Over at Balls Don’t Lie, J.E. Skeets gives his thoughts on the Knicks this season and I think he’s pretty spot on except with his take on Chris Duhon.

“…KD’s Endless Grey Ribbon: You know, the more I think about it, the ascension of Chris Duhon to the top of the point guard heap in New York seems as much of a bum move as trading for Zach Randolph to play alongside Eddy Curry, or any of the other chemistry missteps of the Isiah Thomas era.

I like Chris, I truly do, but he’s not the most able guy in transition, you don’t have to guard him anywhere on the court, he’s not a creative passer, he’s not even that good a passer (he’ll get assists, eventually, but in the Brevin Knight-style, while doing well in Assist Ratio); and though the expectations are low, it doesn’t make his nomination to be a heartbeat away — er, the leader of one of the league’s most storied franchises — any smarter.

But because you think “plucky” and “dogged” when it comes to Duhon, instead of “selfish” or “overweight” as it was during Isiah’s era, the move seems like a step in the right direction. Even if Duhon is in over his head. I know he’s only around for two years, and that he isn’t being asked to do much, but his place on this team is pretty symbolic. He’s the temporary housing you put outside the radioactive zone for the displaced residents, following the nuclear fallout…”

We understand what Duhon gives you offensively. He’s not flashy and won’t dominate the box score and that’s why we think starting him is the wise move. He gets he offense started with passes, instead of having to pound the ball 500 times before making a decision.

I know he had 7 turnovers the other night, but let’s be patient. He owns a career 2-to-1 assist/turnover ratio and he rarely ever takes a bad shot.

“Bad shot” is a phrase thrown around alot, but what exactly does it mean? Certainly, I believe that  it will be redefined under D’Antoni as he gives everyone the green light, but my definition of a bad shot is two fold.

1. It’s a shot taken in transition without giving your teammates the chance to for an offensive rebound, often turning into transition baskets the other way.
2. It’s using too much of the shot clock, thus creating a “forced” shot out of despiration to beat the clock.

The funny thing is that if “bad shots”rarely result in offensive rebounds, shouldn’t THEY be counted as turnovers? If that were the case Marbury and Crawford, even Nate, would average a combined 20 TOs a game. Maybe more.

So give Duhon a break for know. His turnovers will reduce and especially pay attention to what he does defensively. It’s  something we’re not used to: excellent ball pressure, footwork, and ability to not get beat off the dribble. Heck, I loved when he bear hugged one of the Toronto big men the other night, refusing to give up a layup.

If Donnie Walsh evaluated last year that the team lacked a facilitator, trust his judgement. Duhon’s presense may equal plenty more wins, just by the sheer efforts (or lack there of) from the guards that we’ve seen over the past few years, and the fact that he takes so few bad shots.