[JNixonParticipant]

New York:

Toney Douglass- Looks great. Has nice size for the position and above average strength. Has really improved his jump shot spotting up, and his confidence in his shot. Used Lawson’s lack of size against him, and caught him in picks to get his shots off. Made some decent slashes to the rim. Created offense for his teammates. Played mediocre to below average D on Ty Lawson, Lawson took advantage of Douglass’ high center of gravity. Douglas isn’t real fast or athletic, and isn’t very good in transition. I think the Knicks have a good backup PG in Douglass.

Andy Rautins- Did his usual 3-point bombing. Quick release and effortless range. I’m not willing to say he’s a good defender, but he did get some steals. Lacks quickness and athleticism.

Landry Fields- Played well. Has a good motor and does the little things like taking charges, making extra passes, setting screens, and fighting for rebounds and position. Has good strength. Not quite athletic or quick. Nice basketball IQ and toughness. Could be a Jared Dudley type, he’s wasn’t a bad a pick at all.

Bill Walker- Wasn’t that good. He can score around the rim and from 10 feet, but he still has a slow and ugly shot. Only average shooter from spot-up 3’s. Still not a good ball-handler. Turned it over a lot. Still very athletic and strong. Long arms. Making K-State fans proud, and making it in the NBA despite his tough road. He’s not more than a 4th or 5th option when on the floor though.

Denver:

Ty Lawson continues to show that he can soon be one of the 2 or 3 best backup PG’s in basketball. Despite playing at top speed all the time, he’s not TO prone at all and never takes bad shots. Really good in transition and in the drive and dish. Very good shooter spotting up, but not so much off the bounce. Finishes well at the rim despite size. Did get caught in picks against Douglass, which allowed Douglass to get numerous shots off. Still, great game.

Koby Carl- Give this guy a roster spot. He did a little of everything. Scored efficiently, finished strong, made jumpers, and passed extremely well. Very unselfish. Plays hard and hustles. Takes charges and doesn’t make many mistakes. He’s your son Coach Karl, put him on the team.

[the I in winParticipant]

I saw Coby Karl being stripped a lot and saw a lot of him trying to drive and getting cut off because he is too slow, don’t think he needs to be in the nba.

[Mr.Knick 32Participant]

Toney Douglas had a monster game: 27-6-5. Fields impressed me at times. Jerome Jordan? Bench guy at best.

I agree about Karl but what about Hunter? Could be a solid 3-4 big with K-Mart injured to start the season

[JNixonParticipant]

Othello Hunter has the ability to be a 4th big. He’s got athleticism and length to be a shot-blocker and he can be used to foul guys. I doubt he makes the team though. He’s a D-League player to me.

[stanford hoops]

Man iggy you hit the nail on the head with the dudly fields comparision. I think knick fans will learn to love this guy

[knicksfan7Participant]

I had nothing against the Fields pick, but Fields didn’t fit a need. Though, I am happy with the way he played.

[knicks82Participant]

Fields will fit the need if they trade Wilson Chandler…which unfortunately is looking like a strong possibility. I do like Fields though, he likes to take it to the basket, and looked good in his first game. But man Ty Lawson shouldnt even be playin in this summer league stuff he is heads and shoulders above the rest of these guys.

[stanford hoops]

Guess they figured they could fill that need in freeagency which I think they did. Chances aren’t high that you fill a need in the second round

[WillisWaltParticipant]

I caught most of the second half. I thought Fields looked great, especially his timing on the boards and his finishing off the offensive glass. Douglas looked real good, too, but he took some bad shots in the fourth quarter. I didn’t get much of a look at Jordan, but Powell looked OK. I think Bill Walker is going to be good, but he didn’t have a great game. I liked his post-game interview, and he really looks slim. I hope he didn’t take it too far. He said he lost 25 pounds. And I thought Richie Cunningham/Opie Taylor looked pretty good for Denver. Come on, you can see the resmeblance. Rautins had some nice plays and made some shots. I think the Knicks did well with those two picks, at least the way it looks now. Now we need a big game from Jerome Jordan tomorrow.

And what about this Russian center? Is that for real? Is he good? 3 years at $3 million for a team where every bit under the cap is critical next summer is a significant investment.

[JNixonParticipant]

Yeah you just go with who you like or who fits best in the 2nd round. That pick wasn’t that bad to me, but I did think Stephenson and Ebanks were better players. As I thought about it though, Stephenson wasn’t a truly good fit for their system.

[WillisWaltParticipant]

We’ll see as the season unwinds. As for today, I thought both draft picks performed admirably. I was particularly impressed with the play of Fields. Marcus Landry also looked OK. I wouldn’t mind having two Landrys on the team next year. I guess we’d have Andy, Landry, and Landry. I’m a little nervous about Jerome Jordan at this point, but he might be fine. If not, that’s what Summer League and training camp are for. I think the Knicks will make the right decision about whether to keep him. I’d still love to have Earl Barron back, though. And what about this mysterious Russian?

And we forgot to give Bill Walker his proper acknowledgment for leading the game in an important category – personal fouls. I guess he flies a little too far now that he’s lost that weight. He’ll have to re-acclimate.

I forgot to say earlier, nice analysis on the game!

[Raef LaFrentzParticipant]

I really like Bill Walker. Watching him today, yeah he didn’t that good of a game at all, but it’s not hard to see his improvements.

Shooting form- Yes, it’s unorthodox. But he can make jumpers at an above average rate, and his range has vastly improved from when he first entered the League. Clearly getting more lift on his shot as well.

Ball Handling- Still is a little sporadic with his handle, but has the ability to face up and take his opponent to the rack. Match that with his strength, athleticism and finishing ability; not a bad combination to have. Today Denver’s defense was great and they collapsed every single time Walker drove to the hole, causing a few fumbles and turnovers. With more shooters on the floor (Gallo, etc.) real defenses would have to stay a bit more honest.

Attitude- Always humble, always hungry, always himself. He doesn’t kid himself and try to portray himself as a guy who has “made it.” He knows that he has to work to succeed and he’s shown the determination to put the time in. Always plays hard, and sometimes his ferocity gets the best of him, i.e. 9 player fouls, a flagrant foul along with a technical today.

Overall, I really like this young guys chances. He’s had the chance to watch how to be a professional when he was a member of the Celtics, and I think that he’s going to continue to want to prove himself at a high level. With his improvement, weight loss, and maturation as a person and player I can see Walker playing a big role off of the Knicks’ bench this season and potentially starting if they end up shipping Chandler out of town.

[knicks82Participant]

That game was a foulfest. I think the Knicks had 58 fouls! in a 40 minute game that is rediculous. I think it was 2 woman refs and a guy and they were calling every little thing in this game.

Jerome Jordan looked like the game was moving a little too fast for him. Ill cut him some slack because he just joined the team a couple days ago, just looked lost.

[JNixonParticipant]

^Nice mr.morrison. I agree with all of that

[WillisWaltParticipant]

MrMorrison, I really like Walker, too, and also Chandler. I’m not sure about shipping Chandler out before we see whether Azubuike has recovered and will work well in D’Antoni’s system. Chandler’s proven he can play the 2, even though his best position is the 4. That’s quite a statement in itself. And isn’t Walker more of a 3 than a 2? On the other hand, we are free to use Toney Douglas at the 2 quite a bit now, and maybe he’ll end up earning the starting spot there. So things are a bit wide open. I can see Rautins and Fields contributing this year, but hopefully we won’t need them.

I still see Chandler starting at the 2 with the current roster, but it certainly seems murky.

It seems to me like:

SG Chandler starts
SF Gallinari, of course.
Backups: Azubuike at both positions, and Walker at both positions. If they’re out there together, I think Walker would play forward. Although he is converting his body to something closer to that of a guard. In any case, that’s two strong players at the wings. Also, Douglas can back up both guard spots, and should see all the minutes as backup point guard. That doesn’t leave much room for Rautins or Fields. But that’s probably best at this point. D’Antoni doesn’t like to play rookies, and they’ll grow their games in practice.

I’m excited.

[Raef LaFrentzParticipant]

@ Iggy

Thanks, man.

[sheltwon3Participant]

Ebanks would have been a better option for Knicks

[llperez]

damn, i just woke up from a nap and i missed the game I was looking forward to seeing fields do his thing since i have been sticking up for him after people got all shocked he was drafted and called him a bum. So it sounds he did all right huh?

[stanford hoops]

yep he played pretty well which isnt a suprise to me

[the I in winParticipant]

I’m glad Othello Hunter did well. I’ve met him and he is a pretty cool guy, very humble.

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