Dwayne Jones: New York Knicks Need Size

“Knicks can’t play out the string without making one more move. Gotta give Dwayne Jones a call from the D-League and get some size in here.”- Alan Hahn

Dwayne Jones is the kind of player the Knicks need in the front court. The 6′11″ 250 pounder is averaging 16.8 points, 15.4 rebounds and 1.9 blocks for the Austion Toros in the NBDL (over 32 games). He was college teammates with Jameer Nelson and Delonte West at St. Josephs. 

In his Junior season he was Atlantic 10 Defensive Player of the Year leading the conference in rebounds (11.6)  and blocks (3.0).

The Knicks are 25th in the league in rebounds per game (40.76) and blocks per game (4.20). Their differential of opponents rebounds is second worse in the league (4.78). They have also had a lot of trouble boxing the opposing team out, allowing 73 offensive rebounds the past five games.

Also, when opponents score 100+ points against New York, they are 5-29.

The Knicks need to defend the paint better and play with more toughness. Bucks center Andrew Bogut was abusing David Lee last night (24 points, 20 rebounds and 5 blocked shots).

“On my calendar I didn’t want to prove to David Lee that I belonged on the All-Star team and he didn’t,” Bogut said. “That’s not the case.”

“Perhaps, but Bogut’s dominating night proves that the Knicks can’t win big with an undersized center and that Lee belongs at power forward.”- Daily News