2FOR18: My guess is that you were horrified at the play where Amare refused to so much as bend down for that loose ball near the end. That play put me over the edge as well.
As a Knicks fan, all I have to look forward to is your recap articles, so please keep up the good work.

You’re right, I just about flew off the handles when that happened. And thanks for the kind words. Hopefully tomorrow night won’t entail coming to the board to lament and we can all celebrate a victory.

knickspodcast: You should email that to him

+1. I meant to write that in my post….

Jim Cavan: I do watch the games. I think sometimes I get into trouble trying to feverishly type notes instead of watching individual players more closely. Maybe Amar’e is one of those. You have to take this stuff with a truckload of salt. In the same way that you hold certain posters to a higher standard, I hold Amar’e to a higher standard on the court. Melo might get lazy, but Stat is lazy AND has bad fundamentals (i.e. never so much as bending his knees to play D).

My guess is that you were horrified at the play where Amare refused to so much as bend down for that loose ball near the end. That play put me over the edge as well.
As a Knicks fan, all I have to look forward to is your recap articles, so please keep up the good work.

Brian Cronin: I meant to do this when it came out, but I’d like to take issue with this comment from Bill Simmons’ defense of the Melo trade: A. It is more than a bit disingenuous to not mention the 1st rounder in 2014, the two second rounders this year and next and the right to to swap 1st rounders in 2016 (could we please, please please see the Knicks win more than 45 games before they ever agree to trade a first rounder again?)B. Not counting Felton or Mozgov is iffy as an argument, but…C. Not even remembering that Randolph was also in the deal was just silly. However, worst of all…D. The Knicks could have signed Chandler without doing the trade (they would just have had to do the same Turiaf trade that they ended up doing to have room this year)! It is patently false that the trade was Melo + cap space for Gallo/WC. False on the face of it. And when you have to make stuff up to make your argument sound convincing, well, your argument is not very convincing.

His defense, and spin, of that trade as a no-brainer annoys me as well, especially since he’s usually so spot on re: the NBA. (i.e. he was one of the few saying unequivocally that Port should drfat Durant over Oden)
I’m wondering if he’s just doing his reverse jinx thing since he hates the Knicks.
I still remember crying to anyone who would listen that the Melo trade was a mistake. I liked that team before the blow-up. Now we’re back to the Marbury/Crawford years and waiting to be under the cap again.

Jim Cavan: I do watch the games. I think sometimes I get into trouble trying to feverishly type notes instead of watching individual players more closely. Maybe Amar’e is one of those.

You have to take this stuff with a truckload of salt. In the same way that you hold certain posters to a higher standard, I hold Amar’e to a higher standard on the court. Melo might get lazy, but Stat is lazy AND has bad fundamentals (i.e. never so much as bending his knees to play D).

No Jim. You have it right. i dont know what these guys are complaining about. Amare has awful desire and awful fundamentals. His offense is limited and his athleticsm is going down hill. He is our worst court player right now, and whats worse, he has no self awareness of this. Melo is not quite as bad, but more annoying and ultimately is the reason we dont have the Rooster anymore. Both get $20 mill a year. They should get the blame. If I could just wipe amare and melo of our books by getting expiring deals for them i would in a second. i dont need draft picks back or anything. Just give me the cap space

Brian Cronin:
I meant to do this when it came out, but I’d like to take issue with this comment from Bill Simmons’ defense of the Melo trade:

A. It is more than a bit disingenuous to not mention the 1st rounder in 2014, the two second rounders this year and next and the right to to swap 1st rounders in 2016 (could we please, please please see the Knicks win more than 45 games before they ever agree to trade a first rounder again?)
B. Not counting Felton or Mozgov is iffy as an argument, but…
C. Not even remembering that Randolph was also in the deal was just silly. However, worst of all…
D. The Knicks could have signed Chandler without doing the trade (they would just have had to do the same Turiaf trade that they ended up doing to have room this year)! It is patently false that the trade was Melo + cap space for Gallo/WC. False on the face of it. And when you have to make stuff up to make your argument sound convincing, well, your argument is not very convincing.

You should email that to him

Yes, Amar’e and Melo’s drop off in offensive production as compared to past seasons, is a cause for concern.

Yes, the team hasn’t found 5 man rotations that gel, but some combos play well together.

Etc, etc. But I don’t think the problem is their offense. They score enough points to win, even when it’s ugly.

The problem is the defense. They don’t do enough (boxing out, poor help D, poor transition) on that end to win games. The premier teams in the league play both ends of the floor 100%. This team doesn’t, but that doesn’t mean they can’t turn it around this season. They do have guys that can play D well enough (Chandler, Jeffries, Shump, Fields sometimes, Melo sometimes) to mask the guys that can’t (Amare, Lin, Novak).

Again, all this has been said before, but as bad as they have played, they are just effort away from pulling the games out against Boston, Dallas, Milwaukee, and Philly.

I’m still upbeat about this team. I’d rather they sneak into the playoffs, but play their best basketball towards the end of the year, than start peaking right now (although, as fans, it would be easier on the blood pressure).

hoolahoop: Do you watch the games or make your ratings based on game threads?
You’re an Amare hater, and a Melo and Lin fanboy. But, then again, that’s the general theme of this blog.

I do watch the games. I think sometimes I get into trouble trying to feverishly type notes instead of watching individual players more closely. Maybe Amar’e is one of those.

You have to take this stuff with a truckload of salt. In the same way that you hold certain posters to a higher standard, I hold Amar’e to a higher standard on the court. Melo might get lazy, but Stat is lazy AND has bad fundamentals (i.e. never so much as bending his knees to play D).

You basically acquired Carmelo and the cap space to sign Tyson Chandler for Danilo Gallinari and Wilson Chandler. I’m pretty sure ANYONE ON THE F-ING PLANET would make that trade again.

A. It is more than a bit disingenuous to not mention the 1st rounder in 2014, the two second rounders this year and next and the right to to swap 1st rounders in 2016 (could we please, please please see the Knicks win more than 45 games before they ever agree to trade a first rounder again?)
B. Not counting Felton or Mozgov is iffy as an argument, but…
C. Not even remembering that Randolph was also in the deal was just silly. However, worst of all…
D. The Knicks could have signed Chandler without doing the trade (they would just have had to do the same Turiaf trade that they ended up doing to have room this year)! It is patently false that the trade was Melo + cap space for Gallo/WC. False on the face of it. And when you have to make stuff up to make your argument sound convincing, well, your argument is not very convincing.