Why The Knicks Are Struggling

[Mr. J]

It?s not the fault of Stephon Marbury. If you?re looking for justification for the Knicks? 7-20 record, look no further than the so-called greatest coach himself, Larry Brown. Brown has had some positive effects on the Knicks. Jamal Crawford has improved drastically under him as has Marbury?s defense. However, overall Brown is the reason why we?re struggling. Don?t get me wrong??the roster is far from flawless??but it?s better than 7-20.

In 27 games, Brown has used over 20 different starting lineups. David Lee went from not playing at all against New Jersey to starting against Orlando. This brings me to my next point. Brown?s ?you can start in your hometown? thing is ridiculous. What kind of sense does that make? If the Knicks still had Bruno Sundov and there was an NBA team in Croatia, I bet he?d start him too. Everyone on the roster has the same agenda which is to win. Brown isn?t getting paid 50 million dollars to please the crowd. I?m thoroughly convinced if someone like Herb Williams, Lenny Wilkins or even Don Chaney were coaching, we would have a better record.

Do you wonder why the team is inconsistent? Look no further than Brown?s coaching. One game you?ll start, the next game you?re on the inactive list, then the next game you play 30 minutes and then the next game you?ll log a DNP. How in the world are players supposed to adjust to this? Our severe turnover problem is directly connected to this. Players play inconsistent minutes with each other and barely get a chance to gel. This is why the chemistry has been so shaky.

I?m sometimes baffled by his substitutions too. The game that keeps coming to my mind is that Golden State game at the Garden. We were trailing for most of the game until he put in the young guys who got us a five-point lead. Instead of continuing to play them, our momentum gets crushed when he decides to re-insert the veterans. That was a very winnable game that slipped through our hands. There are a couple of more games similar to this where Brown decides to do this.

I know there?s an adjustment period when dealing with Brown, but right now he?s not coaching ?the right way.? So many times during the press conference after the losses he says, ?I have to do a better job coaching,? or ?I?m going to shorten the rotation? after playing all active twelve players for what, the twentieth consecutive time? All talk and no action is what we?re getting from him. Often times we point fingers at Isiah Thomas and Stephon Marbury for the Knicks? early season struggles, and although responsible to a certain degree, Brown should receive the majority of the heat because the misfortune this season is mostly due to him.

 

[Platehpus]

Excellent state of the Knicks address MJ! I think if anyone deserves the blame for the Knicks this season, it should clearly go to the highest paid player. That's right, the reason we are 7-20 is not because of shoddy defense or uninspired play...but Allan Houston. No, seriously though, I think you're giving Brown too much flak for trying to teach a bunch of raw athletes how to truly play basketball. It doesn't happen in a quarter of a season, and I highly doubt it'll even happen this year. Eventually, Larry Brown is going to be Larry Brown and he will optimize the lineup.

 

[j0se]

To think a basketball team is 7-20 because of a Hall of Fame coach is basically mentallity retarded.

My apologies.

 

[Tribute to H2O]

<div class="quote_poster">Quoting MrJ:</div><div class="quote_post">It?s not the fault of Stephon Marbury. If you?re looking for justification for the Knicks? 7-20 record, look no further than the so-called greatest coach himself, Larry Brown. Brown has had some positive effects on the Knicks. Jamal Crawford has improved drastically under him as has Marbury?s defense. However, overall Brown is the reason why we?re struggling. Don?t get me wrong??the roster is far from flawless??but it?s better than 7-20.

In 27 games, Brown has used over 20 different starting lineups. David Lee went from not playing at all against New Jersey to starting against Orlando. This brings me to my next point. Brown?s ?you can start in your hometown? thing is ridiculous. What kind of sense does that make? If the Knicks still had Bruno Sundov and there was an NBA team in Croatia, I bet he?d start him too. Everyone on the roster has the same agenda which is to win. Brown isn?t getting paid 50 million dollars to please the crowd. I?m thoroughly convinced if someone like Herb Williams, Lenny Wilkins or even Don Chaney were coaching, we would have a better record.

Do you wonder why the team is inconsistent? Look no further than Brown?s coaching. One game you?ll start, the next game you?re on the inactive list, then the next game you play 30 minutes and then the next game you?ll log a DNP. How in the world are players supposed to adjust to this? Our severe turnover problem is directly connected to this. Players play inconsistent minutes with each other and barely get a chance to gel. This is why the chemistry has been so shaky.

I?m sometimes baffled by his substitutions too. The game that keeps coming to my mind is that Golden State game at the Garden. We were trailing for most of the game until he put in the young guys who got us a five-point lead. Instead of continuing to play them, our momentum gets crushed when he decides to re-insert the veterans. That was a very winnable game that slipped through our hands. There are a couple of more games similar to this where Brown decides to do this.

I know there?s an adjustment period when dealing with Brown, but right now he?s not coaching ?the right way.? So many times during the press conference after the losses he says, ?I have to do a better job coaching,? or ?I?m going to shorten the rotation? after playing all active twelve players for what, the twentieth consecutive time? All talk and no action is what we?re getting from him. Often times we point fingers at Isiah Thomas and Stephon Marbury for the Knicks? early season struggles, and although responsible to a certain degree, Brown should receive the majority of the heat because the misfortune this season is mostly due to him.</div>


Let me think about this one...you're blaming a Hall of Fame coach for our lousy play? I really dont see how you can do that. Larry Brown cant go out on the floor and run the point. He can't rebound the basketball for us. He cant go out and play defense although he probably should since he'd be the best perimeter defender that we have besides Ariza. Larry Brown uses so many different line ups because he's trying to find one that can win, a search that has been and will continue to be fruitless as long as Isiah is hanging around. Imagine what our record would be like if we didnt have Larry Brown. In the last four years we've had a former Coach of the Year(Chaney), the winningest coach in history(Wilkins), an assistant coach aspiring to be head coach(Williams) and now we have a Hall of Fame coach(Larry Brown). All of them have and still are failing miserably with this team. I think it's time to stop complaining about the coaching and start complaining about the group of players Isiah put together.


Anyway I think Isiah Thomas should be fired.

 

[Mr. J]

<div class="quote_poster">Quoting Tribute to H2O:</div><div class="quote_post">Let me think about this one...you're blaming a Hall of Fame coach for our lousy play? I really dont see how you can do that. Larry Brown cant go out on the floor and run the point. He can't rebound the basketball for us. He cant go out and play defense although he probably should since he'd be the best perimeter defender that we have besides Ariza. Larry Brown uses so many different line ups because he's trying to find one that can win, a search that has been and will continue to be fruitless as long as Isiah is hanging around. Imagine what our record would be like if we didnt have Larry Brown. In the last four years we've had a former Coach of the Year(Chaney), the winningest coach in history(Wilkins), an assistant coach aspiring to be head coach(Williams) and now we have a Hall of Fame coach(Larry Brown). All of them have and still are failing miserably with this team. I think it's time to stop complaining about the coaching and start complaining about the group of players Isiah put together.</div>
The Knicks roster isn't perfect, but I am very sure we would have more wins with Chaney and Wilkens. I know he's searching for the perfect combination, but (correct me if I'm wrong) 25 different starting lineups in 28 games is just disturbing chemistry. Players are finding it difficult to adjust to one another because of this. How can you expect players to always find their groove playing minutes so inconsistently? By his own admission he has to do a better job coaching and I agree. With that said, I think eventually he'll get it all together and we'll get on track. But as of now, a lot of our losing is due to Brown.

 

[bbwSwish]

What kind of coach starts a bench player just because he is visiting his hometown? A coach is supposed to put the players that give his team the best chance to win into the game. For example, the other day when the Knicks came to Orlando, Brown started David Lee because he played at the University of Florida. I agree with what MrJ said about the changes in the roster. It doesn't allow the players to develop chemistry and as a player it must be frustrating when you don't know your role night in and night out.

 

[Midnight Green]

<div class="quote_poster">Quoting Swish15:</div><div class="quote_post">What kind of coach starts a bench player just because he is visiting his hometown? </div>
Scott Skiles said he was going to do the same thing with Eddie Basden when the Bulls visited Charlotte, but did not because Basden missed the team bus. A lot of coaches like to reward rookies who are working hard with a start in their home town.

 

[giftedvisionz]

I agree Brown's substitution patterns have always been controversial, but it's just unreasonable to blame the record on him. The reason he keeps changing lineups is because he can't seem to find a rotation that WILL get the team to win. Isiah's the one to blame because of his rediculous and often transactions that make the job harder for Brown. With that said though, I think Brown can improve on letting his players find their groove by giving them consistent minutes.

 

[Mr. J]

With a set rotation, the Knicks are 3-0.