Comments on: Knicks Morning News (Saturday, Jan 05 2013)

By: Z-man

Z-man — Sat, 05 Jan 2013 21:11:27 +0000

d-mar: I’m surprised you’re not surprised. Melo has missed 6 games, including 2 of the losses to Houston and Chicago you mentioned. Kidd has missed 4 games.Camby until recently was a complete non-factor, and Sheed has been a completely unexpected contributor. Novak has been spotty at best. Whether you predicted 50,55 or 60 wins for this team, I think you should be thrilled with 22-10 at this point.

I am thrilled that we are doing what we should be doing, which is winning a lot of games. Injuries, especially the injury to Felton has taken a toll--we are 3-4 in our last 7 games and 5-5 in our last 10. If I said that I was surprised by 22-10, what should my expectations have been, 18-14? Indiana is 19-14 w/o Granger, Houston is 19-14. Golden State is 22-10. Brooklyn is 18-15 despite a horrendous December. Also, a few of our wins came against teams missing one or more of their best players (Lakers, Dallas, Nets) so the injury thing cuts both ways. We are a very, very deep team with veterans 3-deep at every position. Even our rookies are veterans. It's nice that when a guy goes down, another veteran fills in instead of some second-round pick. So I would be disappointed if we were anything less than 20-12. And at full strength, I believe we are a 60-win team, but with our roster, injuries are assumed. But yeah, I'm very content as a Knicks fan right now. Better win tonight, though!

By: KnickfaninNJ

KnickfaninNJ — Sat, 05 Jan 2013 21:01:44 +0000

Many thanks. Turns out the link will work Ina computer, but not on a smart phone.

By: BigBlueAL

BigBlueAL — Sat, 05 Jan 2013 20:27:44 +0000

Just read that article, it really is cool stuff:

http://www.nba.com/heat/news_recap/when-chicago-cut-corner

(hope this link works)

By: KnickfaninNJ

KnickfaninNJ — Sat, 05 Jan 2013 20:15:37 +0000

Frank,

Could you please re-post the Link? I couldn’t get it to work.

By: d-mar

d-mar — Sat, 05 Jan 2013 19:51:03 +0000

Z-man: Honestly, I’m not surprised by the record, we’re on a pace for 55 wins or so, which seemed like a reasonable expectation. More interesting is how we got to 22-10. 4-0 vs the Heat and Spurs, 0-4 vs. the Rockets and Bulls; Novak and Brewer not contributing much, Camby not contributing at all; Felton shooting terriblyand then getting hurt, Amare just getting back. All in all, I would say thet the most surprising thing this year has been JR Smith’s emergence as a big-time go-to player. He’s been our third best player, and our best player in several games, especially in the games Melo has missed.

I'm surprised you're not surprised. Melo has missed 6 games, including 2 of the losses to Houston and Chicago you mentioned. Kidd has missed 4 games. Camby until recently was a complete non-factor, and Sheed has been a completely unexpected contributor. Novak has been spotty at best. Whether you predicted 50,55 or 60 wins for this team, I think you should be thrilled with 22-10 at this point.

By: Frank

Frank — Sat, 05 Jan 2013 19:17:27 +0000

Really fascinating stuff here. Shane Battier was the focus of this article (and not in a flattering way) but you do get the feeling he will be a coach one day. Also explains why our team has such a problem with Chicago when one dimensional guys like Brewer and Novak are on the floor.

http://www.nba.com/heat/#/story/news_recap/when-chicago-cut-corner

By: Z-man

Z-man — Sat, 05 Jan 2013 19:03:54 +0000

I was really puzzled by the discussion re: Amare on the last thread. I wouldn’t even begin to draw any conclusions about him before the all-star break, when Shump and Felton (ans Sheed?) are back. The key, again, is Woodson holding him accountable. If his knee holds up, he should be much the same as he was at the end of last year, which was pretty damned good. I do think that he has to establish the 15-18 footer because he can’t blow by anyone that lays a step off of him anymore. On defense, it should be very simple…either he steps up or sits at the end of games.

By: Z-man

Z-man — Sat, 05 Jan 2013 18:58:16 +0000

Honestly, I’m not surprised by the record, we’re on a pace for 55 wins or so, which seemed like a reasonable expectation. More interesting is how we got to 22-10. 4-0 vs the Heat and Spurs, 0-4 vs. the Rockets and Bulls; Novak and Brewer not contributing much, Camby not contributing at all; Felton shooting terriblyand then getting hurt, Amare just getting back. All in all, I would say thet the most surprising thing this year has been JR Smith’s emergence as a big-time go-to player. He’s been our third best player, and our best player in several games, especially in the games Melo has missed.

By: d-mar

d-mar — Sat, 05 Jan 2013 16:26:26 +0000

So here we are, Jan. 5th 2013, and the Knicks are 22-10, 2nd in the East a half game behind Miami and 7 games ahead of Boston. And this despite being hit with injuries the entire season and not having our full roster at any time. And now our schedule starts to get easier.

It’s natural to worry about issues with your team no matter how good their record is, but how many of us would have predicted this record for the Knicks after 32 games? There’s a lot to feel good about with this team – we’ve got depth, a great coach and a star player who has raised his game to an all new level. Oh and one of the best on ball defenders in the league hasn’t played a minute for us yet.

Happy new year indeed!