Knick nack

The basketball preseason opens tonight for my beloved New York Knickerbockers, so forgive me a moment of obviously unwarranted optimism — it’s likely the only chance I’ll have to be optimistic about the Knicks.

Five reasons for optimism:

  1. Channing Frye — The young power forward showed last season that he will be a good player in the NBA, possibly an all-star. But he was a bit soft. So this year, he comes in bigger and stronger and could be the down-low presence the team needs.
  2. Eddy Curry — The center has all the tools. The big question is whether he has the attitude. Freed from Larry Brown’s accusatory stare (and let’s face it, Brown was as much to blame for last year’s disaster as the players, the GM and ownership — it truly was a team effort), Curry might just find the confidence to shine.
  3. The Marbury/Francis tandem — If these guys can find a way to coexist and play some D, then we could have one of the best backcourts in the league — especially with Jamaal Crawford developing into a solid performer.
  4. Jamaal Crawford — Right now, he is the team’s best player. His defense has improved, he handles the ball well and he’s a streaky shooter. But he has game and is willing to take the big shot.
  5. Isaiah Thomas — Thomas is bringing a fresh attitude to the team after a year of turmoil and bad vibes. This is his roster and he maybe the right guy to get it to play better.

Five reasons for skepticism (call this the reality-based category):

  1. Isaiah Thomas — This is his team and it remains dysfunctional and badly constructed. If he comes to this job with the same lack of foresight and shapeshifting that he approaches roster building, then the Knicks are doomed to repeat last year’s debacle.
  2. Marbury/Francis — If they can’t coexist, if they can’t share the ball with each other or the other important Knicks then guys like Frye, Curry and Crawford will not grow as players and the team will lose 60.
  3. Eddy Curry — He proves to be the next Jerome James.
  4. Jalen Rose — What is he doing here? His presence can only mean trouble down the road.
  5. Dolan and Thomas — No one should have any illusions that these guys know what they are doing.

So there it is. At least I can watch the Mets.

South Brunswick Post, The Cranbury Press
The Blog of South Brunswick

Email me at grassroots at comcast dot net.
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Author: hankkalet

Hank Kalet is a poet and freelance journalist. He is the economic needs reporter for NJ Spotlight, teaches journalism at Rutgers University and writing at Middlesex County College and Brookdale Community College. He writes a semi-monthly column for the Progressive Populist. He is a lifelong fan of the New York Mets and New York Knicks, drinks too much coffee and attends as many Bruce Springsteen concerts as his meager finances will allow. He lives in South Brunswick with his wife Annie.

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