Brian Cronin: I don’t think there’s any might about it, that lineup is definitely better. How would Wallace be acquired, though?   

Chandler or AR, 2014 pick and Curry?

Brian Cronin: That said, since the Knicks already have a guy like Carmelo in Amar’e, I don’t think Fields would get much extra assistance from a second guy like Carmelo, and heck, might actually lose out on shot attempts.  

This could be the key to the argument. Are two “exceptional” scorers necessary? Of course you want all your players to be all-around “good” players, but each with an area of expertise, if you will. An exceptional shooter, rebounder, defender, scorer and passer – all on the floor at one – would probably be ideal, no?

Therefore, a lineup like CP3, Fields, Gallo, Gerald Wallace and Stat might be preferable.

Frank O.:

Certainly, none of us saw Gallo being this effective a penetrator, although I still believe he is underutilized as a scorer.

I want to see D’Antoni take more risks with Mosgov…or, and this is tough for me, AR. I think they need to be all over AR to make sure he plays a limited role with a focus on rebounding and defense, while picking up garbage points around the basket.
I think the Knicks need a back up for Felton.  

I agree completely with you Frank. Imo Gallo should be utilized more with the bench to create for himself and others off the p&r. Something TD lacks on. That way our bench could get more burn time and keep STAT and Felton fresh for the -wait for it- playoffs!

I’ve had dreams of AR getting putbacks and alley-oops on transition. Why is he not used on a Turiaf role -who is non existent on offense unless its created for him- is beyond me. Plus AR is the better rebounder, I remember a game between GS and the Lakers and he got OReb after OReb on Odom prompting both to jaw at each other.

AR sees himself like a Lamar ‘Scrotum’ type of player and I see him in that mold as well.

That said, since the Knicks already have a guy like Carmelo in Amar’e, I don’t think Fields would get much extra assistance from a second guy like Carmelo, and heck, might actually lose out on shot attempts.

D’Antoni specifically mentioned in his post-game press conference that he needed to look at film and see what happened that allowed Chalmers to get that open. What happened was Fields had a brain fart and left Chalmers to help on LeBron when he got to the basket which of course at that stage of the game was a big No-No. At least Gallo tried to get to Chalmers and somewhat contest the shot.

Yeah, I saw someone knock Gallo for that, but I was pretty sure it was Fields who left his man and it just looked like Gallo because it was Gallo who was running out on him. I wasn’t sure, though (these things go pretty fast, as you might imagine), so good to hear confirmation.

The Honorable Cock Jowles: So next time you see Field crashing the boards, his hands above the rim after a made shot (and I seem to see this quite often), think of that as shot creation — would Carmelo, or many other players, be where he is when a play ends?   

But isn’t Fields’ game somewhat predicated on the games of a guy like Melo? Or in our case, a guy like Amare? Fields gets a lot of putbacks off of misses and dishes from Amare/Felton as it stands and supplements that with open threes and transition baskets.
This just reminds me of the debate over whether David Lee could be “the guy” or not despite his excellent advanced stats.

Here is Kelly Dwyer’s take on Kobe. I love that the statistical blogosphere has finally come around to a certain view of the myth of Kobe….

http://sports.yahoo.com/nba/blog/ball_dont_lie/post/Kobe-in-the-clutch-again?urn=nba-313858

Shot creation is a myth. Most NBA players are athletic enough to shoot without being blocked 40% of the time. Fields chooses — I want to emphasize this: he chooses — to pick his shots carefully. Not all NBA players can do this. Most of them have egos (or physical gifts, or coaches, or all of the above) that prevent them from acting so rationally on the court.

So next time you see Field crashing the boards, his hands above the rim after a made shot (and I seem to see this quite often), think of that as shot creation — would Carmelo, or many other players, be where he is when a play ends? And if Fields doesn’t crash the boards, how many of those missed shots terminate the Knicks’ possession?

My reasoning leads to this conclusion: like Carmelo, Fields is fantastic at creating his own shot. It just so happens that it tends to come within a foot of the basket instead of 15 feet out. Who wants to argue against that?

“With that trade, your core is Stoudemire/Anthony/Gallo*/Chandler*… your next best players are Felton and a #20 pick in 2011. No meaningful draft picks to speak of.

That’s not a contender. You’d have to find a way to add another borderline star. Either cross your fingers and pray for Gallo, or find $10 million to pay a FA center. If you somehow worked the contract numbers to set aside $8-10 million, it might be a good deal. It WOULD be insurance against a CBA that includes a franchise tag cutting off hope of a big get in 2012.”

I just find this the most unappetizing scenario. I don’t understand how this can possibly be a good option compared to holding off a year and trying to sign Paul to a roster chock full of young talent.

If I were Donnie I would wait a year. But perhaps he doesnt feel he can afford to…