Friday, November 27th, 2009 at 11:00 am  |  47 responses

Knicks Sticking With Struggling Duhon

Everyone else on the planet knows that Chris Duhon is terrible, but the Knicks (especially his coach, Mike D’Antoni) are still in denial: “Eventually a slump  becomes a standard. Perhaps Chris Duhon’s strong first half last season was the exception rather than the rule. If that’s the case, what he’s shown in most of the calendar year of 2009 – especially in these first 15 games of the season – should be cause for concern for the Knicks, whose anemic offense has had them on the ropes well before Dec. 1. ‘I’m worried about it now,’ Mike D’Antoni said. ‘I think he’s worried. I’m worried. But he’s the guy that can get up to a level that can bring us back. And we’re going to stick there until you can’t stick anymore. I’m sticking with him.’ D’Antoni said he won’t bench Duhon because ‘he’s our best option’ at the point guard position. This is said only after the franchise opted not to sign Allen Iverson and hand the offense – read: the ball – over to him. How fatal that decision was to this season remains painfully evident with every shot that Duhon misses and every bounce pass on a pick-and-roll that he throws too low or off the foot of a teammate.”

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  • Bryan Posted: Nov.27 at 11:11 am
    F*cking idiots.

  • iLL wiLL Posted: Nov.27 at 11:14 am
    That’s what happens when Duhon is your point guard. No offense, Chris.

  • Brad Long Posted: Nov.27 at 11:17 am
    Of course they are.

  • doyouwantmore Posted: Nov.27 at 11:22 am
    Steve Nash is the coach that got the Phoenix Suns the respect they have today.

  • Gerard Himself Posted: Nov.27 at 11:22 am
    bahahaha Duhon is not terrible. Just better off as a back-up point guard. He performed pretty well when he had that role with Chicago.

  • Brent Posted: Nov.27 at 11:22 am
    God he sucks.

  • niQ Posted: Nov.27 at 11:23 am
    Bad Move. Bad Idea. Definitely in Denial.

  • 360vue Posted: Nov.27 at 11:41 am
    i think anyone whos read my posts on NYK know I don’t have any respect for Duhon’s game except that 22dime game. he can’t run the team (yet), he can’t control tempo (yet), a pretty weak handle for an NBA guard, no clutch decision making, generally average decision making full stop. although hes got a solid pass and decent vision and not a respectable shot but as a PG he’s not going to be much more than bogstandard… still, it is good to see a coach keepin faith in the player, duhon IS better than he is playin right now and he WILL come out of it. Knicks cant get much worse than they are, although Douglas and Hughes should probably be given more minutes till Duhon does improve, but keep starting him is a good boost of confidence for player. but at his age I don’t see much ceiling except for the mental aspects and general ball IQ

  • Yesse Posted: Nov.27 at 12:10 pm
    He was good last season and he was setting assist records for the NYK franchise, but this year he has been disappointing.Knicks should reconsider AI.

  • sbrubbles Posted: Nov.27 at 12:18 pm
    @iLL wiLL: LOL @ “No offense, Chris”! Nicely punned, sir!

  • Exile Posted: Nov.27 at 1:35 pm
    I Don’t think AI alone will fix the Knicks. Duhon at least is someone who gets floor time now that can perhaps be salvaged as a back-up once the organization gets a chance to re-load (in whatever capacity they can).

  • Russ Bengtson Posted: Nov.27 at 2:09 pm
    Hey, he’s only 27, he’s got plenty of time to learn how to play basketball.

  • Hoodsnake Posted: Nov.27 at 2:55 pm
    I knew this was an article on ‘how-could-the- Knicks-pass-on-Iverson’ Oh well…

  • Hoodsnake Posted: Nov.27 at 2:56 pm
    I knew this was an article on ‘how-could-the- Knicks-pass-on-Iverson?’ Oh well…

  • Russ Bengtson Posted: Nov.27 at 3:01 pm
    If there’s been a worse NBA starting backcourt than Duhon/Hughes in recent history (on purpose, not due to injury), I can’t remember it.

  • Robert Williams Posted: Nov.27 at 4:33 pm
    duhon is the worst pg that the knicks ever had. but there is a silver lining here, we will also have enough loot to get a real point guard come 2011
    soon to be free agent chris paul will be shopping in the big apple. if we cant get d-wade or lebron, then we get a big or two, amare or bosh, make no mistake we need pg that can give us 28.pt&12.asst per night.
    floor general. (did i say chris paul?)
    2011 not 2010. we are exactly 2 years away.
    is lebron comming (yes)he leaves clevland without a ring. comes to ny gets two or three.
    i would have taken iverson without a blink. can you see him and nate on the court at the same time. (wow)

  • Ricky G Posted: Nov.27 at 5:43 pm
    Whoa whoa, before anybody calls an NBA player (especially Duhon who is almost average human being height) terrible we need to look at ourselves. This guy would breeze past any guy that posts comments on this website in a game of ball. So he’s not terrible, no NBA player is terrible, these guys make up about .005% of the world population of basketball players and they will all kick our a**es at ball hands down.

  • Teddy-the-Bear Posted: Nov.27 at 5:45 pm
    I’m still in denial that Larry Hughes is on the Knicks, and getting more shots than Wilson Chandler or Danilo Gallinari. Is this some kind of joke, or is it just the Knicks’ management?

  • Teddy-the-Bear Posted: Nov.27 at 5:45 pm
    Why are the Knicks purposely sucking @ss? WHY?!

  • ab_40 Posted: Nov.27 at 7:48 pm
    is fire Mike D a chant yet? if not it should start somewhere around wednesday next week.

  • Tuomas Posted: Nov.27 at 8:22 pm
    FIRE CHANEY! What, you mean those were the golden years? Nevermind then.

  • chintao Posted: Nov.27 at 9:21 pm
    I’ve been leading those “Fire D’Antoni” chants from my couch in Beijing since he was hired. Clearly the D’Antoni regime values some other imperatives more highly than winning. Guards on the Knicks roster that are better than Duhon, but that have not been called upon to start in his place: 1) Stephon Marbury; and 2) Toney Douglas. Guards that the Knicks might have acquired and that should be starting in Duhon’s place right now: 1) Brandon Jennings; 2) Ty Lawson; 3) Jason Williams (who certainly would have declined in order to take his current job); and 4) Allen Iverson.

  • The Philosopher Posted: Nov.27 at 9:38 pm
    Johnny Dawkins was the last of the Duke point guards.

  • gomez Posted: Nov.27 at 10:59 pm
    would’ve been fun watching A.I play in a knicks jersey..

  • Jrooks mad D Posted: Nov.27 at 11:31 pm
    Chris duhon sucks and they are street ballers that can beat nba players and nba players arnt the best every time a street baller beat a nba player they hide the tape ill kill that dude oneonone

  • Jrooks mad D Posted: Nov.27 at 11:38 pm
    Chris duhon sucks and they are street ballers that can beat nba players and nba players arnt the best every time a street baller beat a nba player they hide the tape ill kill that dude oneonone

  • Jrooks mad D Posted: Nov.27 at 11:50 pm
    Let me tell you how it happens a bum jv player turns into a bum uarsity player and they send them to a milion camps to get descovered and a bum varsity player turns into a collage player and if they can be marketed then they become bum nba players

  • Jrooks mad D Posted: Nov.27 at 11:50 pm
    Let me tell you how it happens a bum jv player turns into a bum uarsity player and they send them to a milion camps to get descovered and a bum varsity player turns into a collage player and if they can be marketed then they become bum nba players.

  • nastierthanu Posted: Nov.28 at 3:21 pm
    Cosign Ricky D its hard to call any nba baller a bun but to use ur own words he is of average height that being said I’m positive I could give this kid a hard time. I’m sure a lot of cats could. @the philosopher. I love lefty ballers but jphnny dawkins wasn’t the last. Jay williams was the last and nastier than dawkins.

  • Holiday Posted: Nov.28 at 4:15 pm
    Hell yeah keep losing, the Jazz have there upcoming draft pick!

  • tavoris Posted: Nov.28 at 4:40 pm
    Well, Larry Hughes can play the 1. Put Wilson Chander the 2 and keep it moving. Duhon is effective, but D’Antoni’s offense is VERY PG-centric and there are really only a handful of guards that won’t wlt under tha kind of pressure. Hint: it’s only Nash, Paul, Williams.

  • tavoris Posted: Nov.28 at 4:42 pm
    or maybe just fire D’Antoni and stop expecting Duhon to turn coal into diamonds like Nash did.

  • tealish Posted: Nov.28 at 5:37 pm
    Ladies and gentlemen, your New York Knicks. Far and above, the team best suited to acquire Allen Iverson. I could see it working and I know I’m an optimistic regarding AI, but I think if NY gave him the keys to their team, they could potentially be in the running for that 8th seed, no joke. I think Kenny Smith brought up an interesting point — perhaps, NY is more scared that he’ll play well, making things difficult in 2010. It’s a valid point, because would a LeBron want to come with AI being at least a co-focal point of the offense? Maybe he would, but I’m not sure.

  • tealish Posted: Nov.28 at 5:39 pm
    All I know is these current Knicks aren’t winning jack with Duhon.

  • Teddy-the-Bear Posted: Nov.28 at 9:01 pm
    Only guys Knicks should keep: Ninja Al, Wil Chandler, David Lee, and maybe Danilo Gallinari.

  • L Posted: Nov.29 at 6:38 am
    Duhon is an average back up not much more. The knicks just try to give themselves the best chance to draft John Wall and yes sticking w Duhon is the best option for that plan… Still can’t believe they didnot draft B Jennings. L

  • BranGor Posted: Nov.29 at 9:32 am
    @L Please comment on slam only after you’ve watched your first season of NBA basketball.

  • ConeyIslander Posted: Nov.29 at 10:59 am
    Is it weird that a DESPISE my favorite team? Is it weird that every time I see Brandon Jennings play out of his mind I find a picture of Jordan Hill and burn it? No, I know whats weird….ME BEING A KNICK FAN IN THE FIRST PLACE! FML

  • L Posted: Nov.29 at 5:17 pm
    @BranGor Please comment on Slam when you have something relevant to say. L

  • Spencer Posted: Nov.29 at 8:02 pm
    Robert Williams, its embarassing that your banking on “your team” to have a big free off season to improve your team.

  • chintao Posted: Nov.30 at 1:39 am
    Addendum to my prior lists @ Nov.27 at 9:21 pm ==> Ramon Sessions and Nate Robinson.

  • ClydeSays Posted: Nov.30 at 4:27 am
    Still don’t understand why D’Antoni/Walsh passed on Sessions. He was affordable, young, talented, etc. I doubt he would keep the Knicks out of the Lottery but maybe they’d be respectable. Oh yeah, the Knicks don’t have their ’10 pick, so they don’t care about being respectable or the Lottery. They just care about cap space for next summer’s shopping spree. Good luck with that.

  • Dacre Posted: Nov.30 at 6:00 am
    I get a little annoyed when i read that teams aren’t going to bring in a veteran star (read A.I) because it will “distrupt the development of a younger player”. This is or at least can be an absolutely rubbish philosophy, essentially because ideally you would LOVE to have an ‘all-world’ PG to show the young guys how to get to their potential. Basically guys like Mike Conley and Chris Duhon need an A.I….or a jason Kidd or a nash for that matter to actually show them how not to make easy mistakes, or at the least show them how to make the positive contributions outway the negative…. the next step along would be showing them how to win at the NBA level.

  • tavoris Posted: Nov.30 at 10:17 am
    Sessions hasn’t exactly been lighting it up either this season.

  • Jukai Posted: Nov.30 at 5:24 pm
    L: Knicks can’t get John Wall. They have no first round draft pick. If the Knicks tank, Utah gets to pick up John Wall.
    So, really, sticking with Duhon is just dumb in all levels.

  • nbk Posted: Nov.30 at 5:36 pm
    dacre : AI was an All-World SG not PG. ANd he had to do things so much different given the circumstances he overcame that he really has very little to teach a player trying to fit in. This has been stated on basketball sites, here included over and over again. Iverson’s personality had to be the way it is for him to be as successfull as he was, the downside is, that personality does not translate to a Tutoring role. Iverson is the Alpha Dog still picking fights without teeth. He has the heart but not the mind to take on a new role.

  • ConeyIslander Posted: Nov.30 at 6:25 pm
    Does no one feel this lowly Knick fans pain!? I have a team comprised of glorified 6th men! How can I be happy when AL HARRINGTON is the best player on my team! Ofcourse Chris Dohon is playing like garbage! He’s a subpar back up point guard! Everytime I see Brandon Jennings drop dimes with lazer like precision I shed a tear and ask “why not in white, orange and blue”? Instead I have Jordan Hill who won’t be worth his weight in dirt until the Knicks trade him and he becomes an allstar! Enough, I’m gonna go cry now!

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