoffs." Y'know, I still have faith in Z-Bo. He's a headcase, but he's got very real talents. With a guy like that, it's all about putting him in a stable and disciplined situation where he can find a comfort zone and thrive. The Knicks this year have no comfort zone for anyone. Seriously, think about it. Every single player on that team looks horrible this year. Z-Bo looks horrible. Eddy looks horrible. Your '07 - '08 Knicks have even managed to make David Lee look horrible. It really has reached a sublime level of suckiness. 
On a less depressing topic, wanna understand why Allen Iverson is a special player? Check out this. When the Nuggets brought in Anthony Carter, I thought George Karl was certifiably insane. I knew he was a good defender, but the Nuggets need a PG who can knock down the open shot, because if the PG's man can leave him, it's too easy to double Iverson and Melo. And Carter had a 38% career FG percentage mark heading into this season, not to mention a 13% 3pt percentage. Why bring in a guy who can't shoot, right? So Carter gets in the backcourt with Iverson, and this year, he's got 53% FG and 39% 3pt. Say what? Anthony Carter, a guy who couldn't shoot to save his life in his first 8 years in the league, suddenly has a higher TS% than his long-lost brother Vince. Your offensive role playing PG with Iverson is so fucking simplified that apparently anyone can knock down shots at a decent percentage.
As a Portland fan all I have to say to NY is suckers! Petey is right, Zach has talent, but he is the classic put up big numbers while losing, disappear when the games get tight kind of guy. It isn't a conincidence that the Blazers had a much better record in game she didn't play last year. And this year pretty much speaks for itself. The Bulls game Thurs was a perfect example, Aldridge was horrible for 3 quarters, Ben Wallace was inside his head, he started something like 1-7. In the 4th quarter and overtimes he stepped up and hit some big shots. Zach would have scored 30 in the first 3 1/2 quarters and then disappeared down the stretch, the Blazers would have lost a close game and people woudl say, "for a young team they battled" People would read the box score who didn't see the game and say "Randolph can play, he just needs some help", and so on.
"Petey is right, Zach has talent, but he is the classic put up big numbers while losing, disappear when the games get tight kind of guy." Not my point in the least. I can see building a winning team around Zach in the post. And I'd certainly want the ball in his hands down the stretch of tight games. (Though the longer his career lasts without him having to learn how to play winning ball, the less likely that's going to be. The immolation of the '07-'08 Knicks threatens to burn the careers of many of the players involved, Zach included.) ----- And assuming you're a Blazers fan, eric k, props to your squad. Don't quite know how they're doing it, but I've watched several of their games during the current happiness, and they're doing it. I love "Charles" Outlaw.
Petey, You haven't seen Zach choke when the ball is in his hands late in close games for 82 games a year for several years:-) Trust me, you don't wnat him anywhere near the ball late, he forgets all the good things he's learned. As for the Blazers: 1) Brandon Roy is way better than people realize. 2) Nate McMillan is very good coach if he has his kind of players. He has an almost uncanny ability to exploit match-ups and on D he did spend his formative years with George Karl and has a great feel for when to trap, when to zone, etc. 3) Outlaw, Jack and Webster are all coming into their own and living up to their talent. 4) Aldrige and Frye are ideal PFs to team with Roy, they can both hit the 20 footer off the pick and roll. Roy has a little of Gary Payton in him in his ability to drive and post up, he runs pick and rolls with forwards who can shoot in much the same way Payton did (again Nate's experience) 5) James Jones was a great pick up, the Suns really blew it with him, he can hiot the open shot, plays great D and is a great leader in the locker room (on this team he is one of the most experienced guys!) The really scary thing for the rest of the league shoudl be that the biggest weakness is interior D and rebounding, seems like a great solution is waiting in the wings. Also Kevin Pritchard has figured out how to use Paul Allen's money, they've loaded up on foriegn talent by buying late 1st round picks from teams that are afraid of the luxury tax, especially the Suns. They have Rudy Fernandez a 2 guard in Spain, he should be here next year and is a stud. They have the best player in Finland (a PG) and a PF in England. At some point in the next 2 or 3 years Pritchard will use all this stock piled talent for a sign and trade to steal a major FA (LaFrentz big contract goes away)
As I predicted, having two volume-scoring bigs with identical offensive games, poor rebounding and a noted lack of interest on defense has turned out not so well. Shocking, I know. Now, if Randolph had gone to my Bulls, where interior defense has been a strength and he wouldn't be expected to rebound as much, and who desperately need a consistent low-post threat, well.... If only.
Yeah. I know. They've got a lot of shooters. Kinda the same thing New Orleans has going on. But I still don't quite get it. I frankly don't get what makes Roy special yet. I know he's good, tall with a handle, but still... None of this is criticism of Roy or your team. It's criticism of my basketball analytical skills. I've watched them spank my Powder Blues twice, and caught a couple of other games, and I'm still confused how they're doing it. "James Jones was a great pick up, the Suns really blew it with him" See, that's kinda what I mean. The Suns ditched Jones because he couldn't be productive playing with Steve fucking Nash. So he heads to the magical Rose City, and suddenly he's productive playing without Nash? Their ability to consistently win is like some gigantic version of the Chewbacca defense. They have a decent roster. I imagined that they had the possibility of winning 30+ games after Oden turned into Sam Bowie. But this? No. Maybe it really is McMillan. (And do people in Portland know about the "Charles" Outlaw business?)
"Now, if Randolph had gone to my Bulls, where interior defense has been a strength and he wouldn't be expected to rebound as much, and who desperately need a consistent low-post threat, well.... If only." That makes too much sense for Paxson...
Two words: Big Baby
It easy to miss how good Roy is unless you watch him all the time, ask Jerry Sloan about him, every time he beats the Jazz Sloan sounds like NFL announcers talking about Favre:-) He doesn't do anything spectacular, but he does every thing well. I've made the comment before that he is the Tim Ducnan of 2 guards. His biggest asset is that he can get to the hoop on anyone (and he still only gets the call half the time he gets hacked, wait til his rep catches up with his talent and he not only gets the call when he is fouled but gets the Wade treatment!), like I said there is some similarity to Payton, obviously he isn't as athletic as Payton, but he is bigger and uses similar moves, growing up in Seattle during Payton's best years probably had influence. Another comparison is a RB who isn't fast but gets guys to miss by changing speeds a lot. He also just has an overall B-Ball IQ and when the ball is in his hands he makes the right play. A PG who can shoot the open J and push the ball when needed (ie Jack) is the perfect compliment to him, in the half court Roy runs the offense and the PG becomes a shooter. If you watched the Bulls game that was misleading, he badly bruised his tailbone in the 4th quareter when he got decked by Wallace (it was so bad he had to sit out last night). During the 4th quarter and OTs he couldn't do anything so he was a decoy as Jack took over. He did end up with 20+ and 11 assists though. His typical line during the streak is 22-25 points, 7-8 assists and 6-7 boards. And he'll get his points in the 4th quarter. The incredible thing is when they run an iso for him, everybody in the building knows he will drive, and he still gets to the hoop.
"I've made the comment before that he is the Tim Ducnan of 2 guards." Makes sense.
I only saw Roy play once for Washington, against UConn in the tournament, but he looked clearly to be the best player coming out of college. I was shocked at the players chosen ahead of him, save Aldridge. Barganini, Morrison, Tyrus Thomas, Shelden Williams?
Much as I like to talk up B-Roy, we're not done trashing Z-Bo yet, are we? Aside from him going to sleep at the crucial parts of big games, what I really hate about him was that he and his posse used to frequent a certain cheesy nightclub under my bedroom window. Now, in a not-so-big town like Portland, people would flock to places that Blazers go to because we (thankfully) have no other celebs, so that meant I had no decent night sleep on Thursday through Saturday night for about eight months until the club owner skipped town with a kitchen full of equipment he did not own. Zack's participation in the nightly street riot that happened for two hours after closing time is not something I plan to forgive. As a former Knicks fan, I cannot say I'm that broken up over the disaster that is the team from MSG. If Randolf's reputation suffers from his involvement in it, too bad for him.
I remember getting mocked (not here) for saying that the Blazers might be good after watching them on opening night vs. the spurs. I also got mocked for opining that though Roy shot godawfully for long stretches of that game (fucking Bowen), he was still quite clearly the best player on the floor, Manu, Parker and even Timmy included for equally long stretches. And Travis Outlaw (SUPER TROUT, as Blazers fans have taken to calling him, apparently) is definitely in my fave 5 right now, along with the aforementioned big Baby, Lebron for pretty much single handedly winning at least 2 games this week (he basically did the same thing to the Hawks on monday that he did to Toronto today - not even bad D, just some ludicrous shots), Chris Paul and I can't decide between CJ Miles and Lou Williams for the fifth spot...
Tim, I think the concensus around the league was that Roy was the best player, but a lot of teams were scared off by his knee. He missed all his sophmore and half his Jr year because of it. As a Huskie's fan don't get me started on that UCONN game and the bogus double-T that kept Roy out of the game for most of the 2nd half (if you can find the box score for the game check out the point differencial when he was on the floor) probably kept UW out of the final 4.
"And Travis Outlaw (SUPER TROUT, as Blazers fans have taken to calling him, apparently) is definitely in my fave 5 right now" Outlaw really is something else. ----- Apropos of nothing, Paul Pierce is fucking fierce. I think the debate in March will be whether KG or Pierce deserves the MVP.
Comments closed January 20, 2008. |
Search
Subscribe to this blog by Email Books by Matthew Yglesias
Recent Comments
Recent Posts
Weekly Archives
Categories
|
Copyright © 2007 by The Atlantic Monthly Group. All rights reserved.
| 
Heads in the Sand
Watching the Knicks this year is like watching the Clinton for President campaign.
Posted by Petey | January 6, 2008 12:59 PM