Recap: Grizzlies 119 Knicks 112

by Tommy Dee on March 12th, 2010 at 10:47 pm

BOX SCORE

First of all, Kelly Tripucka does a tremendous job. He’s really very good and honest about the Knicks. Good for MSG for keeping him aboard.

Secondly, Toney Douglas, who I mentioned in a prior post, has definitely earned a spot moving forward. Again, the options and ultimate moves will happen. I just speculate based on info. I’ve been a huge Douglas fan since jump based on his ability to get into the passing lane, push the tempo and knock down open shots. He was awesome tonight.

To me, I just don’t get Gallo and Chandler on the floor together. If you’re Donnie Walsh and you’re evaluating, I think they just struggle on the court together for whatever reason. There’s no flow there and it’s been that way for a while. T-Mac? Well, I’m not going to say his career is over, but he’s got a long way to go. Some nights he’s been great, and that’s a fact, but other nights he has no energy.

And talking about evaluating, Rudy Gay was just ridiculously efficient. He won’t be in Memphis next year, and he’s not a max player. When we talk about options, he has to be considered.

Tripuka said this and we’ve said this a million times. Blame the coach all you want, and this has been talked about, but if you’re playing for your NBA life and you can’t find the energy to compete, then it’s on you. No one else.

Period.

  • sabreschudge

    These guys have nothing to play for except numbers. I am so sick and tired of watching this no energy team with a side of Al “Turtlehead” Harrington. I don’t care if we would have just rented Tyrus Thomas for Al Harrington straight up, if that offer was truly available i truly wish donnie would have taken it. Oh well another year lost…July 1st 2010 we all look forward to you. Along with April 14th ofcourse.

  • BluEandOrange

    I’ve been advocating Douglas to be in the starting lineup since FOREVER but the main arguments against it are “He isn’t a PG” or “He can’t run the offense.”

    NEWSFLASH: The Knicks aren’t in a PG oriented offense. Throughout the beginning of the season Duhon simply dribbled to the half court line then passed the ball of to Lee at the top of the key. Essentially, Lee has been the orchestrator, not the Knicks’ guards.

    The Knicks barely run any set plays anyway. Al Chuckits disrupts any ball movement anyway and ends up shooting a brick most of the time.

    What Douglas brings is endless hustle and defense. As Tripucka and Clyde said, that type of hustle is contagious. As a teammate, when you see Douglas hustling for an extended time, you don’t want to look bad and therefore follow his lead.

    He’s fast, can drive through the paint, and has a decent jump shot. He may not be able to run the offense well yet, but this year is rebuilding isn’t it and hasn’t it always been since late October of last year?

    And its time for D’Antoni to play Gallinari as the center and to shift Lee over to the four for the rest of the season. I don’t buy the argument that Gallinari will be unable to guard larger players because he definitely will do a better job than Lee!

    Its time to start Douglas, Walker, Chandler, Lee and Gallinari to see what this lineup can do for next year.

  • bartnyk

    Douglas is Awful give me a break he plays such good Dee because he can’t do much of anything else cant shoot cant run the PNR isnt a play maker he just isnt that good.

  • Con_Estilo

    Toney should come off the bench for the simple fact that I dont want him picking up 2 quick fouls early in the game..

  • HaS

    Toney Douglas = Lindsey Hunter

    In the postgame interview the “coach” stated that Douglas’ defensive energy is contagious and that he and Walker got them back into the game with their hustle.

    No sh** genius! This is what I’ve been begging for since last year. If you have to play your 9th or 10th man to prove a point and send a message to your “veterans” that’s what you do. It is the only weapon a coach has in his favor when dealing with a player with a guaranteed contract. Minutes.

    As bad as Lee has been in the middle last year and this year, he should have played Hill, Darko ANYONE in the middle just to send a message to Lee that he needs him to step up his overall effort on the defensive end. Do you think Harrington isn’t going to give his maximum effort if he sees his precious minutes (and shots) being cut into? If Hill fouls out so be it. If he makes a mistake so be it. He’ll make up for some of his mistakes with his overall hunger, energy and enthusiasm for the game. Same with Douglas.

    Why does it take this coach so long to have these epiphanies?

    First it was his belated recognition that he needed to emphasize defense.

    Then it was his delayed realization that maybe he needed to employ a “system” that fit the players he has on his roster.

    Now it’s that effort can be contagious and also lack of effort can be contagious. Wow really “coach”?

    If Landry, Douglas and Hill are on the floor at the same time are we going to make the playoffs? No.

    Will the team hustle and play with effort? Yes.

    Will that light a fire under the veterans to actually EARN the opportunity to play that _’antoni so gracefully gave away on a silver platter “out of respect for them having to earn a contract next year to feed their families”? I think so.

    What will be this “coach”‘s next realization?

  • DaGawD_KnowLedge

    lmao

  • DaGawD_KnowLedge

    i think doug can be a dumars/terry player

  • HaS

    Nah he’ll never be as good as Dumars.

    Lindsey was very good player, there’s a reason he’s always making a team’s roster. When he was younger he was a specialist, he’d come into games pressure the ball full court and completely change the pace of the game.

    Great backup combo guard.

    That’s Toney’s ceiling imho.

  • HaS

    Im so sick of this coach I could scream man, I swear.

    I feel like I’m in the friggin’ Twilight Zone and I’m the only fan who is seeing this fraud for what he is.

    Sigh…

    One more year.

  • JaymanJD

    THANK YOU TOmmy- finally someone agrees or at least comes to realize that Gallo and Chandler should not be on the floor together. The reason is simple in my book. THEY PLAY THE SAME POSITION!! this means they want and like the same spots on the floor and their skill sets are made for the same position. Of course they dont play well together. In my opinion Gay should be a TOP priority this off season. This of course is assuming we do not get Wade or Lebron. Thats right I dont want to give max money to joe johnson or Bosh or Amare even if they wanted to to come they just do not merit that type of money. The problem is if you sign Gay you got 3 SF Chandler, Gallo, and Gay. There is no question Gay is an upgrade over either of these two players and is young. I would be content with a plan B that went as follows: Sign Gay, Sign Camby, Sign Boozer and package Curry and Chandler or Gallo to a team for more cap space. Then go into 2010 season with a starting lineup of Camby at center, Boozer at PF, Gay at SF, Rod at point, and Douglass at SG, with Gallo and others coming off the bench. Then next season the knicks would have cap room to go after either Tony Parker or Carmelo Anthony or Kevin Durant. I like Carmelo a lot but by that point Id go after Kevin Durant because he is younger and is almost a superstar in the making plus he could play SG at 6″10. By 2011 our starters could be Camby, Boozer, Gay, Durant, Douglass or Sergio. Thats a team that could win for a while.

  • DaGawD_KnowLedge

    man i been ripping danni boy for a while in hahns blog berman etc.
    danni boy might have 1 2 star players in nyc but he will not have an overall team like he did in the valley of the suns…

    in other word his guy isn’t winning a ring in this league for a while mayb never

  • DaGawD_KnowLedge

    yes lindsey had a solid career but he didn’t have speed like doug or took it to the rim like doug.
    mayb dumars is a bit to high for him but with hard work he could be there..

  • Mucha

    Hmmmmmmmmmmmmm….

    Hell no!

  • HaS

    Nah man you’re thinking about the latter part f his career, when he came into the league he was quick and had hops a lot more bunnies than Toney Douglas!

    Peep.

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MzO1NRoKjLg

  • harris

    This constant excuse making for this coach by placing all the onus on the players just continues to be laughable. Great coaches in today’s NBA are able to get fhrough to their players in such a way that they bring out the best in them. This coach isn’t able to do that. As he’s alienated virtually everybody on the team, the exact opposite has happened. This team quit
    a long time ago,

    Can’t wait to see what the excuses are when Walsh gets this guy major talent come next year and he still loses.

  • HaS

    Get well soon to Guru, Gifted Unlimited Rhymes Universal.

  • italian stallion

    Douglas does a lot of things well, but he’s still not a PG. He had only one assist tonight. He’s going to have to learn how to get his teammates involved to be a PG.

    The thing that has me confused about him is that in the summer league he racked up assists but couldn’t hit shots. At the time I was more worried about his ability to knock down open shots and stretch the floor.

    I’m not a huge Rudy Gay fan. He’s probably more athletic and can score better than Wilson Chandler, but since Chandler reduced his 3 point shooting he’s been the more efficient scorer of the two. Chandler does just about everything else as well as Gay and he’s one year younger. I can’t see giving 10m or more to Gay when we already have Chandler/Gallo on super cheap contracts. IMO that would be a mistake.

    I also think giving Joe Johnson a max contract or close would be a mistake because he’s nowhere near a max player, but at least he would fill a specific need at SG and add some wins to the team. Gay is another one of the highly athletic but overrated scorers.

    By the way, I think it should be fairly clear that to get Johnson we are going to have ti offer a huge contract because he already turned down 15M from Atlanta and they have a very good team in place.

  • HaS

    They don’t play the same position, the “coach” insists on playing them both OUT of position. Chandler is not a 2 guard and Gallinari is not a 3.

  • HaS

    And Chandler is not a 4 either. Jesus.

  • HaS

    Hate this effin’ coach.

  • DaGawD_KnowLedge

    yea no doubt.
    i have always liked lindsey.

  • DaGawD_KnowLedge

    whats up with the boston cat?

  • DaGawD_KnowLedge

    u gotta love this coach for another 2 years
    lmao..

  • Knicks4life

    “Tripuka said this and we’ve said this a million times. Blame the coach all you want, and this has been talked about, but if you’re playing for your NBA life and you can’t find the energy to compete, then it’s on you. No one else.

    Period.”

    Gotta call you out on this one Tommy.

    Mike D has been here two years and the roster has had several major shakeups. A ton of different players on expiring contracts and not on expiring contracts. Did they all quit? Is it all on them? Is the coach not responsible at all for getting the most out of his players and vice versa?

    D’Antoni looks like he has quit two years in a row now. That is unacceptable.

  • HaS

    Your last three paragraphs is why it’s pretty much LeBron or bust.

    There are only 2 max players in the free agent market, everyone else might not even be the best players on their CURRENT team!

    We’re going to regret giving up those 1st rounders.

    Damn, I hope I’m wrong. I’m already getting depressed.

  • italian stallion

    I think the problem with Chandler and Gallo on the court at the same time is partially defense and partially offense.

    Gallo is not quick and athletic enough to guard good SGs and he’s not strong enough to guard big PFs. He typically has to guard SFs. That puts Chandler on either the SG or PF. He can handle some SGs and some of the smaller PFs, but he can’t handle the big PFs and super quick SGs. Plus, if he doesn’t rebound nearly well enough to play PF well and he doesn’t shoot nearly well enough from the outside to play SG well.

    Actually, if we could combine them they’d be a great player. Chandler is an athletic slasher with a mid range game that can guard a lot of different players and Gallo has a really good outside game.

    I wouldn’t totally give up on them playing together yet though.

    Gallo has a few years to put on some weight and get a lot stronger. If he can do that and also learn to rebound better he can become a PF. That would allow Chandler to become a SF.

    Chandler has all this summer to improve his outside shot, handle, and passing skills (something he missed out on last summer because of surgery). If he can do that, then he can be more of a SG.

  • Knicks4life

    Nice job HaS.

    Its funny that people see the cyncism and/or sarcasm after each Knick game and forget that Knick fans are probably the most intelligent basketball fan base around.

    Kudos.

  • Knicks4life

    Offensively I don’t even know what position Gallo is. He just runs down the court and stands at the three point line.

    On defense I don’t even want to see him in the post because I’m deathly afraid he is going to blow his back out guarding somebody in the post.

  • JaymanJD

    You make me laugh to even compare Gay to Chandler. Lets break it down to numbers which really cannot be argued. Chandlers Player efficency rating this year is 13.55 you know who is ahead of him MATT Barnes who the Knicks had. Rudy GAY is 17.13 PER which is within te top ten in SF this year. CHandler is not in GAys league period!! And oddly enough in terms of effiency you would have a better time arging Gallo who ranks higher with 14.85. Sorry man if we could trade chandler and get value while raplacing him with Gay it would be a huge upgrade and yes I pay him 10 mil because he is a top ten SF in the League. David Lee is a top tier PF and will get get more then 10 per just not with the Knicks or I hope not because he plays horrible defense. And your rght about Joe Johnson but id rathr wait till Durant comes free in 2011 the sign joe johnson.

  • Knicks4life

    Who is better than Bosh on Toronto?

    Or Kobe in LA?

    Or Dirk in Dallas?

    Or Yao, if healthy, in Houston?

    This free agent class is crazy if they all choose to opt out.

  • italian stallion

    You are exactly 100% correct.

    To be honest, I think something like this may be the best case scenario.

    Camby – C
    Lee – PF
    Gallo – SF
    Johnson – SG
    PG – ?

    I think we have to figure that Walsh is going to overpay for someone in 2010 in order to keep face. Otherwise giving up Hill and picks for that extra cap space in 2010 instead of 2011 would make him look like a total idiot (which he may be) if he didn’t use it.

    If we give Johnson a big contract, at least he’ll improve the team. I don’t like the move at all, but it’s only a small disaster. It’s not a mega disaster (I hope).

    Then we can try to move Curry at the trade deadline for another good player. If that doesn’t work, there’s always the 2011 FA market.

  • Knicks4life

    Its probably more simple than all of that.

    Chandler is clearly freezing Gallo out . . . he must be traded or benched immediately so Gallo can fullfil his “Dirk” like potential.

  • italian stallion

    Kobe, Dirk, and Yao aren’t going anywhere. That’s almost 100%. Lebron is only about 90%.

  • italian stallion

    What?

    Maybe Nate and Harrington, but not Chandler. Chandler just doesn’t have the skills to get him the ball. lol

  • x-man

    lol. You must not be too sick since you don’t mind giving this coach another year!

    No way this coach deserves another year s our coach. They should tell him to clear his bags and put Herb in charge for the rest of the season.

    This coach is not an asset to bring about Superstars anyway!

  • Knicks4life

    “mayb dumars is a bit to high for him but with hard work he could be there..”

    Man I’m going to start lumping you in there with DVJ if you keep making comments like this.

    MAYBE Dumars is too high for Tony “freakin” Douglas. Do you have any idea how good Joe Dumars was?

  • x-man

    Wasn’t it just last Demeber that many Knick Fans here was syaing we would be the 5th seed when we played no defense and went up against the weaker part of the schedule?

  • x-man

    Maybe Tommy Dee will let us know what a coach is responsible for?

    We know “coaching” is out!

  • blackwood

    Dumars???? The kid is cool but never close to Dumars!! What terry?

  • x-man

    I do agree with Tommy Dee about Tirpuka though. He is quite on the money for the most part.

    Howeve, Tommy Dee selectively chose that one statement when he has stated so many others that fall right at the foot stepo of this coach.

  • blackwood

    Oh Bob Dumars from Riverbank park I gotcha!! lol

  • Knicks4life

    Let me rephrase:

    “. . . and forget that “RATIONAL” Knick fans are probably the most intelligent basketball fan bas around.

  • x-man

    No dude. That’s the coach’s system. It’s a system, that doesn’t cator to using your best threats on the floor wisely not does it gets the ball to the player that has it going.

    It’s open b-ball and guys like Harrington and House will dominate the ball because they have no consicence and the coach doesn not instrust his team where the ball should be going.

    It’s a form of AND1 called OR1!

  • x-man

    or maybe 1st1 which means the 1st gets the ball, shoots it. no matter what1

  • blackwood

    You cant trade Gallo for cap space and have him come off the bench! By 2011 Camby will be damn near 40! Boozer will play half a season losing time to injury’s!! Gay about 12mil, Durant max money, what are you paying Boozer? Wait TD & Sergio are your back court??

    You sure you dont want to think that over my friend?

  • x-man

    lol Lawrence Frank is a better coach than D’Antoni! At least Lawrence Frank is a decent man who works hard each night.

    Frank would get up in press conference, take the blame and hold himself accountable for the team’s demise.

    This coach blames everyone else including Milli Vanilli!

  • blackwood

    There are only what like 4 teams with any real cap space so why would Kobe leave “The world champion” Lakers? or Dirk leave what is the second best team in the west who after the great trade they made can very well knock off the Lakers this year? Yao if health would leave the rockets to come to the Knicks? Really? Just help me understand why any of them would do that?

  • blackwood

    You would really be happy with that team? really? I cant see tanking 2 years to put that line up on the court and see donnie & dolen say “mission accomplished” like bush on a aircraft carrier! lol

  • blackwood

    I could not agree more!! +1

  • x-man

    The only thing I could think of is this:

    Kobe would want to be considered the greatest b-ball player of ALL time if he could come to NY and take the 7SOL system and win a ring!

    Then he become a billionaire writing about the pros and cons of the Trianle vs 7SOL.

    However I would think after 4 months under D’Antoni, Kobe would reenact Sprewell-Carlesimo!

  • blackwood

    In time they will look great together…..on the Hornets while CP3 is our all world PG!! =)

  • BigDaddybluesman

    It’s simple, the Knicks right now are a midget team. No way they are going to beat any team with a legit 7 footer and legit power forward.

    You cannot constantly use players out of position.

    Lee is a finesse PF.
    Gallo is an underdeveloped PF.
    Chandler is a SF.

    All three have deficiencies in their games that overlap each other to cause HUGE holes in the defense and offense.

    I saw one thing that I have noticed. Gallo was running hard and DLee was jogging but both were moving at the same speed. Gallo is slow, slow, slow……..just how on earth did Walsh and D’baloni think Gallo fit his run and gun system? Did he get slow because of his back? Or did anybody actually work this kid out?

    Of course Gallo and Chandler cannot be on the same court together, it’s like the turtle and the rabbit. They do not fit, hill was the player who would have fit with Chandler they both run. Gallo is a plodding player who would have been much better with Darko at center playing the middle game and Galo outside.

    These guys running the Knicks have no idea what they are doing. They cannot evaluate talent and have proved that and they do not know how to put a team together. D’Baloni has no idea how to put a team together nor a rotation. He rewards bad habits with minutes and you wonder why we lose game after game.

    Why is T Mac even playing, he can’t even walk?

  • blackwood

    I hope some of my fellow Knick fans are not so in gulfed in what they convinced themselves Gallo may become that there going to start to imply that now Chandler is keeping Gallo from reaching is so called potential. He is naturally meek he is not an alpha male athlete, he is a talent young ball player who is going to be a quality roll player. That is not an insult there are ton’s of players not near as good as he is in the world but he is not superstar level guy in the NBA. Bird demanded the ball commanded respect and went out every night and earned it! Magic, Barkely, Ewing, Jordan,Kobe & Lebron those guys demand the ball and always have from the sec they hit the NBA. Even Dirk after way to many years is now kind of demanding the ball.

    potential can be a very beautiful but destructive thing for a sports franchise because while it could bloom it can also allow you to pass on a sure thing and in time never blooming and leaving you right where you started no where.

    po·ten·tial
       [puh-ten-shuhl]
    1.
    possible, “as opposed to actual:”

  • italian stallion

    To begin with, it is well known that PER overrates scorers (which is the one thing Gay clearly does better). But I was specific to say ONCE CHANDLER STOPPED SHOOTING SO MANY 3 POINTERS his efficiency spiked. If you were to recalculate Chandler’s stats starting in December (when he started slashing and stopped chucking) through now, you might be surprised how efficient a scorer he has been. He has above average in terms of efficiency and maintained or increased his points per 36 minutes

    Here are their stats per 36 minutes for this year. If you did deeper you can see how much Chandler’s eFG%, TS%, and overall efficiency spiked starting in December after his horrible start. There’s simply not much of a difference – certainly not many millions of dollars worth when Chandler is a year younger.

    http://www.basketball-reference.com/play-index/pcm_finder.cgi?request=1&sum=0&p1=gayru01&y1=2010&p2=chandwi01&y2=2010

  • italian stallion
  • blackwood

    LMAOOOO that is to damn true!! lol

  • Maseinyourface

    Give me Rudy Gay over Joe Johnson any day!

  • DVJ

    You can have him.

  • Kwayry

    I think I am still sober, but here goes.
    I read most of the posts, nobody pointed out 2 important details
    “I’ve been a huge Douglas fan since jump based on his ability to get into the passing lane”
    No offense Tommy, but you were a Jordan Hill fan once and you turned on a dime.
    “To me, I just don’t get Gallo and Chandler on the floor together. If you’re Donnie Walsh and you’re evaluating …”
    You mentioned the players and the GM, who is missing?
    Well, no answers necessary, and you have been avoiding the tough questions, We know how you feel about the coach.

  • DaGawD_KnowLedge

    jason terry

  • DaGawD_KnowLedge

    joe was good
    i know.

    doug career is just getting started
    u never know.
    if he gets the chance he will most likely produce some good numbers

  • DaGawD_KnowLedge

    most likely
    X

  • jgilch82

    “Bird demanded the ball commanded respect and went out every night and earned it! Magic, Barkely, Ewing, Jordan,Kobe & Lebron those guys demand the ball and always have from the sec they hit the NBA. Even Dirk after way to many years is now kind of demanding the ball.”

    sorry that gallo doesnt have the confidence yet of those decent players listed above …..
    moron

  • jgilch82

    its amazing how is even averaging 14 points on attempting an average of 10 fg’s per game without a PG who has any idea of how to get him the ball in the right spots for a shooter … nor any interior threat to dare demand a double team ….

    Do i think Gallo is going to be a top tier player in this league averaging 25ppg + .. no probably not …. but he’s going to be more than a role player …
    he will have multiple 20ppg seasons

  • JLS125

    he had a stroke since a week ago…sad when bad things happen to a good person…

  • JLS125

    +1

  • blackwood

    jgilch82…..For you to resort to calling me names must mean I struck a nerve, was it that the truth hurts and you don’t like to deal with facts or is it that you feel you are above other people and there alternative views and have a right to be disrespectful to them if they don’t bow to your all knowing ass!

    I like how you left out the part where I said…

    “he is a talented young ball player who is going to be a quality roll player. That is not an insult there are ton’s of players not near as good as he is in the world but he is not superstar level guy in the NBA.”

    If you have some type of homosexual crush on him thats fine I respect your right to be different just try your best to refrain from insulting others who hold a view that may not match yours my friend.

    Lets deal with facts, Gallo played pro ball for about 5 years or so in europe! Against Top flight grown professional men. He is not some 12 year old who is just learning how to play among men.

    Antawn Jamison career #’s 20pts & 8rebs a game 11 years in the league is he a superstar or role player? Andrea Bargnani, Sean Elliott, Dale Ellis, Nick Anderson etc etc etc…..all good players role players who averaged 14pts a game or better for there career!

    I like Gallo he is not a bad player but in my eyes the guy is
    Channing Frye 2.0 a little better but the same type of flaws.

    Being honest is not being a hater, just because you don’t like the facts does not keep them from being facts.

    My over all point is you know a star when you see him even when he is developing, they have that drive that indomitable will that fire its in there eyes its in there game. Is Tyreke Evans a star? Is there any question that he is? And why is it that he is? He has flaws a shaky jumper and still working on stuff but what makes him great is the indomitable will and drive to win he is an alpha male ball player!

    I think I have made my point clear you trade good players for all world players if you can because in the end you know that all world guy is going to make the difference night in and night out.

  • Aussie Gary

    The Knicks hired Walsh to completely revamp the organisation. Walsh took his time and eventually decided that D’Antoni was the best coach available for his team. Walsh knew exactly what he would be getting when he hired D’Antoni. He knew how he interacted with players and he knew the style of play that he favored. All that would have been thoroughly discussed prior to D’Antoni’s hiring. D’Antoni kind of had the rug pulled out from under him 9 games into the season when Crawford and Randolph both got traded with the Knicks record at 6-3. The loss of those players made winning difficult but was necessary in Walsh’s eyes in order to stick to the plan that he had mapped out to management when he was hired.

    Many of you keep making the same comments over and over with regard to D’Antoni. It so easy taking shots at him from your lounge chairs. When you coach you have to be true to your beliefs above all else. The coach has to believe in his program otherwise the players don’t buy into it. The team has had much instability over D’Antoni’s tenure. It was obvious that Curry was not going to be a contributor in the 7 seconds or less offense. To Curry, 7 seconds or less is the time it takes him to down his next BigMac. So D’Antoni is caught in a bind. He has a centre who is useless and signed for top money for his first 3 years with the team. So what should he do? Should he change his beliefs to suit a chronic underachiever? His offense is not running the way it will next year. With the cleanout of players not suited to that style of play (and quite frankly some of them are not suited to any style of play) we should expect to see a significant improvement in this team next year.

    Meanwhile all you haters, who have never coached, need to just let D’Antoni do his job and see what develops. I had one season down here early in my career where I tried to “adjust” my philosphy to suit others. I only made that mistake once in a 30 plus year coaching career. It was a miserable season. If you as the coach don’t believe in the things that you are using with your team then your team will not only underachieve but you will lose the players respect as well. I think D’Antoni has been pushed toward that line as he searches for answers. I also believe that better days are ahead.

  • jay from the fix

    Ppl are starting to notice Rudy gay now huh? Where are you guys that jumped all over me when I first mentioned Rudy gay and the knicks should make him number one if we can’t get lebron or Wade? Btw if it took the max to get gay I would and before you guys call me crazy the max for gay wouldn’t be 17 mil I think it would be 15 ish? Don’t quote me on that one because of how long he has been in the league. Has anyone read Larry coons article about the cap and how it can be manipulated? I wouldn’t not renounce anyone at first and give Felton close to all of the mid level and sign camby with the exceptions then renounce everyone and then sign gay I would also look for a sign and trade of lee to gs? Get Anthony randoplh as a start to NO for okefor I don’t think we can pry Paul from them.

  • HaS

    Kobe isn’t leaving.

    Dirk, not leaving.

    Yao’s injury was career threatening, who knows what shape he’s going to be in and they got Kevin Martin (underrated imho) now. Plus he’s not leaving either.

    Bosh I think is the best player on that team, but Turkoglu had a down year and some might argue that Bargnani (probably spelled that wrong lol) is more of an untouchable than he.

  • HaS

    “but id rathr wait till Durant comes free in 2011 the sign joe johnson.”

    Durant doesn’t “come free in 2011″ he’s an RESTRICTED free agent, do you honestly believe OKC wouldn’t match IF the Knicks convinced him to sign ANY offer sheet?

  • HaS

    He’s being patient with the coach. I understand the concept, if you b!tch about the coach (the way I do) you’ll give yourself an ulser or a brain tumor or something since he isn’t going anywhere for AT LEAST another year.

    Tommy must do Yoga or something.

    Are you a Buddhist Tommy?

  • HaS

    HEY HEY!! No “homosexual” comments, we wouldn’t want to offend anyone.

    We’ve gone over this!

    Man-Crush or Bromance will suffice.

    That is all.

    H

  • Mucha

    RUDY GAY :

    Record 35-31 (0.530)
    Supporting cast – Zach Randolph, Marc Gasol, OJ Mayo, Mike Conley

    JOE JOHNSON :

    Record 41-23 (0.641)
    Supporting cast – Al Horford, Joe Smith, Mike Bibby, Jamal Crawford

    The fact that Rudy Gay played better than Joe Johnson against the Knicks doesn’t mean that he’s the better player. In 3-4 years I think he will be but if the Knicks want to win now, they should sign Joe Johnson in my opinion. He brings leadership and playoff experience to the table.

  • Knicks4life

    “Meanwhile all you haters, who have never coached, need to just let D’Antoni do his job and see what develops. ”

    So would 15 wins be acceptable?

    10 wins?

    If we won no games this year would the fault lie completely with the players who don’t fit into any system.

    Should fans just sit back and say, we weren’t going to win anyway and accept the fact that the players on the team have stopped competing. How would D’antoni like it if the team couldn’t afford to pay him because we HATERS stopped going to games because him and the players quit midway through the season so we quit and stopped caring too.

    As a coach you should know, you coach the kids on your team, use your COACHING skills to get the most out of them and . . .God forbid if that does not work. . .ADJUST your system slightly to fit your personel.

    You never ever quit . . .because quitters never win, and winners never quit (cheesy I know).

  • Knicks4life

    “Where are you guys that jumped all over me when I first mentioned Rudy gay and the knicks should make him number one if we can’t get lebron or Wade?”

    I still think it is a stupid idea IF you are talking about giving Rudy Gay max money when the team already has Gallo and Wil.

    In the words of the immortal DMX, “I’m right here dog.”

  • SilentJay

    My friend, as a coach you should understand the simple concept of a “winning attitude”. It’s that simple factor where, even in losses, your players won’t hesitate to leave absolutely everything on the court, to not just roll over and let games develop. If you saw one of your players not motivated on the court or missing out a job on D because of his concentration, would you leave him on the court? I don’t think son. If you were a running teams, by all standards you should be making the other team run to your tempo, running teams control always the tempo. Is that case with D’antoni’s Knicks? He may have altered his system, but deepd down it’s a running one.
    It’s not about hating, it’s about you see. His level of communication, how he hasn’t been able to get the most out of players, create a competitive environment where everyone stands on the same level. You say “just let D’Antoni do his job and see what develops”. Have you seen this past 2 years of basketball? Or what has developed? He’s set new losing records, what does that tell you about a coach that doesn’t have great players? Take a look at Charlotte, at Houston. They don’t have any great players, yet the manage to play competitive and disciplined ball. Simple examples of what D’antoni could do. Is he?
    Come on.

  • SilentJay

    Both players can’t take over a team or lead them to the playoffs. Yet one will be commanding a max contract. Imho, Atlanta is a much better team than Memphis (just because the Knicks were able to take the series doesn’t mean they’re bad).
    To get “2 top guys” will leave this room no backcourt and no PG (in a system that is 100% PG guided), and for those who say wait up for Chris Paul, I’ll have to see it to believe it, and I can see how many assets DW would have to give up.
    So Johnson and Bosh leave no cash for Camby, for example. But if you were to go after a guy like Gay, who can play the 2 with no problem imho, you’d probably save yourself 3 to 4 mil on that contract, hence more room work with.
    If Johnson is the plan, I’d rather go after Gay. Why waste all that money in JJ.

  • italian stallion

    It’s not that I would be happy with it. It’s that I’m really worried they are going to over pay for 2 FAs and make me miserable for 10 more years of winning 40 games.

  • BiggieSmalls

    The Knicks hired Walsh to completely revamp the organisation. Walsh took his time and eventually decided that D’Antoni was the best coach available for his team.

    Took his time? He decided on this coach almost immediately. He only gave Mark Jackson an interview out of respect for their past relationships. NO ONE else got a call.

    In my opinion this coach was the easy choice. No thought was put into it and there were no chances taken.

  • BigDaddybluesman

    If basketball players were truly fundamentally sound the need for a pure point guard would not be.

    The older idea of a little guy with ball skills orchestrating things is actually somewhat outdated. Todays players are athletically superior and SHOULD be able to play without the traditional point guard. Yet the need for one now is the same or more than the past. The reason is because the NBA player today is not a well rounded, unselfish, win at any cost minded player.

    As we saw last night even the great coach D’Baloni could not motivate his players and relied on 2 young inexperienced but hungry low level players to almost be competitive. What we had was AL Chuck it putting his head down and charging the basket or T myknee dribbling….dribbling…dribbling…..is that coach D’Baloni’s amazing offense? No? ….then why is he playing these guys?

    In my opinion systems like the Triangle offense proves a true orchestrating PG is not necessary to have a successful offensive strategy. Hence the 5 Moe concept I speak about for those who actually take the time to read my posts.

    Although the 7SOL offense is predicated on a true PG…..but it’s not really true. It worked because D’Baloni had Steve Nash to run the floor. He made it work because the other players around him in reality could not without him. They were typical NBA players who were NOT fundamentally sound.

    If you read anything about 7SOL it’s predicated on unselfishness, ball movement and good fast decision making by the players. And there you have 3 things almost every NBA player is deficient in. Why? Because those things do not show up that much on a stat sheet when they go to get their contract. More points & rebounds = more money.

    So it’s up to the coach to teach and demand that from his players. If they don’t do it they sit……D’Baloni has not done that with the Knicks.

    The 5 Moes and 7SOL can work as long as they play defense and can also go into a half court game when they face a defensive juggernaut. That means slowing it down and running set plays as a secondary offensive style when their primary 7SOL is being shut down by superior defensive strategy. That means it is necessary to at least have a traditional type PG on the roster.

    It is my opinion D’Baloni knows he is unable to ever find another Steve Nash and he is going to try to get 5 players who can all handle the ball, are unselfish and can pass, make quick decisions with a higher basketball IQ. Yet keep a traditional PG on the roster in case……

    DLee actually turned into the type of player D’Baloni needs but is now priced out of being on the team due to the great work of Donnie.

    Chandler does not have the IQ for his system but has the physical attributes, Gallo has the IQ but not the physical attributes and now he’s stuck with them. DLee has both and he’s going bye bye.

    For one even if we did get the players needed to run the system I don’t see D’baloni as being able to keep a group of typical NBA players in line to make it work. As the present Knicks players have done, they will all turn their eras off to D’Baloni and revert back to their old ways of NBA selfishness and me first ball hogging.

    It’s a fantasy that has turned our basketball world into a nightmare, thanks to Walsh and D’Baloni.

  • Mucha

    I think it’s just a matter of preference.

    But Gay has never led his team to the playoffs, that’s a fact. He might have a brighter future but I think guys like Gallinari and Chandler need a captain who leads by example and knows what it takes to make the playoffs. Just my opinion – I like Rudy Gay too anyways.

  • BigDaddybluesman

    I am reposting this because I think it’s especially relevant to signing a player like Gay. Somehow getting Rudy Gay and Johnson and Bosh by trading Gallo and/or Chandler and shomehow Lee. I don’t know the how or if it’s possible, that will prove if Walsh is a master or a disaster.

    If basketball players were truly fundamentally sound the need for a pure point guard would not be.

    The older idea of a little guy with ball skills orchestrating things is actually somewhat outdated. Todays players are athletically superior and SHOULD be able to play without the traditional point guard. Yet the need for one now is the same or more than the past. The reason is because the NBA player today is not a well rounded, unselfish, win at any cost minded player.

    As we saw last night even the great coach D’Baloni could not motivate his players and relied on 2 young inexperienced but hungry low level players to almost be competitive. What we had was AL Chuck it putting his head down and charging the basket or T myknee dribbling….dribbling…dribbling…..is that coach D’Baloni’s amazing offense? No? ….then why is he playing these guys?

    In my opinion systems like the Triangle offense proves a true orchestrating PG is not necessary to have a successful offensive strategy. Hence the 5 Moe concept I speak about for those who actually take the time to read my posts.

    Although the 7SOL offense is predicated on a true PG…..but it’s not really true. It worked because D’Baloni had Steve Nash to run the floor. He made it work because the other players around him in reality could not without him. They were typical NBA players who were NOT fundamentally sound.

    If you read anything about 7SOL it’s predicated on unselfishness, ball movement and good fast decision making by the players. And there you have 3 things almost every NBA player is deficient in. Why? Because those things do not show up that much on a stat sheet when they go to get their contract. More points & rebounds = more money.

    So it’s up to the coach to teach and demand that from his players. If they don’t do it they sit……D’Baloni has not done that with the Knicks.

    The 5 Moes and 7SOL can work as long as they play defense and can also go into a half court game when they face a defensive juggernaut. That means slowing it down and running set plays as a secondary offensive style when their primary 7SOL is being shut down by superior defensive strategy. That means it is necessary to at least have a traditional type PG on the roster.

    It is my opinion D’Baloni knows he is unable to ever find another Steve Nash and he is going to try to get 5 players who can all handle the ball, are unselfish and can pass, make quick decisions with a higher basketball IQ. Yet keep a traditional PG on the roster in case……

    DLee actually turned into the type of player D’Baloni needs but is now priced out of being on the team due to the great work of Donnie.

    Chandler does not have the IQ for his system but has the physical attributes, Gallo has the IQ but not the physical attributes and now he’s stuck with them. DLee has both and he’s going bye bye.

    For one even if we did get the players needed to run the system I don’t see D’baloni as being able to keep a group of typical NBA players in line to make it work. As the present Knicks players have done, they will all turn their eras off to D’Baloni and revert back to their old ways of NBA selfishness and me first ball hogging.

    It’s a fantasy that has turned our basketball world into a nightmare, thanks to Walsh and D’Baloni.

  • zeeby

    David Lee=loser
    Rudy gay=loser
    Joe Johnson=never won a playoff series as the number 1 option

    The history will show that none of these three will ever amount to a championship, even together. Lee’s defense down low is too horrible (as you all know) Rudy is a second rate ball hog and Johnson isnt even the leader on the hawks now hes too quiet

  • PickNY

    Managing is a process for any organization, so many of you has to realize it will take time to assemble a cohesive group. Lebron averages between 20+ points, so they are others can flip that bill. Playing in NY with a decent group will attract others willing to play in 2011. Once again managing is a process that takes time, so this Lebron or Wade theory that this a bust, if we don’t get either is ludicrious. Really, then you don’t know anything about managing and having an opportunity to succeed. There are too many players that are all about self rather than playing together is why many big name players never win the big One! The “Bust Theory” is garbage!

    Young players that score 20+ points who have potential to be max players would be a better gamble to get now before they peak. To succeed in this type of theory would need a coach to groom young players to succeed as go-to players down the stretch. I for one wouldn’t want to a high cost after the fact when players become “Max Players”!

    In my opinion, none of these professional atheletes are worth these astronomical million dollars playing just a sport! Sad, but sports has become a business that all created, so we as fans allowed this to happen by getting caught up supporting this massive financial sporting market!

    We the fans should accept the responsibility to be called “Buster makers”!

  • Mucha

    Joe Johnson didn’t win a playoff series as the no. 1 option?

    The Hawks reached the 2nd round of the playoffs last year (beat Miami).

    Led the Hawks to a 7-game series against the champion Boston Celtics a couple years ago.