# First Impressions



## truth (Jul 16, 2002)

Interesting game last night....

Most obvious..We need an athletic big man,who can play some D..

Naz has to be more consistent and Vin is nowhere near the old Vin..

JC is the real deal talent wise,but he must improve his shot selection...

Steph played great...

Ariza is a serious talent.....
TT shot horribly,but I liked the fact that he was aggressive...

KT played well,but could not deal with KG..No suprise...
Sweets is a force and can get suprisingly could get his shot off against Kandi....

My question is ,should KT start at Center and Sweets play Power Foward??

Or go really radical and start KT at center,TT at the 4 and Ariza at the 3???I am fully aware this is lunacy,but that would be our most athletic squad..

And in homage to rashidi,he is right...KT can defend Centers better than athletic power fowards

Thoughts??


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## son of oakley (Dec 24, 2003)

I agree with most of your thoughts.

Overall there was much I took comfort in last night. We basically held our own with one of the best teams in the league on their home court. A few free throws or buckets down the stretch could have taken it. I don't expect perfect execution from this group yet, but you can see some nice parts are in place. Not bad for a team without an identity.

That was one of the nicest games I've seen from Steph. I liked the way he attacked the basket, not too many chucks, good composure.

Jamal. It's like Johnny Starks is back in town - he'll drive you nuts some nights and bring you the glory others. We saw a little of both last night. Glad we got him though, I like this dual combo guard approach.

TT. I see it just like you, his aggression was good. I liked his shot selection by and large and he was rebounding. Unfortunately the shot was just off. Looked like he lifted too much that say kinda thing. If he'd just shot at his career FG% he'd have had a nice night. Thing is you know he'll also have a 30pt game soon too. You just never know what you'll get from this guy. Still, I like his arsenal.

Sweets. I'm loving the kids post game. He just can't get the ball to drop yet. He's been working so hard on his footwork and positioning, he just hasn't been able to integrate it with his hands yet. But when those shots start dropping he'll be dangerous. Brand-lite indeed.

Ariza. Nothing new to say about the kid. Great energy, very disruptive, very raw. The kids gonna be a stat sheet filler though. Fantasy league players will love him next year.

KT did all the man can do. Yes he's limited, he's not elite, but thank god he hasn't been traded yet.

Naz, eh, he'll have better games, but he's far from consistent. Is he better than Doleac? I don't know, different but equal I guess.

Vin. Well he did have heart surgery, I mean we don't see Clinton and Cheney out there playing full court either. I still remember his good play this time last year and don't think his skills have fallen off that fast in one year. I think he's just not in game condition yet. That said, he'll just be a 15min per night guy.

I hate to say it but if we had been able to get Damp and JC we'd be a serious threat. But we didn't have the parts, and that 6 year deal for damp is just too scary.

Someone on the RealGM board did a collection of some of the funnier quotes there last night. Those guys are a riot:

powerforward99 wrote:


> As a service to this board, following every game I'm going read all the astute, rational, reasonable responses to the game and compile and summarize them for the convenience of all.
> 
> 1.) Tim Thomas has lost his chance to prove he can be a consistant offensive force. He had his game and be blew it. Forget the other 81, the jig is up.
> 
> ...


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## son of oakley (Dec 24, 2003)

Hey truth, is it just me or is this place dead these days? Seemed to me when I got here the place was busy, now unless someone's trolling, or we're going at it with Rashidi, there's like no action. 

Was it this bad after game 1 last year?


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## truth (Jul 16, 2002)

DEADSVILLE.....


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## The True Essence (May 26, 2003)

mohamed is proving to me why he didnt get any burn in atlanta. he cant guard olowokantbe


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## truth (Jul 16, 2002)

> mohamed is proving to me why he didnt get any burn in atlanta. he cant guard olowokantbe


and he cant make layups....

i thought the team looked ok....


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## Rashidi (Oct 2, 2003)

Marbury looked flashy. I cringed everytime he threw up a three (especially the 2nd one of a back to back), and a bit surprised he hit half of them.

Crawford only looks good when he attacks the basket. Going back to the Steve Francis comparison, I've backed off it since. I didn't realize JC was that afraid of driving (only 11% of his shots last year were in close). Francis isn't afraid of contact. I thought what was telling was he didn't attempt a single free throw, while Marbury attempted 11. If JC's shot isn't falling, that means he's a non-factor on offense. In the first quarter the shots were all falling (and KG was clanking from the same range), but you could tell that it wasn't going to stay that way the whole game for both sides.

Tim Thomas is garbage. I can't believe how badly Wally World outplayed him, and it just re-affirms why they should get Wally even if they don't dump TT in the same trade. TT had 7 points on 13 shots, 0 FTs. Wally had 12 points on 10 shots, 2 FTs. And like I said about Wally creating for others, Wally had 3 assists, TT had 0. At this rate, I might actually warm up to Ariza starting over TT, a couple more games like this and it will be inevitable.

The Knicks had 2 blocks (1 from front court), T'Wolves had 7 (6 from front court). This might be because KG's fadeaway is pretty much impossible to block, or it might look that way because Kurt Thomas can't jump. He stayed in front of KG very well and never really got outmuscled, but he just doesn't have the reach to contest that shot. Dunno if anyone in the league does. Tonight isn't the night to complain about KT's lack of athleticism. KG only attempted 3 FTs last night, a big reason why the Knicks were as close as they were. The Knicks also grabbed 11 offensive rebounds, while the T'Wolves only grabbed 4 (only 1 of KG's 20 boards were offensive).

Penny looked like he was forcing the shot, maybe cause he couldn't get any touches, but he wasn't in any good positions to shoot either.

Vin Baker made Michael Olowokandi look like a first pick. One can only hope that KT gets more minutes at center to give more time to Sweetney/JYD gets more minutes at the 4. He doesn't even look like he'll score 15 in a game this year.

The Knicks had 20 assists and 12 turnovers. That's not going to happen every game. The Knicks had 11 steals, the T'Wolves had 11. I don't think steals are a strength of this Minnesota team, but Cassell/Spree didn't exactly put as much pressure on passing lanes as they could have. When the Knicks face a team that gets more steals, they'll be in trouble.

Speaking of assists, Kurt Thomas had 4, and as I said before, TT had 0. Has it gone completley under the radar that both players averaged 1.9 apg last year? How can a SF (especially one who hangs around on the perimeter) average that few amount of assists? I'm not going to hold my breath waiting for TT to have his first 4 assist game of the season. I'm willing to bet that KT will average more assists this year than TT.

I don't think this was a good effort by the Knicks so much as it was a poor night for the T'Wolves. Other than Garnett, nobody else on the team played exceptionally well. The Knicks had that great first quarter, but were shut down after that. 30 points in the first quarter, compared to 63 for the next 3. They were held to 39% shooting for the game, while Minnesota shot 49%. They were with them for 3 quarters of the game, but lost it in the 2nd (33-21). The Knicks stayed in the game by taking 10 more shots and 6 more FTs. They got those extra shots off of offensive rebounds and turnovers. But if Minnesota plays like it normally does in both departments, it's a blowout instead of a 6 point loss.


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## sheefo13 (Jul 13, 2002)

the first thing about nazr, he will improve as the season goes on. kandi has been playing good and is supposed to be good this year, yes, it is hard to believe. Wolves are championship contenders, no reason to think the season is going to go bad if you lose to the wolves.

ok first off i want to say, this team looks unbelievable. I love this team almost as much as i love the wolves! Just for the fact of a few players.

crawford: AMAZING. He jsut looked like he knew what he was doing and he is a diffrent kind of player. handles, Watching him shake spree and then drain a shot in his eye was impressive.

sweetney: I agree this kid should be starting. He is a tremendous talent. This guy can become taht go to big man, just not teh athletic one

ariza: living up to the hype. I think he is going to contribute tremendously this season. Everyone enjoys a guy who tries to dunk on anyone possible. Great talent


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## the Trent Tuckers (Feb 15, 2004)

1st impressions:
for a game in that was expected to be lop-sided, it turned out to be pretty close. the defense has to improve, but there really arent many teams who can stop KG. the backcourt looks like its going to be impressive this season, JC takes a lot of quick/bad shots but it was his 1st game in a NY uni so he was prob. trying to make an impression. 
TT sucks, and thats def. a reason why IT would waste more money on Robinson b/c he might realize TT doesnt deserve to be starting on any team. Nazr and Vin gotta step up though, they looked soft last night and def. dont look like the 2 together can put up a good stat line. 
All in all it was a good showing for a loss, but it could def. turn out to be a rough start to the season.


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## Tapseer (Jun 13, 2002)

> Originally posted by <b>son of oakley</b>!
> Hey truth, is it just me or is this place dead these days?



Hey, I hope it's not dead here, I love you guys. I just got back online after a little computer trouble, just in time for the Knicks season opener. We were tough throughout the game. This game only highlights the fact that we need a presence down in the box. Larry, Patrick where are you when we need you. It was a good game. I expect us to play better in the next game, and when I say better I mean to say that in crunch time we have to KNOW what our options are late in the game. That stretch where we didn't score, our team looked liked it didn't know what to do. I don't know if it's a reflection of the coach or the point guard, but we have to work it out.


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## The True Essence (May 26, 2003)

i think we'll beat boston. i expcet crawford to shoot 3/3245 though.


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## truth (Jul 16, 2002)

> Tim Thomas is garbage. I can't believe how badly Wally World outplayed him, and it just re-affirms why they should get Wally even if they don't dump TT in the same trade. TT had 7 points on 13 shots, 0 FTs. Wally had 12 points on 10 shots, 2 FTs. And like I said about Wally creating for others, Wally had 3 assists, TT had 0. At this rate, I might actually warm up to Ariza starting over TT, a couple more games like this and it will be inevitable.


..


> TT sucks, and thats def. a reason why IT would waste more money on Robinson b/c he might realize TT doesnt deserve to be starting on any team


WOW!!!!!!!!!!!! 

You guys are a tough audience,but you may be right..His biggest problem is his basketball IQ is ZERO.And which is why i am so high on Ariza.He has tremendous basketball IQ..


> TT sucks, and thats def. a reason why IT would waste more money on Robinson b/c he might realize TT doesnt deserve to be starting on any team


EDDIE ROBINSON???????????????
Something must be brewing.No way Zeke brings him in here if he doesnt plan on playing the guy substantial minutes..Which means TT is GONE!!!!

Wallys salary doesnt match up with TT,s and i doubt the wolves would throw in Earvin Johnson..Any trade ideas??


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## Rashidi (Oct 2, 2003)

Eddie Robinson? I guess Isiah really doesn't want Shandon filling the 12th man void, even if it brings in a guy who is a legitimate whiner and problem child.


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## truth (Jul 16, 2002)

believe it or not Zeke wants Eddie...Mind boggling,but true..Can the guy play????


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## The True Essence (May 26, 2003)

he barely got anyh burn on bad chicago teams...so no. the last time i ever seen him play was actually when he was on the hornets. he looked like an althete without a jumper. i bet hes the same player today. basically trevor ariza without the defense.


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## truth (Jul 16, 2002)

what could zeke possibly be thinking bringing him on board??

And please,no ridiculous anti zeke feelings:uhoh:


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## keepitfree (Nov 5, 2004)

Eddie Robinson is terrible. He had a brief stint with Charollette and got a Great contract. Since then he is been the epitome of a selfish brat.

He'll be a locker room cancer, though I would imagine Zeke would beat him down if he got too out ofline. Regardless there isn't anything he can gived that TT can't. Waste of money IMO.


Trevor Ariza is a lot like D-miles and I think will have a similar season. Alot of people say if he develops a jumpshot he'll be great. However, you can say that about every slasher or guy who can't shoot in the league. It's a ridiculous comment. He is a less athletic Darius Miles, but I don't think his ceiling is that high.


As for needing an athletic big man, what's new?


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## Rashidi (Oct 2, 2003)

Allegedly, Eddie Robinson can play some defense (some). But offensively I haven't seen anything that wasn't a fastbreak dunk or layup from him.


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## truth (Jul 16, 2002)

was Loren Woods available this summer??he looked very good against the Pistons tonight..

17 points and 14 boards..we need a big


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## Rashidi (Oct 2, 2003)

Woods was taken in the expansion draft, and signed with a team that could guarantee him a spot on the roster. The Knicks could not guarantee him such a spot. Woods doesn't get PT over KT/Sweetney/Nazr, he'd share scraps with JYD and Baker.


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## NYKFan123 (Sep 26, 2004)

It's one game for Woods, plus I think a lot of teams could say the same thing if they passed him up and he has a big year this season. Nobody expected that from Woods. We'll just wait and see I guess.


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## c_dog (Sep 15, 2002)

> Originally posted by <b>keepitfree</b>!
> 
> Trevor Ariza is a lot like D-miles and I think will have a similar season. Alot of people say if he develops a jumpshot he'll be great. However, you can say that about every slasher or guy who can't shoot in the league. It's a ridiculous comment. He is a less athletic Darius Miles, but I don't think his ceiling is that high.


No way, Ariza makes better decision with the ball than Miles ever did, and you forget the biggest part of Ariza's game, his defense. He's a lot more like a young Ron Artest without a shot than D-Miles. D-Miles is just athletic, Ariza at least can defend.


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## ace20004u (Jun 19, 2002)

Bulls fan here, you guys got a steal in Crawford. He is still developing as a player so there will be nights that he drives you crazy but when this guy is done growing look out. E-Rob actually has some talent, he plays great defense and can hit the mid range jumper really well, can finish on the break, his real problems are he doesn't have much in the way of handles, doesn't have 3pt range, doesn't drive into traffic, and he is suppossedly a bad practice guy. ANyway, I'm following the Knicks on the side now because of my boy Jamal (sshhh don't tell the Bulls fans) looks like you guys have a pretty nice squad going. I watched MOhammed at UK since I live in Ky and he is better than a lot of people realize. Ariza is really looking solid to me. Good luck!


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