Comments on: Knicks 113, Magic 97

By: Kurt

Kurt — Fri, 01 Feb 2013 03:41:57 +0000

I was wondering that myself, iserp. Hasn't Collangelo been at Toronto longer than Isaiah was GM? iserp: BTW, i understand the rationale of trading Rudy Gay from the Grizzlies perspective (although i would’ve liked to see one playoff run with both Gay and Randolph healthy). And Detroit sneaked in, got rid of a veteran they don’t have use for, and have a look at a real PG. But Toronto?? Are they aiming for mediocrity on purpose??? Even if Rudy Gay gives them a good return for his max salary, they won’t have cap space, nor pick this year. They still have two years of Landry Fields, and i guess they will want to resign Kyle Lowry, as they spended a lottery pick on him. And they will problaby have to pay for someone to take Bargnani of their hands… Demar DeRozan already fell back to earth, and his extension is quite suspect. Bryan Colangelo is on the Isiah Thomas tier of GMs.

By: Juany8

Juany8 — Thu, 31 Jan 2013 15:30:35 +0000

I agree with Ruru on one point, if you’re going to call out Amar’e every single time he messes up a defensive possession, you have to call out Tyson Chandler for barely playing average defense on most nights. I’ve seen just as many instances of Chandler failing to rotate over to stop penetration as Amar’e and Melo, and that’s kind of his biggest role on this team. I don’t think Amar’e has become good or anything, but he’s consistently putting forth effort, boxing out more effectively than in past years, and as a result he’s been decent on that end, especially considering he’s still adjusting from the injury and the new defensive schemes. His offense has been awesome so far, his passing especially has been much better than I expected.

By: Darrell H.

Darrell H. — Thu, 31 Jan 2013 14:51:53 +0000

flossy: I only watched the 2nd half, but I actually thought Amar’e played pretty good defense? There was one spectacular breakdown on PnR coverage, but apart from that he generally hedged well and got back to his man in time, made the right rotations and was agressive in closing out on shooters without fouling.This is just my armchair psychology, but it honestly looked to me like the touches he was getting on offense were making the game fun and he was more energized and focused on defense as a result. Makes me think the Knicks should be trying to get him a lot more shots, since he’s now posting a TS% of .627 (!!) with a usage of 24% in a sample that includes all of his first few crappy games.

I agree with you. Relative to the rest of the team, Amar'e did play good defense. The Knicks are playing low energy, lazy defense. It'll be interesting to me to see how Amar'e looks on D against a good team, in a close game, down the stretch.

By: flossy

flossy — Thu, 31 Jan 2013 13:36:18 +0000

ephus: Apparently, the first quarter was a defensive apocalypse. How much was STAT on the court at that time?

He sure as hell wasn't guarding Jameer Nelson or JJ Reddick.

By: ephus

ephus — Thu, 31 Jan 2013 12:54:25 +0000

I only saw the second half, but STAT’s defense in the second half looked acceptable to me. I watched without sound (the Heat-Nets was getting the big play in the sportsbook) and really tried to follow his d. He did a nice job in the late 3rd and early 4th, when it was still a game, switching and hedging and recovering. Apparently, the first quarter was a defensive apocalypse. How much was STAT on the court at that time?

By: flossy

flossy — Thu, 31 Jan 2013 12:43:22 +0000

I only watched the 2nd half, but I actually thought Amar’e played pretty good defense? There was one spectacular breakdown on PnR coverage, but apart from that he generally hedged well and got back to his man in time, made the right rotations and was agressive in closing out on shooters without fouling.

This is just my armchair psychology, but it honestly looked to me like the touches he was getting on offense were making the game fun and he was more energized and focused on defense as a result. Makes me think the Knicks should be trying to get him a lot more shots, since he’s now posting a TS% of .627 (!!) with a usage of 24% in a sample that includes all of his first few crappy games.

By: Nick C.

Nick C. — Thu, 31 Jan 2013 11:34:05 +0000

Nice write-up. I wonder if the Knicks cams are tracking data for opponents shooting percentages: close out as shot going up/un guarded v. man in front of shooter and hands go up before shot goes up? If so and it is along the lines, albeit nowhere near as absurdly drastic as JRs data, they might tweak their schemes before a half dozen threes fall in the first quarter.

By: iserp

iserp — Thu, 31 Jan 2013 09:58:25 +0000

BTW, i understand the rationale of trading Rudy Gay from the Grizzlies perspective (although i would’ve liked to see one playoff run with both Gay and Randolph healthy). And Detroit sneaked in, got rid of a veteran they don’t have use for, and have a look at a real PG.

But Toronto?? Are they aiming for mediocrity on purpose???

Even if Rudy Gay gives them a good return for his max salary, they won’t have cap space, nor pick this year. They still have two years of Landry Fields, and i guess they will want to resign Kyle Lowry, as they spended a lottery pick on him. And they will problaby have to pay for someone to take Bargnani of their hands… Demar DeRozan already fell back to earth, and his extension is quite suspect. Bryan Colangelo is on the Isiah Thomas tier of GMs.

By: iserp

iserp — Thu, 31 Jan 2013 09:01:47 +0000

Realistically, there are no contenders with cap space to sign him, not to mention that most of them already have good PGs. On basketball terms, Monroe / Drummond looks like a winner and they have cap space to improve the team either this summer or next summer, before Monroe’s contract have to be extended. If he stays healthy till then, he will be in a nice team.

However i think Calderon felt Toronto as home, and it is sad to see him leaving the team.

By: massive

massive — Thu, 31 Jan 2013 08:47:20 +0000

I feel terrible for Calderon. Both Toronto and Detroit are bad, but at least Toronto is a better city with a better fan-base. I wish he ended up on a contender….like the Knicks.