With the start of the season is coming, I have two teams to go in order to finish the Eastern Conference Team Previews. And even though something like 98% of all fantasy leagues have already drafted, I’m going to get there before Tuesday. Unfortunately, the USB flash drive where I keep all my work disappeared from the face of the Earth last week, so I’m going to have to run condensed versions of the Knicks and Bulls previews. My apologies to any fans of those teams, but know that I did twice the work to get half the content.
If you only have time to remember one important fact about the Knicks, make it this one: while their disappointing performance in real life is due to the fascinating work of Isiah Thomas, their disappointing fantasy performance was more Larry Brown than Thomas. His inconsistent and seemingly random rotations coupled with injuries caused just about every Knick to finish the season below expectations. In fact, they had the worst “best†player (Marbury) in the league last year. With Thomas at the helm, expect more consistency and a better showing from the Knicks’ core.
2005/2006 RANKINGS
(84) Stephon Marbury
(88) Jamal Crawford
(91) Steve Francis
(126) Channing Frye
(168) Eddy Curry
(174) Jalen Rose
(211) Qyntel Woods
(213) Nate Robinson
(230) Quentin Richardson
(252) Jackie Butler
(253) David Lee
(292) Malik Rose
(365) Jerome James
IN
(193) Jared Jeffries
(332) Kelvin Cato
(NA) Renaldo Balkman
OUT
No one important
BUY
Stephon Marbury – Last year, he had his worst season since 1996. Healthy now, he should bounce back to his old self and be a steal in the 5th round of a draft.
Steve Francis – It appears that he’ll be starting along with Marbury – which is a good sign for his value. I have him pegged as a solid sleeper candidate if you need a PG towards the end of a draft.
Channing Frye – Probably hurt the most by Larry Brown’s inconsistent rotations – he was solid when he played – and more consistent playing time should lead to a nice improvement over last.
HOLD
Jamal Crawford – Despite the hot finish to last season, he’ll be coming off the bench again this year. I do think he’ll get enough minutes to be worthy of a 10th or so round pick and a spot on your team.
SELL
Jared Jeffries – Had the starting job, but a wrist injury will put him on the shelf until December. This will likely give Quentin Richardson an extending opportunity to take Jeffries spot outright (see below).
Eddy Curry – Looks like a change of scenery wasn’t the answer.
Jalen Rose – He could be of some value on the right team, but the Knicks aren’t the right team. His 19 points a game in 04/05 already seems like forever ago.
WATCH
Quentin Richardson – Knickerblogger writes that Jeffries injury gives him an opportunity to step up and so far in the preseason he’s done just that.
Where We Drafted Em (Our 10 Team Mock Draft)
Stephon Marbury – 5th
Steve Francis – 10th
Channing Frye – 10th
Jamal Crawford – 11th
Eddy Curry – 13th
Jared Jeffries – DND (injury)