Monthly Archives: October 2008
We’ve talked at length about the guards’ in ability to get over screens. They’ve been absolutely
putrid in getting over screens, with the exception of Chris Duhon. Do us a favor, take note of every time a player gets under vs. over and the outcome of plays. When a guard gets under, 9 times out of 10,the result turns into a wide open shot (which NBA players can MAKE), an aggressive drive to the basket forcing a big to help, or mismatch. The difference is uncanny. And you know who’s paying attention?
The coach.
Last night Nate Robinson went under and gave up an uncontested shot. The next time Nate went under again and it turned into a foul on David Lee. All of a sudden D’Antoni screamed, ” THAT’S TWICE NATE!” referring to both his defensive lapses.
Nate nodded in agreement.
Accountability enforced by the coach…gotta love it.
Obviously Jamal Crawford has earned it, as did Wilson Chandler for his energy off the bench. So,
we’ve got a tough decision here to start the season.
One can talk about Crawford’s performance after struggling all preseason, but how about Quentin Richardson?
At one point during the game I looked up and said,” How does Q have 16 points?” That is the sign of an unassumingly efficient game and the numbers tell the story:
28 minutes
5-9 FG
2-5 3s
4-4 FTs
4 assists
4 rebounds
So congrats Q, you get the game ball…
I recall the look on Jamal Crawford’s face at Media Day when all the reporters were surrounding 
Stephon Marbury. It was one of “hey guys, I’m here too…”
Last night Crawford was everywhere and made as loud a statement early on in the game as Mike D’Antoni did in benching Marbury.
Contrary to published reports, the chants of “we want Steph” came from a small section of the Garden and were quickly drowned by boos, it’s not like the whole crowd was ignoring the team’s strong effort. In fact, if there is one player who can get to where D’Antoni thinks he can get to without Marbury, it’s Jamal.
Let’s face it, they are really similar players and there’s only room for one on any team.
It’s a great start for the D’Antoni era, the rotation was tight and it was nice to see Danilo Gallinari, whom D’Antoni matched with Shaun Livingston defensively and the kid held his own. The second jumper looked pure and just missed short, as he gets more time he’ll show off his stroke.
“I thought was in,” he said later, “because it came out real nice from my hand.” The kid is confident. He was lost a little in his 3-plus minutes, but I’ll have no problem rooting for him.
Wilson Chandler was tremendous and Quentin Richardson had the most quite 16 you’ll ever get.
All in all a great start.
Mike D’Antoni went with 13 different groups in the season opener and here are the results with the minutes rounded up or down to the nearest whole minute. Judging off of one game is difficult, but TKB hopes to use this number throughout the season to show which unit is most effective together. Later this morning, we’ll post a full recap from a great night at MSG along with our game ball.
* = denotes starting five
* Duhon, Crawford, Richardson, Lee, Randolph (22 minutes) + 8
Duhon, Robinson, Crawford, Chandler, Randolph (5 minutes) -10
Duhon, Robinson, Crawford, Chandler, Lee (4 minutes) E
Collins, Robinson, Richardson, Chandler, Rose (3 minutes) E
Collins, Robinson, Crawford, Chandler, Lee (3 minutes) + 1
Duhon, Robinson, Gallinari, Chandler, Rose (2 minutes) E
Collins, Robinson, Gallinari, Chandler, Rose (2 minutes) E
Duhon, Robinson, Collins, Chandler, Lee (2 minutes) -1
Collins, Crawford, Richardson, Chandler, Randolph (1 minute) +2
Duhon, Crawford, Richardson, Rose, Randolph (1 minute) +3
Robinson, Crawford, Richardson, Chandler, Lee (1 minute) +2
Robinson, Crawford, Richardson, Randolph, Lee (1 minute) +2
Duhon, Robinson, Crawford, Randolph, Lee (1 minute) -2
When: 7:30 P.M.
Where: Madison Square Garden
Watch: MSG
Starting Lineups:
Miami
PG: Mario Chalmers
SG- Dwyane Wade
SF- Shawn Marion
PF- Michael Beasley
C- Udonis Haslem
Rest of rotation: Marcus Banks, Mark Blount, Yakhouba Diawara, Dorell Wright
Knicks
PG: Chris Duhon
SG: Jamal Crawford
PF: Zach Randolph
C: David Lee
Rest of Rotation: Wilson Chandler, Stephon Marbury, Nate Robinson, Malik Rose
Injuries:
Miami: James Jones (OUT: wrist); Shaun Livingston (questionable: knee); Jamaal Magliore (OUT: hand)
Knicks: Danilo Gallinari (Questionable: back); Jared Jeffries (OUT: leg)
Keep an eye on:
Chris Duhon’s defense on Dwyane Wade. D’Antoni will most likely keep Duhon on Wade all game, with an occasional spell from Wilson Chandler if his knee allows. Wade’s Olympic play reaffirmed his status as one of the most dominant scorers in the league, and after last year’s disappointing second half in Miami, you know Wade has had tonight circled on his calendar for a long time. In the frontcourt, the Knicks have a rare size advantage over Haslem, Beasley, and Marion which should present Z-Bo a nice chance for a 25-plus night. Look for first-year Heat coach Erik Spoelstra to exploit Richardson’s post defense by feeding the ball to Marion on the blocks early.
The Other Blog’s Take: From Miamiheatwave.com:
Spoelstra will have his work cut out for him but don’t think he hasn’t been preparing for this moment. There have been whispers, even as far back as when Stan Van Gundy and his moustache were pacing the sidelines, that Spoelstra was being groomed for this spot. In fact, many of the Heat’s players lauded Spoelstra for helping them refine their games – such as Wade and helping develop his jump shot. Spoelstra has the tools to communicate with his players and also to get them to work for him and improve their games. He has been the summer league coach and has worked on scouting players and setting up film, breaking down opponents weaknesses as well as the Heat’s.
The challenge for Spoelstra will be to forge an identity and to get the Heat team culture back to where it was. In part, this will change due to the roster moves President Riley is making. Gone are the me-first players who plagued the franchise and hamstrung its efforts. It is clear Shaq was in this camp, only looking out for himself. He had valid complaints but the Heat could not offer him the superstar cast he wanted in part because of Shaq’s immense contract. Now, that is the Suns’ problem. The Heat, for their pain, got back Shawn Marion and Marcus Banks – both of whom have worked tirelessly on their games and getting them to fit into the Heat’s philosophy.
Beware of the Rat: Pat Riley may come into town, which means that gas prices are sure to elevate based on his love for oil.
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.
The story…
Great Plays…
redemption…
New Characters…
man, I miss those days.
Andrew Smith: The Numbers Game
My initial hopes for this season preview were to use statistics such as PER, plus-minus, effective field goal percentage, and all of the other sabermetrics that enrage old-school basketball fans to show why the Knicks will improve on last year’s 23-59 record. But, after taking one glance at last season’s numbers, it’s just too damn ugly. According to the website 82games.com, Knicks’ opponents shot a hefty .485 % from the field last season, the best (or worst, whichever way you look at it) in the NBA, and in a mind-boggling number, the Knicks did not manage to be better than their opponents over the course of the season in ANY category.
So, it would be very difficult for Mike D’Antoni to not improve these numbers with the simple addition of calling plays on offense and having a better conditioned team. The acquisition of Chris Duhon will definitely make the point guard position a little more stable, but it is D’Antoni’s system that will have the most impact, and it could simply come from the fact that he will hold the players more accountable for poor play on the court. If Eddy Curry doesn’t box out, he will come out. If Quentin Richardson bricks six three-pointers in a row, bench. If Jamal Crawford dribbles for 14 seconds before taking a fade-away jumper, OUT. It’s going to be his way, or no way, which will be very beneficial to the potential improvement of this team.
Last year, the five-man unit which saw the most minutes for the Knicks was Marbury-Crawford-Richardson-Randolph-Curry, and in their 265 minutes together they were an incredible minus 108. While, the best five-man unit together was Crawford-Jones-Jeffries-Lee-Randolph who finished their 76 minutes together at a plus 20 rate. This group clearly has more defined roles on the court, and if we replace Jones with Duhon and Jeffries with Wilson Chandler, plus D’Antoni’s no-BS attitude and I think you’re looking at a unit that can continue to be in the positive numbers.
So, I think all Knicks fans can agree that we’re going to see an improved product on the floor. You won’t see Curry and Randolph together on the floor, you won’t see Marbury and Crawford together on the floor. D’Antoni is going to make sure that he has a cohesive unit with defined roles that buy into his system of quick passes and backdoor cuts.
Sounds peachy, right? Well as Lee Corso says, “Not so fast, my friend.” Throw out all the statistics and numbers and just take a quick glance around the NBA and ask yourself, “Who are we going to beat?”
Here’s a breakdown of our opponents this season:
4- (Boston, Charlotte, Cleveland, Detroit, Milwaukee, New Jersey, Orlando, Philadelphia, Toronto, Washington)
3- (Atlanta, Chicago, Indiana, Miami)
2 -(Dallas, Denver, Golden State, Houston, LA Clippers, LA Lakers, Memphis, Minnesota, New Orleans, Oklahoma City, Phoenix, Portland, Sacramento, San Antonio, Utah)
We cannot sweep any of our four-time opponents. Who could we go 3-1 against? Charlotte, Milwaukee, New Jersey, and maybe Washington. The other six teams make up 24 of our 82 games and I think an 8-16 mark in those games might even be too generous.
We have favorable matchups against our three-time opponents, so let’s say conservatively that we go 6-6 in those 12 games, give or take a win.
Now factor in the deep Western conference. Among the upper echelon teams of Houston, Lakers, New Orleans, Phoenix, San Antonio, and Utah, I think 2-10 is a reasonable record. In the other 18 games, I think 9-9 is a fair estimate considering how poorly Atlantic Division teams play on west-coast trips.
So, that’s my statistical equation and my elaborate formula brings me to the Knicks winning somewhere between 30-36 games. So, let’s go with a 33-49 record, good enough for meaningful games through March and a mediocre late lottery pick, but on the plus side we will finally have a team that we won’t be ashamed to root for.
From Andrew Marchand , ESPN.
“…A year ago, Eddy Curry was the center of the Knicks franchisem bioth literally and figuratively.
This season? Not even close.
New Knicks coach Mike D’Antoni said he doesn’t plan to play Curry in the team’s season opener Wednesday against the Miami Heat, simply responding “no” when asked Tuesday if Curry would be part of his eight- or nine-man rotation.
Curry’s minutes were limited in the preseason after he missed all of training camp because of a bacterial infection, and D’Antoni said he could have a hard time playing catch-up. D’Antoni also has not appeared confident with how Curry would fit in his high-tempo offense.
After playing in four of the seven Knicks’ preseason games (including one DNP/coach’s decision), Curry was surprised by the news that he is not part of his coach’s regular rotation.
“Definitely stunned, especially being that [D'Antoni] didn’t tell me that,” Curry said Tuesday. “I haven’t talked to him. I’m here with him every day. All he has to do is tell me. I’m definitely stunned to hear that.”
Last season, the 25-year-old Curry averaged 13.2 points and 4.7 rebounds per game. During the preseason, he averaged 4.3 points and 2.5 boards in nearly 14 minutes.
Curry thinks he can play in D’Antoni’s system, which emphasizes quick shots and working the ball on the perimeter.
“I don’t need [the ball] to go through me,” Curry said. “I don’t need it to be my team.”
D’Antoni said minutes were earned during practice and the preseason, though he may make an exception for first-round draft pick Danilo Gallinari. Gallinari, who has a bad back, did not play in any of the team’s preseason games, but D’Antoni may give him some minutes in Wednesday’s opener.
Such a scenario was not lost on Curry.
“You can’t help but to think about that, especially [since] I feel like I’m in pretty good shape,” Curry said. “Hopefully I can contribute and, if not, I will cheer my team on and see what the Knicks’ plan is…”
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