HP: The Knicks Simply Can’t Be Any Good

This is the second time this week that I have heard of using Galo at guard. Sounds like a defensive disaster to me.
The only shooting guards I see that could start are Wilson Chandler(I know he is really not a guard but he played one on TV last year and did really well)Mason or Douglas. I think Chandler gets the nod if he is still on the roster come November.

While I’m surely in the minority here, the Knicks last season were fine offensively. They missed the playoffs because the defense was awful, ranked 27th out 30 last season.

The Knick shot shot 45.5% from the field while their opponents went off for 48.6%. Opponents got 370 more rebounds than the Knicks. That’s not a winning formula. Yet everyone is overly focused on an offense that should be fine and not on a defense that was awful.

Hopefully we will not see that again. Back when D’Antoni’s Phoenix teams were the toast of the West, they were able to hold their opponents to around 45% from the Field, while shooting a few points higher. That’s what we need to see around here.

It’s not good to see articles touting the Knicks as a rebirth of the ABA, a league where defense was a dirty word. Our major short comings are when the other team has the ball. Defense isn’t sexy but it wins games. You need to be able to get stops and rebounds in crunch time. Let’s see more of that in 2010.

Tommy, how did you come up with the title, “Good, Fair Read …” when it puts out “analysis like:

“The rest of the roster is the same. Felton was never a standout defensively, even on a defensive squad like LB’s Cats. Galinari was born into D’Antoni’s defenseless womb. Anthony Randolph is described by my esteemed colleague the same way some are spoken of as rocks with mouths. All in all, the Knicks are likely to be dreadful on defense.”

Gallo put in lots of effort on D on a mainly D-less team last yr, Randolf as a “rock”(?) when the guy will also hustle on D, and when wasn’t Felton solid defensively?

The piece was just sloppy, uninformed thinking masquerading as professional opinion (not even professional analysis). Even the part you quoted in your lead was lame – “waif-like”?

I’m glad it’s posted since I look forward to this clown eating his words, but I can’t see it as a good read or anything useful.

how can you say Chandler did “really well” as a 2 guard? his shooting pct was average at best.. and he showed zero ability to handle the ball or pass.

Mason has to get the nod if Azubuike isnt ready.

i am continually amazed how people think we can take three players off a poor defensive team (GSW) and think they will somehow lead this team to a top half defensive ranking.

+1

Then throw in the fact that Azubuike, Randolph, and Turiaf are coming off injuries that saw them miss most of the season. This isn’t to say they won’t come back healthy, but it is a question mark. Azubuike probably will miss some of season and Turiaf is not playing in the FIBA championships for France to rest his knees.

I have never seen anyone say the GS 3 we picked up will vault us to the top of the defensive rankings, but let’s think about why we should be better defensively with them and others.

Career Average Blocks: Lee .4 in 30min; Turiaf 1.4 in 18min; Randolf 1.3 in 19min

Last Yr Steals: Duhan .9 in 31min; Felton 1.50 in 33min (+ .3 blocks vs. 0 blocks)

Gallo and Wil are both willing defenders, I understand Azubuike likes D, Mozgov will probably do anything to get minutes so, if he gets minutes, I see him filing the lane on D.

Finally, D is effected by team cohesion. We haven’t had that for some time, but should expect a great deal more of it this yr.

To me seems like some of these players are a bit underrated, but its about how they perform as a team that counts. Who gets shots and when, who is going to step up, who will be better staying role players. After “Stats” who is #2? I think the Rooster can be a 20/5 dude, has the heart, but tuffness to do it all year, I dont know. I Like Amp Randolph on paper, enuff with potential, he gotta show up, he healthy, no excuses, what option can he be? Coach better show up, has some talent now, his system has to produce W/out Nash.

I, too, am hopeful that we will have a better defense this season. Yet despite Turiaf and Randolph blocking shots, GSW was still worse defensively that the Knicks, with David Lee not blocking shots, the last two seasons.

+1 The players might becoming from GSW who were as bad as us, but they have potential. Are you guys telling me that you expect nothing from AR? And its not only the GSW ex-players that im expecting us to vault us to the playoffs it’s also Amare and Felton and the progression of Gallo Will (who im excited to see play after bulking up) and AR. As Vin pointed out, just the fact that the new guys coming in all have higher career stats in some key parts of the game ( i.e steals, blocks) than the players that left, this alone should improve our D. The one thing that bothers me about the players we got is the possible lack of rebounding. Im hoping Gallo,Amare and AR will improve their rebounding stats. BTW i missed the lineup thread so ill post mine here:

C Turiaf (18) Mosgov (10) Amare (15) AR (5)
PF Amare (20) AR (28)
SF Gallo (35) WIll (13)
SG Will (13) Az (20) Mason (15)
PG Felton (30) Tony (18)

(hopefully the numbers make sense lol )

Gallo at the 2?! Just because someone said that Randolph could have a breakout season or at least a very good one … doesn’t mean he jumps in the starting 5 from the beginning! I rather see Amare switch to the 5, the Gallo to the 2! Makes no sense matchupwise!

i think it’s a fair. description.

Felton — at best was an NBA average player under LB. He did not STAND OUT by any stretch of the imagination. If he did he would have gotten more offers than the 2 year deal he struck.

Gallo did in fact come into the league with a coach who does not stress defense. He has had little or no schooling in that area. for the past year that he was on the court. He WAS willing.. but int he land of the blind the one eyed is king.

I take the “rocks with mouths” comment to mean AR doesnt have a high IQ. Could be the case.. the writer refers to colleagues passing along that description. It questions his ability to learn and adapt.. a valid concern that doesnt reflect his freakish athleticism.

As far as the waif like comment it was exaggerated at best… i agree Gallo is no “waif” but on the other hand he is no adonis

The point tommy brought up is accurate. This year IS 100% on the coach. Either he EXCEEDS expectations or he takes his carpet bag somewhere else.

You’re right, they have up 7 more points than we did last yr (http://espn.go.com/nba/statistics/team/_/stat/team-comparison-per-game/sort/avgPointsOpponent) but, as you pointed out previously Turiaf, Randolf, and Azubuike were all out for significant time last season.

I look at these 3, Felton, growth from our own guys, even Mosgov and the fact that we can now put a 5 at the 5 and a 4 at the 4 (not Al Harrington) for most of the game and think we will be better.

The facts that the team should be more cohesive and Mike is coaching for his NYC life should help as well.
Bottom line, I’m looking for D effort from guys who can play it to go along with more D emphasis from a staff that knows they need to be middle of the league (at worst) and can demand it from this group.

everyone — even the cynical press — is expecting the team to be better.

the question is whether this team, as currently constructed, is capable of getting to the second round of the playoffs. And whether this team — composed of average at best defenders — can be in the top half of the league “rankings”/

It was even average – he had the lowest percentage in the whole league when grouped as a 2.

*wasn’t

This team has a load of potential and its up to the coach to get them all to play to it, gallo is only gonna get better, randolph is the key is he gonna finally get hischance and blossom? or is he gonna still make the same rookie mistakes? i am really looking forward to trainging camp and the season to begin. “Lets Go Knicks”

i was trying to be kind.

I’m not a Felton hater, but why do people pretend that Larry Brown was the reason he hasn’t succeeded in the NBA as if he were his only coach? He played three years in the league before he ever met Brown if I’m not mistaken.

If they put Gallo at the 2 he’s gonna get cooked for the first couple pre-seasons games & then put back at the three .. No worries, people forget about the pre-season all the time so I’m not gonna trip.. If we don’t trade for Melo & JR I’d start ;

Felton
Mason
Gallo
STAT
Turiof/AR (depending on whether or not the opposing C has a post game) I’d start AR against guys like McGee/Kristic & Turiaf against the traditional Cs like Perkins & Bynum..

I think the top half of league rankings on D is your question, which is cool. But, for me, the Suns went far with mid-level D rankings. Any better, which we might be, and we have a nice team.

Can they get out of the 2nd round is also something you’re putting in a topic that you started on D. Okay.

I say they’re young, so it’s less likely, but that is not all on their defensive play. Sometimes youth is just not ready. In addition, they have too many wings, so a trade is likely (meaning they likely wont end up “as currently constituted”).

Anyway, I’m good with the team being better in all aspects of he game and with the flexibility we have to make a move as needed.

I hear what the author is trying to say, but saying the following is just weird:

“This is just tall, athletic guys who can throw the round thing in the circular thing repeatedly.”

Is that not the object of the game? So long as the Knicks “tall, athletic guys” throw the ball in the hoop more than the other team, I will be happy.

plus 1,000

Has – i think same reason why steve nash wasn’t a two time MVP in Dallas! It has a lot to do with the coach … and with the supporting cast! you’re right .. first 3 seasons…no coach brown! but lets see them as learning expierence! i just can’t see why he should not succeed in ny with d’antoni! marbury was a 20 and 8 player before playing for brown! don’t get me wrong … i’m not saying felton is on the brink of stardom…but he can get better, right?!

Here’s a link to a Bay Area article about Randolph’s tenure as a Warrior. It’s a good read about what Randolph has to offer and what he needs to work on for the future.

http://bayarea.sbnation.com/2010/7/27/1590422/anthony-randolphs-buzz-in-new-york

Anthony Randolph’s Buzz In New York. But Do People Really Know What They’re Getting?

by Brian Chung • Jul 27, 2010 10:53 AM PDT

As the saying goes, “another man’s junk is another man’s treasure.” Anthony Randolph, the now ex-Golden State Warrior and New York Knicks shiny new toy, is described as a player that could finally flourish under coach Mike D’Antoni’s loose-free-flowing system. Questions about his “fit” with the Warriors, their purported “grind-it out, structured scheme,” again, renarrate the Warriors to the public stage of the NBA as an incompetent team with an incompetent coach, both who can’t see the forest for the trees. By this, the trees being Randolph’s immaturity versus the forest being the potential around his skill-set.

Anthony Randolph may not be a Warrior anymore, but a few of these recent features of him in national media make me wonder to what extent do people outside of the bay area know how far Randolph has to go. And to what extent is that a reflection of how little people know about the Warriors and professional sports in the bay area?

Why do people continue to try to jam Amare at center!?! Has it not been made crystal clear he does not like and will not play center!?! The guys not having it he hated it when they tried it on the suns and he damn sure aint going for it here. So while it may be fun to play around with line ups the fact is he will not play more then 5 mins at center if that!

If Mozgov can actually ball I think it could work.

Felton/Gallo/Randolph/Amar’e/Timo

Whenever that line-up is on the floor on defense we can just go into a 1-2-2 or 3-2 zone, let Felton harass the other teams PG and let them try to deal with our length, quickness and shot-blocking.

Who knows. It could work. I’m sure Pringles will try it.

I think rebounding was really our achilles heel – particularly giving up offensive rebounds.

Marbury while a nut case was 100 times the PG in high school then Felton is now! Nash was a stud on the Mavs after his first year!! I dont know where people get this “Nash was average on the mavs stuff!

It was in Dallas that Nash established himself as one of the best point guards in the NBA. During his first year as a Maverick (the lockout-shortened 1998–99 season) he started in all 40 games he played in, and averaged 7.9 points, 2.9 rebounds and 5.5 assists per game.[14] The Mavericks failed to make the playoffs but in the 1999–2000 season, the team’s prospects improved considerably. Nash missed 25 mid-season games due to an ankle injury, but came back to record six double-doubles in the last month of play.[10] He finished the season with averages of 8.6 points and 4.9 assists per game.[14] More importantly for the team, second-year teammate and friend Dirk Nowitzki was blossoming quickly into a top player, veteran Michael Finley was having an All-Star-calibre year, and the team’s new owner, billionaire Mark Cuban, was bringing new energy and excitement to the franchise. Nash now had a supportive environment in which he could thrive.
In the 2000–01 season, Nash averaged 15.6 points and 7.3 assists per game in a breakout season.[14] With Nash directing the team’s offense, Nowitzki and Finley playing at their best, and the acquisition of All-Star Juwan Howard complementing the high-scoring trio, the Mavericks earned a playoff berth for the first time in more than a decade. Dallas lost in the Western Conference Semifinals four games to one to the San Antonio Spurs, but it marked the beginning of a memorable run for Nash and the Mavericks.[15] In the 2001–02 season, Nash posted career-highs of 17.9 points and 7.7 assists per game[14] and earned a spot in the NBA All-Star Game and on the All-NBA Third Team.[16][17] He was now an All-Star, increasingly appearing in television commercials and, with Finley and Nowitzki, a part of the Dallas Mavericks “Big Three.”[18] Dallas earned another trip to the playoffs but lost again in the Semifinals to the Sacramento Kings four games to one.[19]
Nash closely replicated his previous season’s performance in the 2002–03 season, averaging 17.7 points and 7.3 assists per game,[14] again earning All-Star and All-NBA Third Team honours.[16][20] Nowitzki and Nash led the Mavericks from a 14-game winning streak to open the season all the way to the Western Conference Finals, where they lost to the eventual NBA champions, the San Antonio Spurs four games to two.[21] It was only the second Conference Finals appearance in the franchise’s history. The 2003–04 season saw an offensively boosted Mavericks roster (with the acquisitions of Antoine Walker and Antawn Jamison) but a dip in Nash’s scoring contributions. As a result he was not selected for the All-Star and All-NBA team rosters even though he achieved new career highs in assists per game (8.8) and free-throw accuracy (91.6%).[14] In the playoffs, the fifth-seeded Dallas failed to make progress yet again as the Sacramento Kings saw them off four games to one

how are you going to judge the success vin?

as far as i am concerned, playoff progress and success is what we are after ultimately.

i think a first round exit would be bitte sweet and the MINIMUM expectations. A second round match up would be EXCEEDING expectations — which is what this “coach” has to do to get some respect in this town.

Remember, the Suns went far with Nash as a superstar running the show.. there is no Nash here.

Like was said above, this is it for Dantoni. 8th seed or better and a decent showing in the playoffs, or he should be gone after this year. We have the talent to be the 8th seed.

this article is an eye opener for those of you who think they are an automatic playoff team. This year the Knicks will at least battle for the 8 seed, which is better than what they’ve been doing.

We still don’t have a real center who will play

You guys really have to get off this “knicks suck” bus. We will be better than last year and we all know it, even if we won’t admit it. Too many folks on here try to sound smarter than everybody else. Most outsiders are right there just isn’t any optimism in this fan base or atleast not on this blog for the most part. I bleed blue and orange and I think they will be brilliant this year and I don’t care what anybody says. If they stink they stink but I’ll still be there rooting for them and then the next year I’ll have the same hope that they will be better. So go on and try to land that job blogging, because frankly that’s whatsome of you sound like and I’ll stay here with my optimism. But I’ll always be happier about my team than you.

Biggie,

If the Knicks make the playoffs with a 7th or 8th seed, they will face Miami or Orlando, by my estimation. To expect them to advance further is the stuff that legends are made of.

Let’s be fair to the coach. Last year, he had a mess of a roster, especially after the trade deadline. If he makes the playoffs, that’s all one should expect this season. OKC didn’t make the 2nd round last year. They are a success.

Sure is ds2488!! +1

I’ll be rooting for them too. I’m out of market and have been paying to watch them for years on League Pass. But the last 4 or 5 years around this time, delusional Knick fans are penciling them into the playoffs. It’s embarassing.

This year we have an exciting team that has a chance at the playoffs. I’m counting down the days to preseason, but not with Eastern Conference Finals aspirations. Some of you guys need to wake up

lmao been holding that in a while have you cms9675? Knock yourself out I dont think anybody here is trying to rob you of your pie in the sky optimism in fact more power to you! But the blog IMO is to discuss and debate particulars of the teams make up and forward progress.

It’s even worse seeing Randolph slotted in a center. He sees himself as a point forward and doesn’t have the footwork down to play in the paint. Just because someone is tall, doesn’t make them a center.

+1

When you play an offensive set with three guys standing on the arc and a 6’9″ center as the big in the P and R, offensive rebounds are going to be an issue. Anytime that big takes a quick, short fall back jumper from there will be nobody in position over than the point guard. Even when the big gets to the hoop, he is the only when there to get a missed lay-up. Look at how many times Lee rebounded his own misses. On a pitchout, the lone big is still the only guy in position. When the guys on the arc have to run-in on the shot, it often leads to a run-out and easy basket on the other end.

This offense requires high percentage shooters as there few opportunities for second chances.

” he is the only ONE there to get a missed lay-up.”

gallo is an all around player. he knows defense and is far more than “Willing”

he’s an intelligent defender.

Many posters here have said that Gallo has to be the one to go to the Nuggets as the Knicks can’t do without Randolph’s great defensive abilities and have spoken about him is he is the defensive savior along with Ronny.

I’ve asked several times when he became a great defender and have never gotten an answer.

Here’s a poor rebounding team that has gotten worse. Gallo is 6’10 and doesn’t board. Amare doesn’t board -8.9 lifetime, and 6 in the playoffs. Chandler will play at the 2 if he plays. Mosgov can’t board. Turiaf can’t board.

Barron seems like he could, but he’s gone.

And, there wasn’t any D last year, and there won’t be any this year.

This is a poorly constructed team, with 8 seed/1st round exit as it’s upper ceiling. Which ppl were saying about last years team–that one got 29 wins.

It almost seems like the team was constructed more for trade pieces than anything else.

Except it seems no one wants them.

Okay, let’s try again.

Felton: the article says he was “never” a stand out defensively. Read here http://www.draftexpress.com/profile/Raymond-Felton-5/, the man played great D in college and his D in the pros translated into 1.5 steals per and a team that was ranked 1st in points allowed http://espn.go.com/nba/statistics/team/_/stat/team-comparison-per-game/sort/avgPointsOpponent

AR: If the guy is or isn’t smart is not necessarily a critique of his D. Can he play D or not, the writer implies he’s too stupid. Sorry, that’s not good enough. The fact is the kid can play D, but he has been hurt (1.3 blocks and .7 steals (more than our last PG) in under 20min lifetime).

Gallo: was/is “willing” as I said, but my complete quote was “Gallo put in lots of effort on D on a mainly D-less team last yr”. So, how does being born of a D-less coach fit with that? It’s just another guilty by association – like AR supposedly being dumb so readers are supposed to believe he supposedly doesn’t play D.

Waif / Adonis: Who needs to be an Adonis to play the wing? AR @ 225 and Gallo at the same or 5 – 10 lbs heavier should be fine.

If this is you’re type of debate then, yes, I can see how the article is your type of article. I prefer a bit more thought and accuracy, but to each his own.

Marbury while a nut case was 100 times the PG in high school then Felton is now!

who cares?

and btw felton was the best player on the floor including Deron Williams in 2005 title game.

while that may be meaningless too, I think he’s a good fit here.

thats fine.. choose your adjective.

intelligent.. willing..

like i said.. in the land of the blind the one eyed is king.

I think collective rebounding’s more important than individual rebounding. Let’s see what they can do as a team first. But rebounding as a whole is the biggest question mark/concern for the Knicks, no question about it.

so if just steal a home win the first round tht’s enough to declare victory and extend the “coach”

is exceeding expectations just MAKING the playoffs?

i would think — and i think most agree — that this team as currently constructed has enough to be a 7 or 8 seed..

Exactly, which is why the Knicks need to shoot a higher percentage than their opposition.

Roger Mason maybe quite the surprise. I’ve only seen a few games when he started for San Antonio, but was very accurate.

Centers – Turiaf, Mosgov

quote the post where someone said the team wont be better than last year.

If Randolph was the player many think him to be, GSW would have not traded him. Randolph is freakishly long for a wing player and gets some blocks because of his length. There’s more to defense than that. He is a project with great potential.

nah, he’s a far better defender than you’re giving him credit for. Maybe not at the 2, but the team lacked help and basket protection. I think the team improved very much in that area if everyone stays healthy.

Obviously, he hasn’t played enough minutes to be a sure thing, but it’s the Per 36 numbers: 7.2 DRB, 2.4 BLK, 1.3 STL.

If he lives up to his statistical projections, look out.

And Randolph didn’t succeed because of Don Nelson and the Knicks are bad because D’Antoni can’t coach.

You know, it’s really about the players. Phil jackson didn’t make Jordan, Pippen, Shaq, and Kobe into great players. He was fortunate enough to coach them.

Why does everyone think Anthony Randolph is a center? He is a perimeter player and good in transition. What has he ever done to be considered a center at any point in his career. He’s a point forward.

good job Boots.. i read this as why we need a new coaching philosophy.

Mozgov is going to need time to work his way into the NBA game & develop certain weak aspects of his game. I don’t think you can just throw him in for major minutes right away. How about bringing in Patrick Ewing, Sr. as an assistant to work with the bigs?

by “willing” i meant that Gallo was willing to take on teh other teams best offensive player.. results be damned..

i all but called him the best defender ont eh team last year… not sure how that isnt giving him credit..

anyway.. from a basic standpoint i have issues with his strength as a defender on the blocks — and the back issue may make that a long term concern . And on the perimter i have issues with his lateral quickness — again, tha back issues may make that a long term concern.

From what i saw of him pre knicks he seemsed much more fluid and active and less “clumsy” and stiff..

i hope that changes as he gets further removed from back surgery..

Felton alone vs Duhon makes this team better defensively by a wide margin.. and STAT vs whoever was playing the 4 is an improvement..

no question Turiaf is leaps and bounds better than Lee defensively.. and having a REAL 2 (as opposed to a 3/4 playing 2) will help as well..

i think we essentially agree on this portion of the thread..

Maybe you are reading something into my Gallo comments that i am missing.

Great point.

I think that was meant to be a positive, since the excerpt started with: “To take the sting off it a little bit,” and continued with “… we have to see how bloody fun this team is apt to be.”

Patrick has not been able to teach Dwight Howard a single post move. I don’t know why people think he is such a good assistant coach.

I think even most GSW fans would tell you that AR was often benched unfairly. He may have some learning to do, but Don Nelson is insane and is not above benching players to stick it to ownership or because he is holding a grudge. When they fell in love with Lee I guess they thought AR was expendable but I think they made a huge mistake. We shall see.

He is 6’11 and can get you 11 boards and 2 blocks if he gets ~30-36 minutes on the court. I think that’s enough of a “center” for D’Antoni.

Brilliant? Highly doubtful. Entertaining and more watchable and showing growth, certainly.

New York is a place where cynicism and pessimism often passes for knowledge and sophistication.

Given that in most situations in life, success has a lower percentage of happening than faliure, being negative and cynical gives a “fan” more of a chance of being right. More chance of an “I told you so.”

Hey, if success that easy, all these experts would be NBA stars, NBA coaches of the year, and GMs of championship teams. In reality, 99.9% the posters here, myself included, couldn’t stay on the court with the worst NBA player. On the other side of the black line, it would be interesting to know sometime how many guys here have ever coached anything more than a summer camp team.

So keep your optimism and let them keep their pessimism, because it is just sports forum BSing either way. Since none of us are Knicks or employed by the Knicks (that I know of), it shouldn’t be life or death for any of us.

Forgetting D-HO and teaching big men, I think the most important characteristic for a coach is being loquacious and getting his point across.

There is a reason Patrick is not highly regarded in the league. This was apparent when he coached the rook-soph game – he had no idea on how to take charge of a huddle.

I am really getting tired of people bringing up this idea that the coach “doesn’t emphasize d-fense”. The 6’9 David Lee has been our starting center for 2 years. Al Harrington and Chris Duhon have consistently been in starting lineup.Forget that last 2 years. Those teams were not built to win.

look at his 4 full years in Phoenix. and forget total points allowed. when you are in 7SOL you opponent will score more than the average team.
Lets look at opponent FG%: http://espn.go.com/nba/statistics/team/_/stat/defense-per-game/sort/fieldGoalPctOpponent/year/2008/split/51
how about Defensive ranking (points per 100 possessions): http://www.basketball-reference.com/teams/PHO/2007.html

In both cases, middle of the pack every year. Not terrible, as most in here would have you believe, even with the worst defensive PG in history.
Having said that, I will be watching the knick D very closely this year. I have been sick these last 2 years. they have to get after it on the defensive end. We know they are gonna score.

I’m not saying that they are making it to the eastern finals, I’m saying that people constantly putting them as a team struggling to make the playoffs is crazy. The “experts” had OKC in the lottery last year as did all of us. Don’t lie. Look what they did last year. Let’s be honest here a lot of folks on this blog talk as if they are trying to get a guest spot on sny. I’m not gonna put anybody in the spot light like I’ve done before but we all know who you are. All I’m saying is have a little optimism, its the second best part about rooting for the team you love. Obviously the first is watching said team win. Anything can happen in this league and we have never seen this team play together so to write them off as a struggling team is crazy. Yeah they do have a chance for it not to work out, I know the risks just like everybody else. We all come on this post for a reason, some different than others but we are all knick fans (I hope). Nobody know how milwaukee will do this year with bogut hurt and with maggette coming in and redd coming back. But everybody has them going even deeper in the playoffs but we don’t know how there chemistry will be. So if people can just put other. Teams that has never proven that they. Get out of the firstt round andthen totally change up there core, then why can’t I?

I think we’ll be ok guys. It’s not as if Mike D DOESN’T talk about defense. Is he a defensive guru? No, but it’s not like he tells the guys “to hell with D, just play ball.” Even Jared jeffries said it after he was traded. “Coach preaches defense, but guys have to play it”. Personally, I don’t think we can’t hold his feet to the fire with the rag tag bunch of losers he was blessed with last year. This year, the clock starts ticking. Donnie got him some individually defensive minded two way players, that are coachable, and don’t have any individual agendas. It’s up to Mike D to get them to overachieve. THAT’S what coaching is about and now it’s his time to show and prove. Again, this coach won 50 plus games multiple times with a trip to the finals in a MUCH harder conference. Let’s give him a chance. Steve Nash wasn’t Steve Nash until he played for D’Antoni. Guys like Diaw/ Barbosa/ Marion haven’t seen the same level of success since D’Antoni left. Lets give the coach some credit here. Hopefully we can see the same level of success.

Hey Blackwood, way to copy and paste wiki – anyway Nash’s breakout was his 5th and 6th season, once he was unchained by Nelson and had some finishers. I think Felton is in a similar situation. And by the way, Felton was the top HS player in the nation at one time. Steph was great in HS, but so was Ray.

nice post.. didnt say much though..

bottom line do u disagree that getting to the second round is over achieving for this year?

OKC is a different animal.. they have Durant.. arguably the future best player in the league adn currently in the top 5

which goes to my point that having a top 5 player should make you a lock for a playoff run.

I was employed by them for about a week. I never want to work there again, but it was a goal of mine to work at madison square and I did. I’m a huge knick fan and I know everybody likes to be right, but ya know what when most of them are saying the same things you hear in newspapers and on tv, it kinda hard to believe they are not just regurgitating what they hear just so they can sound smart. Most of these knicks have never played together so yeah ya kinda have to be a little cautious, but that don’t mean ya can’t get excited. Because none of us truly know how this thing will play out. Its okay to root for your team no one is gonna eat your lunch for it. And. I’m not a sports writer so I don’t care about what these guys are doing in their personal lives or what bad team they played for inthe past. Once they put on that orange and blue I’m a fan.

Excellent analysis on that point, Boots.

Mucha you hit it right onthe head right there when you said let’s see what they do as a team first. We don’t know what kind of team they will be at all. Because only three regular rotation guys are returning. Curry and walker don’t count because I don’t think either will be getting any burn this year. This team is young and has a lot of talent, but espn says nobody wants our pieces then we start hearing oon this blog that nobody wants what we have to offer. We hear on espn that our team will struggle to get the 8th spot and then you hear it here. I’m excited about this team because I actually watched most of them play. The exception being mozgov, fields and rautins. Sorry summer league doesn’t count. I think this collection of talent can and will do well. I could be wrong, but only time will tell me that.

Exactly. If not a totally new plan, than at least some variety. Some change-up. Different sets allow different players to utilize their best skills rather than forcing all players into the same mold. It also gives some flexibility to bench use (I kow what you’re ging to say to that ).

I’d like to see a good post-up w/ cutters series of sets that can put the opposition in some foul trouble and force them deeper into their bench. The current offense makes it too easy for defenders to just stand in front of their man and let the three point shooting percentage be their best defense.

Otherwise, it is like a carpenter with only one tool in his toolbag.

Even for me – someone who likes D’A – this is the last chance. You’re right.

And who said anything about life or death? I’m just a fan who loves his team its not life or death situation! Calm down buddy!

Yeah that never happens in NY. D’Antoni would never bench a player for any reason other than on the court performance. If Randolph pulls the stuff he did in GS, he will find pine time here as well.

Nothing wrong with being a fan as long as you have a life outside of the Knicks.

I used to be a cynic about many things in life, but I found that cynicism started to have a negative influence on my life decision-making process.

These days I consider myself an optimal realist and find that I’m a lot happier. Sure, I still get burned occasionally, but better to trust and get burned once in a while than constantly living in the negative zone.

OK: enough off topic. Sorry guys.

In blogworld many of the players discussed are described as “below average defenders”. It is as if the term
average has been redefined; can everyone be below average mathematically? Of course not.

Does an offense that features a pg walking the ball upcourt and thereby reducing both teams shot attempts have better defenders?
Not in my mind.

Folks screaming for D’Antoni’s head don’t appreciate or perhaps understand the mathematical advantages his innovative approach brings: bluntly, take higher %, higher yielding shots more often.

To back all critisism on the fact that he never won an NBA championship didn’t see the conference finals D’Antoni’s Suns played.

If the Knicks can play high quality SSOL in the next year or two this town will be rocking.

Bingo.

Curry, Moz, Barron, Bender — none of them could make the rotation.

Knix need a center. A rare commodity in the NBA these days.

Looks like center by committee: Amar’e, Ronny, AR, Moz, Gallo. Not good enough to get 45 wins.

No one is watching ESPN and reporting back on this site what they are saying trying to be a reporter. At least I’m not if that’s what you’re referring to. I’m just giving you my opinion. It’s not even a negative one. I don’t act like I have any inside knowledge either.

I’ve been a fan since ’88 and initially saw a lot of good, now have seen a lot of bad. Hopefully it stops this year

The Knicks roster sucked the last 6/7 years so I kept saying they had no chance.

Now, the Knicks roster has been upgraded so they can compete for a playoff spot.

Simple as that.

That being said, they aren’t a good team yet

No center and no defense. End of conversation

Durant or no durant they still got labeled with the lottery tag last year. It just goes to show that most people just say what they hear and not what they believe. This team was assembled to run and do all things on defense we couldn’t do last year (block shots and get steals). We also didn’t have anybody down low a capable of getting doubled night after night, but we do now. Last year our starting point guard couldn’t run half a block without getting tired. Now we have a work horse. We are better than everybody gives us credit for.

Lets just wait until the season starts and they actually play a few games before making a statement like that.

I didn’t name anyone in particular, but if you feel like it was at you then you are probably right. I just wrote the two things I constantly hear on espn and on this blog. If you’re feeling guilty that’s one thing, but if it doesn’t apply let it fly!

fair enough. enjoy the 48 win season

I definitely agree! The 2 spot is not a lock for Will. I believe the spot is wide open for Mase and even Mr. Fields have a chance to crack the rotation as he grow with confidence! This is the year every new player must step up and make their defense their priority! If you want minutes, prove it, or sit your butt down until you are willing to play as a team! I also agree that the coach must lead by example. However, I also realized that it will take some time for the players chemistry to come together!

The Knicks can’t compete with teams 1-6 in the East. It’s just too much of a talent gap and we have got develop some chemistry.

We could finish 7-8 and look great or just look adequate. It’s about how the teams plays. Beating a team like Milwaukee, Chicago, Orlando, Atlanta, Miami, or Boston, simply isn’t in the cards in 2010-11.

I don’t think 7-8 is a lock by any means. Many teams fail to live up to the expectations that are set for them. So if we make the playoffs and get a first round exit, I’ll in the success camp.

The main goal for the Knicks should be to see who can together and what they need to improve further. Who knows what could happen. Randolph could be a bust or All-Star. Roger Mason may become a Steve Kerr type player or be a total dud. It’s all too unpredictable.

I’m sure he will get the chance to play in the paint. At least, it will be interesting to see how Randolph develops on the Knicks. If he gets 11 boards and 2 blocks, I’ll buy his jersey!

+1…i was watching knicks in 60 last month (knicks vs. suns)…the suns with D’Antoni shredded the knicks apart with their offensive schemes, it was incredible…i cant wait to see us return the favor this year

+1 Injuries aside.

That ’06-’07 Suns team was the best example, yes.

I don’t see how this roster doesn’t have the *potential* to go 47-35 and get a 6th seed, and maybe shock some people in the playoffs. If it doesn’t, though, then I’ll be screaming for D’A's head, too.

thats what I truly believe, this team can win 45-50 games…You’re not the only one who will be screaming at D’Antoni’s head if all does not go well.

I wont be screaming for the coach’s head if the season fails, i would let him finish out the contract the first 2 years didnt happen in my mind. What were you really expecting the last 2 years honestly? i was expecting 30-35 win and i was being optimistic. Phil Jax wouldnt coach that team because he would lose about the same amount of games. I am expecting 42-45 wins this year.

Listen, the guys coming from GSW did not get significant playing time or they were hurt for most of the season. Given more minutes and staying healthy, increases the willingness and strength to go out and play hard D for your team. Or at least motivation. These guys have it. They just look really good defensively IMO.

I agree to a point, but you still need players who hustle on defense, fight over screens, etc. We have seen too little of that during the time that he has been coach here.

its overall a positive piece.. i think you are making too much of a few words..

its like when a girl says do you think i look fat in this dress and you say no and she i dont like how you said that..

i dont recall OKC being labelled a lotto team last year.

Wasn’t talking about you, but some posters here treat it that way.

Hopefully, it is just hyperbole on their part, but sometimes they go over the top.

Ok lets look at the Boston Celtics who probably have the most conventional starting five in the leaue.
Felton guards Rondo
Gallo guards ray allen
Wilson guards Paul Peirce
Stat on KG
Turiaf on Perkins
That could work and for teams who have a shooting guard that is much quicker than the 3 Galo would guard the 3. Basically Gallo will just guard the less athletic of the 2 and 3.

I think its unfair to saddle the team with the previous teams failures. They are improved in. A lot of areas. But people always say look where they were last year. This isn’t the same team and people really need to start recognizing that.

True that our problem last year was offense not defense. That is because our core was harrington, Lee, Duhon.

This year we got felton, buike, randolph, amare, turiaf. ALL 5 of those players are much tougher, more agressive, better defenders than ANYONE who was on our team last year (with the exception of maybe chandler.) Those are the kind of players you need to play pressure defense so that you can force turnovers and get out in transition.

Also, rebounding was another weakness. Amare is good for about 9, but people forget that Randolph is actually an exceptional rebounder. 6.5 rebounds and 1.5 blocks in 22 minutes? Those are camby number (per 36 minutes of course.) We definitely fixed a lot of our problems and i think we can have a much better defense, and a much better team this year.

I mean true, our problem was “defense not offense”

We all are Knick fans here, some shake the pom poms and some shake their heads. There is nothing wrong with being optimistic and thinking this team will do great but on the flip side looking at the team realistically and looking at the competition, going off of past history how can we assume we make big strides this year. We have a team of not interchangeable parts but parts that don’t fit in the proper holes. We have players in Mason and Azubuike that are starters on good teams and backups on great teams, Felton has the pg down but ain’t a game changer by any stretch, Gallo was up and down like he was home and away but he has to be more fluid in his game to take it to that next level, Randolph has not been able to play for long stretches albeit because of Nelson to show this great leap in performance that could make him a major star and we basically have a center by committee, Amare is the only constant and bonafide AllStar. When you read of these crazy lineups where Gallo at the two and this and that they will be a mismatch all the way around on both sides of the ball for and against our team. So if I’m one of those that don’t show optimism well when Alan Hahn, Al Trautwig and the rest of the Knicks commentators feel we will be 500 when they normally cheer and overexaggerate everything they do then that shows that not everyone including the die hards are not on board.

Agreed Jeff, 7th-8th is the most this team’s gonna be looking for. Milwaukee’s pure discipline is enough to get them the 6th seed.
I’ll be happy just seeing the team back in the playoffs. After that, it’s a puncher’s chance. I think our luck is pretty much fixed whether it’s Orlando or Miami the teams we meet, but rolling over and being swept isn’t my idea either. Miami will struggle with a battling team that protects the paint.

That’s a problem I said as well. Inconsistencies are bound to happen in a kid that’s played only 90+ games since coming into the league.
I mean we saw Gallo dissapearing away from MSG, which is just a kid learning the NBA. AR’s got pretty much the same experience, stupid mistakes come with the territory. The coach needs to put his ego aside this whole season and work with this roster to get the best out of them. AR’s just one of his tasks.

Add 10-15 points to that stat sheet and I’ll have one of those as well.

With his lack of perimeter shot, I doubt seeing him playing at the 3. At the same time, his versatility may open way for him to become one of the more versatile PF’s (and eventually) C in the league. But it’s all speculation at this point.
The more “rational” -trying to look at it from the coach’s POV- is to give Randoph the majority of his minutes at the 4 while sliding Amare to the 5.

“If that’s the case and it’s obvious that the team can’t play at anywhere near a championship level in this system, the coach should be shown the door.”

+1. Why do you think MD pulled out of the Dream Team Turkey trip? He knows he’s on the clock. I still say this is his last year as Knick coach.

+1. Chandler should be nowhere near the 2. I thing RM JR will be a force on this squad.

“From what i saw of him pre knicks he seemsed much more fluid and active and less “clumsy” and stiff..”

Even in the Summer League game before the injury you could see a slight difference. If he doesn’t get quicker at least offensively his optimal position will be PF imho.

@ Dylan

_on Nelson and _’antoni while they have their similarities as far as pace coach a little differently offensively. With _’antoni Nash had the ball 99% of the time and was required to make nearly every decision and create every shot on the floor while also running 100 pick & rolls every night. Obviously his assist numbers went up, he is a great passer and decision maker. People tend to make it seem as if the “coach” made Nash into a better passer or somehow brought something out of him that wasn’t already there. _’antoni’s whole offense is pick & roll and three point shots, no post ups and no isolation. He preaches ball movement, but in Phoenix his offense was pretty much Nash pounding the ball into submission for the whole possession until he found someone for a open 3 or Stoudemire rolling to the basket for layup/dunk.

If a point guard who is an exceptional passer and can break a defense down doesn’t average at least 10+ assists holding the ball 100% of the time while playing close to 40 mins most nights then something would be very wrong.

Felton is no Nash, while he’ll defend much better than Nash (who is a notch better than Lee in that department) he isn’t nearly the clever passer and penetrator that Steve is. I would expect his numbers to improve, but I wouldn’t expect him to become a two time MVP.

Well tommy if you would of read the post of Daniel which I was replying to you would of seen why I bring up Marbury (take your time to read the roots of the reply my man)

yea back to college huh? lol & now Felton could not be Deron’s water boy lol. I say dont over hype the dude I would advice people to think of him the same way they do the Russian Moz and allow him to ether become a pleasant surprise or just the average PG he most likely is.

Thanks peeg lol thought it was best to put the stistical facts rather then people saying he was not all that until MD made him a star which is nonsense.

Umm wrong in his second year he started to ascend after his injury. In 2000 he was averaged 15.6 points and 7.3 assists per game and made the playoffs.

And by the way the best High school Felton would get smoked by the best high school Steph I mean in the end I know we are not going to even remotely imply that Felton is or will be the talent Steph was!?! (losing his mind aside)

“i dont recall OKC being labelled a lotto team last year.”

That’s because they weren’t. A lot of people were saying they were a sleeper and could make the playoffs this year. The more positive articles on the Knicks have said the same about this team.

*Scratches head*
Chandler shot .479 percent from the field. How is that average?