Knicks Have A Shot To Make A Nice Run

My observations from the game:

- Chris Duhon is still terrible!!!!! Anyone who thinks he can play good in a game so close to club closing hours doesn’t live in this planet.

- Mike _’Antoni is a terrible coach. The reason that we were down 8 at half is because everyone on the Nets bench was driving to the basket without any fears of a block shot. I think a saw Del Harris driving the lane at one point. Why is Darko glued to the bench??? Someone please answer that question. Even if he doesn’t block a shot his presence would have done something. I am not one of those fans that was chanting today but his point has been made. Give Nate some minutes.

- Larry Hughes continues to impress. I said this last game too. He is just behaving like the closest thing to a complete player that we might have and I get the feeling that if he is not traded he will need to be resigned to play with LBJ.

- Someone please tell Jared jeffries to close his mouth. Tommy please stop hyping this guy up. He is terrible. Non existent in the offensive end. The only player that I can think off (I am 31) that can be such a non factor offensively but still contribute with his defense is Ben Wallace. Did you see the layup he missed because Harris was there?????!!!!!!!

- Danilo really needs to start driving to the basket more often.

Go Knicks!!!!

Haha wow that is some twisted logic man. D’Antoni is a terrible coach and it was his fault we were down 8 at half…. But we won the game, right? I’m guessing that part is irrelevant in your twisted brain.

D’Antoni is a terrible coach for not playing darko, a player who has never done anything in this league, anywhere. David Lee’s net efficiency on the court is more than twice anything darko could do for us, even if he is a liability in the lane on defense at times…. And, i’m pretty sure we won the game. Right?

The understatement of the year by Mr. jeff Cykiert.

“even if he (David Lee) is a liability in the lane on defense at times…”

Excuse me for pointing out something the coach is supposed to do when his team is constatly being beat in the paint. Devin Harris, Courtney Lee and CDR were driving to the basket like if it was warmups!!!!

Hey man I leave the constant negativity to Biggie but the truth is the truth.

David lee is one of the most efficient offensive players in the paint, in the entire league. We would not win the game without him. It’s give and take, you take his weeknesses because his strengths outweigh them. If not for Lee’s great play we would not have won this game. If Darko were good enough to play, he would play, but he isn’t so he doesn’t.

The coach is terrible because we were down at halftime, but he has nothing to do with the victory.

Starks you’d have a case if we would of lost. You said it your self is the first half they were getting to the Hole at will Right? But then we won so the Coach made a defensive adjustment somehow by not even putting Darko out there.

Second your opinion on Jefferies. Please stop overhyping this guy – GMs from other teams are not going to read this blog and then say – well – we have to get this guy b/c the theknicksblog says he does all the intangible things that do not show up in the box scores. If it makes you feel better at night – fine – say it to your TV – but stop the overhyping posts.

Jeff….first let me just say good win “go Knicks” but I just wanted to ask if the same logic your applying to Darko ” If Darko were good enough to play, he would play, but he isn’t so he doesn’t.” would it apply to Hill as well? We are what 20 games or so in and Hill still has yet to be able to move past JJ on the depth chart?

MD is not perfect but I am forced to wonder how a lottery pick can not over take JJ at this point. I was hearing about the week side help and shot blocking Hill would bring so im thinking even if his scoring ability needs to catch up to the NBA game his defensive instinct and athleticism should come natural! So do i blame MD for not playing the better player or donnie for the pick or both for trying to sell JJ by giving him to many mins where he would look better against other teams bench players and should come in on spot situations rather then get so many mins that our lottery pick should be using to learn from?

Just wondering.

Jeff – I did not say put Darko and take Lee out. Take Jared out. Listen man I am a big Lee fan but at the 5 the coach is putting this team shorthanded before tip-off. At the 4 David is one of the best there is no denying that. In my opinion in this league there is gotta be some sort of balance. You cannot have to starting bigs that don’t play defense. Teams will feast on that by either having their own bigs score or their guards drive to the basket.

GM’s already know what JJ can do. He is not getting better. So if they are going to take him off our hands they are not going to say “put him on the floor let’s see what he can do. Curry on the other hand needs to get on the floor so GM’s can see if he is healthy and/or in game shape.

JJ does not need playing time!!!!!!!!

it isn’t ideal, but having darko on the floor doesn’t give us the best chance to win. Given this roster, playing an undersized 5 happens to be our best option. That doesn’t make d’antoni a ‘terrible’ coach.

I agree with you on hill, i think he should be playing. I understand that JJ is getting minutes because he is very valuable to this team financially and we need to keep his value, otherwise, as high as we can, but Hill should still be able to find 15-20 minutes.

My logic, “If Darko were good enough to play, he would play, but he isn’t so he doesn’t.” does apply to hill, and maybe that means he just isn’t ready to contribute yet. Maybe it’s as simple as the fact that he is too raw to be on the floor for extended minutes. And with our coach, raw players become even more raw because you really have to know how to play and improvise within an organized offense to succeed in this system. You really need to know how to play the game right, and i guess the coach feels hill isnt ready.

I obviously would still like for him to play over JJ, but i just don’t think that is going to happen yet.

j_starks3….I agree I was just wondering if our fellow fan Jeff applied his logic on Darko across the board and who is to blame for the fact Hill cant over take him on the depth chart…is it MD for not playing him? is it donnie for drafting him? Or is it both of them for obsessing on giving the guy way to much run?? I mean was the argument for NOT signing A.I. that he would hinder the young guys development and would take mins from TD?? So tell me anybody please how in the hell is that not exactly what the hell JJ is doing to Hill!!! I’m sorry but to many people are talking out of both sides of there faces based on who they like and who they don’t and it starts at the top with Donnie!!

It is MD for not playing him. We need to find out sooner rather than later if this kid can play or not. Which I think he can.

Darko playing alongside Lee, slows us down, takes away our transition game and forces us into a half court set which is our biggest enemy.

LMAO he needs to close it breathing up all the air for the good players

I have no idea if he can play well enough or not to warrant a lottery pick, and it is no secret I was and still hold donnie responsible for setting us back a few years due to his drafting the last 2 years, but damn we used the 8th pick on this guy play him!!! If the excuse donnie and MD used to NOT sign A.I. is to have any legitimacy then Hill needs to be getting the bulk of the run NOW or it proves that donnie is full of crap!! He forced Nate on MD so he can demand Hill get run! So there ether trying to hide there bust of a draft or there out of there freaking minds!!

“If Darko were good enough to play, he would play, but he isn’t so he doesn’t.”

Does this apply to Hill too?

There is an important distinction that needs to be made.

By not picking up Iverson, they did not mean all of those guys they have will play more. It just means they will not play any less. If Iverson was here, guys would be playing less than they are right now. So stop whining about Iverson.

First of all, why the hell do people want Darko to play? Did they not see the first couple games? He is horrible. He is slow and soft. When he had a chance to grab a hold of spot, he didnt. He shows no energy out there. I can understand why people would want to take jefferies out. I can understand if u want Hill to play instead. But to want Darko to play just blows my mind.

Second of all, how about crediting Mike D’antoni with an excellent Defensive adjustment, by going to that 3-2 D. It was an awesome move and to say he is a horrible coach is ridiculous. I can’t understand all the hate on D’antoni. It simply amazes me. If we are still losing next year ok, but how about waiting until he gets real players to play his system. The impatience in this city is embarrasing.

Why do we need to find out if he can play sooner rather than later? What the hell is the rush? He is not ready, or he would be out there, especially considering he fills need. He is only a rookie, we have four years to make a decision on whether he is a good player , which i think he is. But right now he needs to sit and watch. Learn the system. In the second half of the year and when we are totally out of the playoff picture, He will play. Now of course I sometimes find myself yelling at the screen saying get JJ the f out of the game and put in Hill, but I have to take a step back and realize I have to trust that D’antoni is making the right decision. If in the end if it fails I will be the first to criticize him. But right now I am going to be patient with the administration.

Please don’t give me hope… Please don’t!!

Its funny that the Knicks are playing their best basketball of the season and overachieving in the last week and still people can only criticize them even more. Darko is 24 and has been a professional for over 5 years now. Jordan Hill is 21 and is a rookie. The same logic doesn’t apply to them at all. Hill is a raw rookie who has not played in the nba at all and has a lot of room for improvement. Darko has played for several different teams for years now and has not played particularly well anywhere, that he is why were able to get him for Q-Rich. So yes a different logic should apply to them. HIll needs time to develop, Darko has been given a lot of time and not shown much improvement. And people can criticize the Knicks all they want for playing Lee at center, but they seem to forget that for every easy basket he gives up he creates a difficult matchup for all other centers, and that is why he is averaging close to 20 and 10 per game. Its just crazy how much some people seem to hate this team no matter what.

yeah, what he said ^

Why does playing Darko more mean anyone has to “sit”?

This Coach is playing essentially a SEVEN man rotation. With maybe an 8th player getting 5 minutes..

Darko shoul dhave been force fed minutes from the get go.. Since Eddy is out it was a perfect oppty to give him an audition.. He’s had 71 minutes played so far in 8 games (11 DNP-CDs) .. That is not enough time. Esp. with this short rotation nonsense and Eddy being out there.

PLaying Darko COULD HAVE resulted in us moving him for a draft pick to a team (Portland?) that needs to fill the C spot because of injury or playoff push.. Instaead this coach sits him healthy for no apparent reason.

Good win here today.. against a one win team.. Im excited to see them play Portland, New Orleans and Chicago..

Scott….First off nobody is “whining” so watch your tone! I was making a clear & legit point and that is if we reject signing a H.O.F player on the cheap to give the fans something to look forward to (since real winning is not on the menu yet). The excuse being that we did not want to take time away from our young players (we only have 1 rookie guard mind you)

Now we have J.J. who will never sniff the H.O.F yet our “LOTTERY PICK” cant sniff the court!! But i guess its cool not to let this kid get run and learn on the job even tho we all agree this season is a project slash throw away season! You sound foolish with raw crap!! show me any of his fellow LOTTERY PICKS that are to raw to get playing time or save it with the raw crap! We would of gave Gallo all the mins in the world last year if he was not hurt so save it, this kid is ether a bust or being mishandled or both!!

Critiquing your team for what you see as errors is not being negative its being passionate enough to not be a DONNIE ZOMBIE and acting as if he is all knowing!!

Bottom line the kid needs the air time he needs to be allowed to show what he has and allowed to grow JJ needs to backing him up!

So in closing my point was don’t sell me a bag of crap about how a H.O.F. player on the cheap will take time away from the young A.K.A TD
but a LOTTERY PICK cant get 2o mins a night!!

NYK 3rd place in the division. Baby steps…

Starks you are completely right these guys are brain dead. NO DEFENSE NO DEFENSE NO DEFENSE. I would love to see someone knock devin harris on his @@s when he drives to the basket, just one time. Darko Milicic can block shots.WE won GREAT, BUT ANYONE WITH COMMON SENSE WOULD RATHER WIN THE GAME WITH SOME IN YOU FACE DEFENSE. Some people are just brain dead and will never understand that defense wins championships. If D’Antoni got that message he would have won a championship with the Suns. Fun game to watch if you like seeing the Nets score at will. they had 60 in the first halph. HELLO

DAntoni may not be horrible but It took DAntoni 4 weeks to get the team to stop taking 40 three point shots a night. WE ARE 6-15. HELLO! Yes DAntoni has been coaching better but we have been begging for them to attack the basket all season. Also Teams go to a zone defense because they CAN’T play no D. If Hughes did not have that huge third Qtr we would be down by 20.