Season Preview: Take 3

by Tommy Dee on October 29th, 2008 at 11:41 am

X’s and O’s

As you can probably tell already, I’m an X’s and O’s guy, having coached and scouted, right or wrong, I tend to see things a little differently.

So when I think of the 2008-09 Knicks, I won’t bother to mention a record. I will give you things to look at structurally ,from an offensive and defensive standpoint, which will serve as the barometer for this team’s success.

All good offensive teams have balance and what Coach D’Antoni has instituted right off the bat is a structure for understanding shots and the ability to get them. That is led by running the floor with a pass-first point guard in Chris Duhon. What the hell is a pass-first point guard? Well, the point guard is the offense’s engine, and what has plagued this team is the fact that their guards have become shoot first, reward players second. I think back to the last game of the year (preseason) against the Nets when Brook Lopez blocked a shot and ran the floor and Clyde Frazier screamed, “Reward the big man for blocking the shot!” Right on cue Devon Harris found Lopez. That “rewarding” is contagious amongst teammates and makes players play hard, not for themselves, but for each other all night long.

By “balanced” I don’t necessarily mean in the scoring column either. Balance to me is being equally good in half court sets as it is in transition. Games are won and lost when a good offense can feature players 5-5 against both the defense and the shot clock. That’s balance.

Defensively, little things like getting over screens or helping each other if you get beat can do wonders for team defense. The idea is not to get beat off the dribble and allowing for your teammate to make up for your mistake, but if it happens you need to trust that your teammate will be there for you. It’s why people say defense is all effort, if you win more one-on-one battles than you lose at each position then you won’t have any weaknesses to exploit. D’Antoni must identify those weaknesses and find a solution. For me the biggest weakness is their guards (Marbury, Robinson, Crawford) getting under screens and allowing for good shooters an uncontested look from the perimeter. Also, the team’s lack of interior presence means the guards and forwards have to work that much harder to protect the basket. Also, notice how many open looks opposing guards get from the top of the key, I’ll disagree with Clyde that the corner three is the easiest because it’s the closest, the straight on top of the key three is the simplest angle.

These are a few things to keep an eye on. Watch how well/poorly David Lee helps guard penetration. Notice if Zach Randolph, who’s never had to box out because he’s played with bigger centers, can dig deeper for big rebounds, and feel free to yell at a guard if they get under a ball screen and a player knocks down a jumper, or if they leave someone uncontested at the top of the key.

Championship teams, 60-plus win teams do these things the best, so if the Knicks can do a few well, and add some pieces to help the other, there’s no reason to believe they can’t compete. Competitive teams are close to .500, so without injuries, this team can be in that neighborhood.

Oh all right, 38-44, fighting for the 8th seed IF they can be above average at the things I just mentioned.
  • Clancy3434

    I think back to the last game of the year against the Nets when Brook Lopez blocked a shot and ran the floor and Clyde Frazier screamed, “Reward the big man for blocking the shot!” Right on cue Devon Harris found Lopez.

    Perhaps next you can explain to us how Brook Lopez played in last year’s final game when he was just drafted over the summer…

  • http://theKnicksBlog.com Tommy Dee

    Last game of the preseason…..

  • http://www.theknicksblog.com/2008/10/31/recap-76ers-116-knicks-87/ The Knicks Blog » RECAP: 76ers 116 Knicks 87

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