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Outside shot Knicks live and die by their jump-shooting
New York's Marcus Camby, who was suspended five games for throwing a punch at San Antonio's Danny Ferry, will sit out a key stretch for the Knicks, including contests with the Bucks, Hornets and Lakers. But while the team will miss Camby's defense, especially since he'd been playing so well of late, it lives and dies by its jump-shooters. Camby doesn't have a post-up game, Larry Johnson isn't the post player he used to be, and Kurt Thomas doesn't get many offensive touches. When a team doesn't have a post game, it becomes a jump-shooting team out of necessity. This explains how New York is capable of such good wins and equally bad losses. The Knicks, who have recorded victories against the likes of the Blazers, Sixers and Spurs and lost to the Hawks, Clippers and Celtics, have tough-minded, aggressive people, and they're well coached defensively. Because they keep games close -- they rarely let an opponent score in the 90s -- they're in almost every game. But if they're not making their outside shots, they can lose to anybody.
Nuggets going for the gold this seasonThe Denver Nuggets have gone 12-3 since Dec. 14, moving within 2 1/2 games of the Midwest Division lead. A big reason for that long stretch of good basketball can be found in their backcourt. You know Antonio McDyess is going to play well, but guards Nick Van Exel and Voshon Lenard have really stepped up.
Last week's trade with Toronto caught a few people by surprise, but it indicates that the Nuggets want to win now. The fans seem to be coming out, and they've created some excitement there. So they acquired Kevin Willis, who has experience, is a good post-up player and rebounds the ball extremely well. But in the long run, the deal could benefit Toronto. Willis is talented, but he's older than Keon Clark, who had been playing well for the Nuggets. And Tracy Murray, who was unhappy with his playing time, is a big man who can shoot from the outside. Denver wanted to make sure they have a good year, but this deal could backfire later.
Rookie Game puts youngsters' skills on displayI'll be coaching the rookies during All-Star weekend in Washington, D.C., and it promises to be a good time. Obviously, the second-year guys will have an edge, because of experience. But in a game like that, one or two players can get hot and it's anybody's to win. You try to give everybody as many minutes as you can, and then in the last six minutes or so, you try to win the game, but it's really about having a good time out there. There's not going to be many players with size in the game, so it should be open with a lot of running. That's really what the league wants, for the fans to get to see the young players in action. Since they won't be harnessed by set plays, the kids will be able to show their athleticism and their skills, which should be a lot of fun for everybody.
Kevin Loughery is a former NBA player and head coach. He appears each Sunday on CNN's This Week in the NBA.
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