Of course I would like to see him become a better passing PG but off the bench I have no problem with him looking for his shot first for the most part especially when he is on fire like he was several times last season.

What pre-requisites make a good point guard in MD’s system? I do not remember very many pick and rolls with Amare and TD leading to amare dunks (like with Felton). Is it merely that he needs time to develop his P&R game?

Given his general role of bench spark, it seems that would generally necessitate a shoot first mentality (remember the quality of the second unit he usually plays with). Is there anything someone can point to that suggests his passing numbers would not improve if he ran the point on a more regular basis.

Anyway – a couple comments:
- I’d give Toney a 3 on offense – he was exactly what we expected. Streaky shooter to be sure, below average distributor. But he took care of the ball (1.6 TO/36) and absolutely carried the offense at times.
- I’d give him a 4 on defense – effort etc. is great but he often hung our notoriously crappy interior defense out to dry with his gambling.
- I think Toney’s most likely comps in this league is Lindsey Hunter and Bobby Jackson. This is not a bad thing, considering he was a late 1st round pick we bought with Dolan Dollars.

Lastly – re: the 5 on 5 – great job guys! The only thing I would say re: the Chris Paul thing is this: it seems quite likely to me that the owners will push for the end of sign-trades as we know them now. The point of the bird rights was for players to be incentivized to stay with their own teams, not so they could get Bird-level money and then get traded to the team of their choice a la Melo. So if that is the case, and CP3 wants to come to the Knicks, there will be no advantage to him in agreeing to sign an extension with a trade partner – no extra $ or years. No sign/trades means it’s much more likely players will just walk into FA. C’mon and walk over to New York CP3!

Big ups to Sirs John Kenney and Robert Silverman for their delightful 5-on-5 contribution!

From Chris Sheridan’s new site: “They are a lot closer to a settlement than most people realize. I know this because I talk regularly with a bunch of important people who tell me important things.”

Who will they hire to replace him, I wonder?

Hell, I’m just glad we’re still invited to do these things! Seems like it’s been a while since we saw a KBlogger weigh in on any of the 5 on 5s. Does the Mother Ship really dislike us that much? Robert: Thoughts?

Nicely done w/ the video. I would only temper the legitimate realism by saying that part of the reason Amare started to wear down was precisely because he didn’t have a reliable go-to guy to ease the scoring burden. With Melo out there, I don’t see Amare getting that level of burn… And especially if we end up with a abbreviated season.

As for Chauncey, I just don’t see his injuries as the product of being “old.” They were freak injuries, pure and simple. A Dwight Howard knee to the quad probably would’ve severed any of our legs. And while age definitely protracted what 10 years ago would’ve been a much quicker recovery process, I still think he’s got a few productive years left in the tank.

Second, I believe you’ll see my responses tomorrow on ESPN’s Friday 5 on 5, and maybe even get the chance to watch a video featuring this manly visage. Feel free to argue with me here.

As Hemingway said in Midnight in Paris, Who wants to fight?!?

Considering all the hoopla in the media over not drafting Jennings, I don’t know if I trade TD for Jennings straight up right now.