As Camp Begins, Knicks Have More Questions Than Answers

It’s time for a new basketball season, which is good news if you’re a Knicks fan because it means last year is over. In the wake of basketball’s version of the Hindenburg, the ‘Bockers dumped Larry Brown, moved Isiah Thomas down to the sidelines, and hoped that improved morale would be enough to get basketball’s most expensive roster back into playoff contention.The Knicks’ hopes for a Lazarus act won’t face its first reality check until November 1, when the club tips off its regular season in Memphis. But the preparation for the big day got under way this week, as the club takes its act to the mellow streets of Charleston, S.C. for some sweet tea and lots of two-a-days. In training camp, and the preseason games that follow, Knicks fans hope to find answers to some of the big questions that will determine the team’s success this year.Can the Steph and Steve show work?New York’s plan heading into the season is to pair Stephon Marbury and Steve Francis in the backcourt and use the duo’s superior quickness to make up for their lack of size and mediocre shooting. So the first question is whether Francis, the shooting guard in this arrangement, can defend the position well enough to allow the Knicks to use the small backcourt every night.There’s also the question of pace.New York’s alleged goal is to use a Phoenix-style offense that relies on pushing the ball up the court, which, if true, makes one wonder how much game film Thomas has been watching. Both Marbury and Francis can zoom to the rim and finish, but neither likes to push the ball up the court or advance it quickly up the wings; rather, they like to do their damage in half-court sets, usually after they’ve done a lot of dribbling first.So if the Knicks are going to play this style, it’s incumbent on Thomas to do the basketball equivalent of breaking wild horses. He’ll have to get two guys who have been playing the same way for nearly a decade to radically alter their style. Pardon my cynicism, but we saw how well that worked for Larry Brown. Thus, when you watch the Knicks in the preseason, don’t just look at the results — look at the pace. If the guards are racing upcourt at every opportunity, then perhaps we have something to talk about here. If the Marbury and Francis are just taking turns dribbling out the shot clock, then it’s not going to work.Are the centers in shape? While the other training camp questions require some keen observation, this one only requires a scale. Eddy Curry and Jerome James both have a history of poor conditioning that has negatively impacted their careers, not to mention the Knicks’ 2005–06 season.Curry is the bigger concern, no pun intended, since he’s potentially a 20-point scorer. To reach that potential, he needs to get in good enough shape to defend without fouling and have something left in the tank after the first quarter. But James is a key player too, since the Knicks foolishly let Jackie Butler escape in the off-season. His showing up to camp svelte and ready is about as likely as a Martian landing, but in the odd event it happens, the front-court situation looks immensely more promising.Who takes Maurice Taylor’s spot? It wasn’t too surprising when the Knicks waived forward Maurice Taylor on Friday. He was in the last year of his contract and had little chance of earning minutes ahead of Channing Frye, David Lee, and Malik Rose at power forward. Now the question is how to fill the open roster spot. New York would be down to 14 players, and it’s not like Isiah to let an opportunity for a splashy roster addition pass him by.However, it may take a while for the Knicks to cook up something since virtually every important player has signed a deal by now. One mildly intriguing name is Derek Anderson, who was recently waived by the Heat and would give the Knicks another option at shooting guard. Qyntel Woods, who played fairly well as a Knick at the tail end of last year, would be another possibility, as would (gasp!) letting an unknown earn a roster spot out of training camp. Obviously, adding any player would depend on clinching the buyout with Taylor first, but Knicks fans should keep an eye out for who might be the final off-season addition.What’s up with Q’s back? A healthy Quentin Richardson is the Knicks’ best wing player, and an important one because he does a lot of things his teammates don’t; he can shoot from downtown, post up small guards, and play good help defense.But a year ago, Richardson looked like he was 25 going on 90, airballing wide-open 3-pointers and shuffling up and down the court thanks to a bad back. Unfortunately, back problems rarely go away quietly. If Richardson is limited again this year, the Knicks will be seeing zone defenses all season; if not, he can help space the floor for Steph-and-Steve’s drives. So he’s an important guy to keep an eye on in the preseason — not necessarily for his stats, but to see how he’s moving.What about Glen Grunwald? In an effort to limit the strain of holding both the coach and team president titles, Thomas hired former Raptors general manager Glen Grunwald to join him in the front office as executive vice president for basketball operations. The two have a long history together, first as roommates at Indiana University and then as execs with the expansion Raptors. (In a sign of the times, Grunwald also operates a blog at http://glengrunwald.blogspot.com — it will be interesting to see if he keeps it up with the Knicks, who tend to be paranoid about any kind of press interaction).Speculation has already begun that Grunwald might be the successor when Thomas inevitably is replaced, because he already has experience running a franchise. This is crazy talk — if Grunwald was handpicked by Isiah, why would owner James Dolan tab him to take over? He couldn’t possibly do something that silly. Um … right?In the short-term, we may get the first taste of Grunwald’s influence if the Knicks go shopping for another player in the wake of Taylor’s departure. The hope for Knicks fans is that Grunwald might be able to talk Thomas out of some of his worst ideas. Since taking over the Knicks, Thomas hasn’t had a trusted peer he could use as a sounding board to ask him things like “Hey, you think maybe we should put some lottery protection on that draft pick?” If Grunwald can fill that role, his addition will be worth its weight in gold.

As Camp Begins, Knicks Have More Questions Than Answers

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