COACH: Larry Brown | 2004-05: 33-49
New York Knicks

Brown will try to turn things around in New York.
Stephen Chernin/Getty Images/NBAE
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Larry Brown comes home to New York, where he will try to make a team out of a talented group of individuals. The Knicks were one of the most inconsistent teams in the league last year, but the weapons are there for them to be very dangerous. It's a matter of getting them to play together and to play defense. Brown may be just the man to do that, and if he can, they could challenge for a playoff spot again.

The Knicks shipped Kurt Thomas to Phoenix in exchange for Quentin Richardson, who, along with Stephon Marbury and Jamal Crawford, gives them quite an explosive perimeter trio. Each is a long-range threat, but all three can be trigger-happy at times, so the challenge for Brown offensively will be to get them playing as an unselfish, cohesive unit. With Marbury's ability to penetrate and draw defenders, he should be able to get open looks for both Crawford and Richardson. Anfernee Hardaway may not be able to give you a full 82 games anymore, but Brown could use his leadership off the bench.

In the frontcourt, the Knicks signed Jerome James to replace Thomas' size. James won't give them the consistency or the offense that Thomas provided, but he can be a solid rebounder and shot-blocker to anchor the New York defense. At the start of training camp, they dealt Michael Sweetney, Jermaine Jackson and Tim Thomas to Chicago for Eddy Curry and Antonio Davis. Curry can give the Knicks some scoring down low, but he is not a good rebounder for his size and his health is a big question mark. Davis, Maurice Taylor and Malik Rose give them decent frontline depth.

The Knicks had a very nice draft, taking Channing Frye with the eighth pick, David Lee with the 30th pick, and then acquiring Nate Robinson, the No. 21 pick, in the Kurt Thomas-Quentin Richardson deal. All three draftees played well in summer league. Brown has a reputation of not liking to play young players, but these three, along with second-year swingman Trevor Ariza may be better suited for Brown's style of play than most of the veterans. Frye may start if Curry is not ready. Otherwise, he could eventually challenge James for his spot in the lineup. Robinson will be a nice spark off the bench and Lee could give them even more depth down low.

Knicks Mini Plans 2005-06
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Conflict of Interests?

Marbury
Brown reportedly had problems with Marbury in the 2004 Olympics and he's not the type of point guard that Brown typically has leading his team. Stephon will need to change his style in order to keep Brown happy and to set an example for his younger teammates. Chauncey Billups was able to adjust to Brown's style enough to win a championship in Detroit. Marbury will need to be more of a distributor and more of a leader. Brown may also try to get Jamal Crawford to handle the ball more and make Marbury more of a shooting guard.

16-9
THE STAT
The Knicks were 16-9 (.640) last season when Stephon Marbury dished out 10 assists or more. They were 16-41 (.281) when he recorded 9 assists or less.
X&O STRENGTH

Frye
I like Frye. People say he's soft. I don't buy that. Tim Duncan had the same reputation coming out of college. Frye knows how to play. He has a good outside shot. He has a feel for the game that not a lot of big guys have... I like the Nate Robinson pickup. He's a very good player. They had a really good draft. The kid Lee from Florida is not bad either. He's pretty tough. He can bang around and do the dirty work.

X&O WEAKNESS
Two keys for them will be Jerome James and Channing Frye. James improved with Seattle last year. He has always been out of condition, but he improved greatly last year. But you have to ask why Seattle let him go if there's a shortage of 7-footers around... Their guard defense is not terrific.

HEAD COACH PHILOSOPHY
Larry Brown is a coach that likes to share the basketball. Marbury likes to have it. Crawford likes to have it. Robinson plays that way too... It will be very interesting to see how Brown molds this team. I think his preference would be to play strong defense. Whether this team can do that, I don't know... The biggest key for Larry Brown is to get everybody on the same page offensively, handling the basketball. The best way to do it would be to make Marbury the off-guard, but I'm sure everybody's tried to do that... I don't think this is a bad basketball team. In this division, they have the second most talent if James comes around. If Houston can come back, they're going to be pretty good.
-- Kevin Loughery (courtesy of the National Basketball Coaches Association)

Stephon Marbury: Always puts up good stats and is rarely injured.
Jerome James: Don't take much from last year's first round. Frye could challenge him for the starting job at some point.
"They are one headcase after another, all the way up and down the line. All those guys have a ton of talent, and if you can get them to play the right way, they will be the surprise team in the East... Quentin Richardson is a nice pickup. He gives them another legitimate outside threat... The rookies are solid, but they have a very veteran team, and that's how they're going to be successful if it happens. Brown doesn't like rookies anyway. It will be interesting if the rookies are good enough that he can use them as a hammer, as a threat to the veterans. If they're not, then the veterans are not going to buckle under no matter what if they know they can't win with the young guys. You have to have the threat of, not only throwing the guy in there, but the team having success when you do. If you don't, then it's a hollow threat... They're better than they were, because they have the best coach in the NBA right now."
-- Eastern Conference scout
PLAYER/2004-05 STATS
PPG
RPG
APG
PG
21.7
3.0
8.1
SG
17.7
2.9
4.3
SF
14.9
6.1
2.0
PF
16.1
5.4
0.6
C
4.9
3.0
0.2
F
5.9
3.0
1.1
F-C
7.0
5.9
1.1
F-C
--
--
--
G-F
7.3
2.4
2.0
F
--
--
--
F
8.3
4.4
0.7
F-C
Trade
F-C
Trade
F-C
Draft
C
Free agent
F
Draft
G-F
Trade
G
Draft
G
Retired
G
Trade
F
Trade
F-C
Trade
F
Trade
F
Waived
PPG
21.7
RPG
10.4
APG
8.1
SPG
1.49
BPG
+0.99
Points Scored
97.3
(14th)
Points Allowed
99.7
(18th)
Field-Goal Percentage
.451
(11th)
Opponents' FG%
.465
(28th)
Rebounding Diff.
-0.72
(18th)
Nov. 4 vs. Washington (7:30 p.m. ET, MSG)
The Knicks open their home opener with last year's surprise team in the East.
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