Philadunkia’s Fo’
February 4th, 2011 by Mike Kurylo | @KnickerBlogger | Comments | Permalink |
Carey Smith from Philadunkia decided to feature KnickerBlogger for his “Fo’ with the Foes” series. He asks 2 questions about the Knicks, and then asks for 2 insider points on the team. Here is my response.
Philadunkia: Raymond Felton is obviously playing out of his mind this year. Can you pinpoint for us what things Felton has changed about his game that have helped produced such a banner year or was it simply a “change of scenery” that has led to his explosion this season?
KnickerBlogger: It depends what you constitute as improvement in Felton. He started off the year playing out of his mind. However he’s hit a sharp decline since. In Charlotte, Felton was a poor shooter until his final year when he was closer to the league average. This year he started off way above his norm, and has since cooled off. The question is where will Felton level off, at his last year numbers with the Bobcats or closer to his first four years in the league?
I delve deeply into the issue in this article.
Philadunkia: 76ers fans are viewing this two game weekend set as a big “series” which could draw the Sixers closer to the 6-seed in the 2011 Playoff race. Can you give us a little insight as to what importance level (if any) is being placed on this two game set by NYK fans?
KnickerBlogger: After years of being on the outside (and the very far outside), Knick fans have the inside track for a playoff spot. So New Yorkers aren’t looking behind, but rather ahead. With an improved team, led by All Star Amar’e Stoudemire, it seems as if the Knicks can beat any given team. Not that they are likely to, but that they have a fighting chance. With this kind of mindset, it seems that every game is important. A win in February is just as important as April, no matter the opponent.
On the other hand Alan Hahn of Newsday quotes Donnie Walsh calling the match-up a “challenge” and Raymond Felton describing it “like playoff games” and expects “a dogfight, no question.” So what do I know?
KnickerBlogger Insider Point #1: Keep track of Landry Fields at all times. He moves incredibly well without the ball. He’s that unique type of slippery player that any time your eyes leave him, it’s an opportunity for him to break to the hoop for an easy bucket. He’s very good finishing at the basket, like a smaller version of David Lee, that you have to stop him from receiving the ball there. Also he’s a tenacious rebounder for a shooting guard.
KnickerBlogger Insider Point #2: Danilo Gallinari is just another Euro-outside shooter, right? Wrong! He’s very adept at getting to the hoop and drawing contact when there. He attempts 6.2 free throws per 36 minutes, 2nd best on the Knicks after Stoudemire. The Rooster excels at turning contact on a drive into a trip to the charity stripe, and at 88.4% he’s very good at converting his tries. Additionally he’s good at shielding the ball from his opponent. In the paint when cut off on his right side, he’ll unleash a left hand scoop shot across his body. If an opponent concentrates on his three point shooting too much, he’ll find himself starting at Gallo hitting free throw after free throw after free throw…
Mike Kurylo is the founder and editor of KnickerBlogger.net. His book on the 2012 Knicks, "We’ll Always Have Linsanity," is on sale now. Follow him on twitter (@KnickerBlogger).
What? Mike – why didn’t you get to ask Carey Smith 2 questions and get 2 insider points regarding the Sixers? Seems that we could use a little inside track info on Philly as well.
Regarding Gallo, I think you were spot on. Most of Gallo’s best games are when he keeps the defense guessing whether he’s going to jack up a 3 or drive to the hoop and draw the foul. Obviously at almost 90%, I’ll take those charity stripe shots all day long if possible.
As the season goes on, I’m getting more and more pissed that Donnie is not getting any help for Amare and Turiaf to play the 5. I know we have seen Mozzy Bear more often, but MikeD either needs to keep giving him more minutes, or friggin bring in someone from the D-League, or whereever, so that Amare’s knees aren’t blown by the end of the year.
Which also bring me to AR. I’m really getting sick of D’Antoni giving the N8 treatment to this guy. They need to start giving him at least 5 – 10 minutes per game so that this kid can get some confidence and develop as a player. AR has Lamar Odom written all over him, except that AR is a better rebounder and shot blocker than Odom was at the same age. To me, this is one of Mike D’s biggest character flaws.
Check out this vid from AR’s rookie year: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=whh9ZCFoYLQ
@1 it’s funny – after Mozgov’s game I got looking for anything similar from Randolph.
He actually had 5 double-doubles last year, in the 33 games before he got hurt. The best was 28 points, 13 rebounds, 5 assists and no turnovers.
As a 19-year-old rookie, he had a six-game string of double-digit rebounds, and in the last month of the season had a 20/15 game against Carlos Boozer and a 24/16 against Tim Duncan.
So yeah, give him minutes and he will produce.
Re:AR – I really don’t think it’s as clear cut as “just give the guy minutes, and he will produce”. I think we all agree his basketball IQ is on the low side, and we saw earlier in the season that just grabbing a few rebounds doesn’t make you a productive player – his negative effects on the offense and his horrendous decision making more than offset that. I want the guy to succeed, and would love to believe that he’s a Camby waiting to blossom, but D’Antoni is in a difficult position. There’s little margin for error right now in terms of playoffs, and the next slump we endure may put us on the outside looking in. He needs to win every game he can, and playing AR extended minutes to see what happens is a risky strategy, IMO.
This is going to be a tough matchup for us, especially with Felton playing so poorly. Both Lou Williams and Holiday are lightning quick. When they are both in the game, we have to use Felton and TD to cover them tightly. When they go big with Turner, we’ll have to bring in Fields. AI and Thad Young are both good aggressive players on the wing, and Speights and Brand can both bang down low. Meeks and Kapono can really fill it up from outside. They are a very similar team to us actually in terms of talent.
I fear that no one will be able to handle Speights and Brand on defense. Our best post defender is Shawne which is sad. I think Mozgov and Turiaf will need minutes these games for sure. I also fear that the 6ers deeper rotation will wear out our 3 guards. Fields will have to cover Turner and AI2 while TD and Ray get the little guys. Thad is a dangerous scorer. Hopefully Gallo and/or Chandler can handle him.
On offense I would go inside out from Amare to Gallo in the halfcourt but Run if you can. That tandem really needs to work for us to win with Chandler and Fields being the cutters. I think I would really prefer that when Ray dumps it to Amare on the elbow, if Ray would back up and have Gallo work it inside/outside with Amare. If Ray can knock down some open looks early on, it would be helpful.
Re: AR, The biggest comparison I was trying to make with Odom is mostly that they were both young and raw at one point and that maybe it’s not a bad idea to hold onto a guy like that and wait for him to mature. I’m not even sure that I totally blame D’Antoni for not playing AR right now, but I’d like to hope that he’s in the future plans since it’s clear that he has the tools to be very very good.
Totally off-topic for a moment, but this from TKB:
I don’t think there is a Knick site that I disagree with more on a philosophical standpoint than TKB. Al Harrington the Knicks best player? Felton ‘earned a spot’ on the All Star Team?
After this opinion, all the knocks I took on Monday for being anti-Mozgov was well worth it. I much rather be on that side of the orange colored glasses than this.
And I’ll let Hollinger handle the rejoinder:
@4
That is my main concern. Sometimes I get the feeling AR is not in our long term plans and me having watched a lot of GSW games the past few years (Ellis fan) I noticed how this kid was fearless against top forwards. As a 19 year old he got minutes against top tier 4′s and was never a weakness on D even with his thin frame. Also note that he has gained a few pounds from then.
We need to keep Philly from the FT line as well. Last game Lou had like 14 FTA himself. And for lords sake rebound!
I would love to have someone that is a day or two ahead of the schedule & interviews other teams bloggers. It shouldn’t be too hard to come up with 2-5 questions to ask about another franchise, send an email, get the answers & write it up. I can’t imagine the whole endeavor taking more than 10-30 mins. I have a whole network of bloggers (and other people in the field) that I could make available by email to respond to questions.
Finding people to do it is the hard part. I have a group of excellent writers but most are professionals with jobs, families, etc. and have a hard time coming up with the time on a consistent basis. And that is understandable.
What I need is people with time on their hands (college students) and a modest amount of consistency (probably not-college students). If you’re looking to break into the field of journalism (college students), this is an easy way in with a minimal amount of work. Just need an hour a week (maybe 2) to think about basketball, and the work ethic to stick with it. I’m always looking for capable writers out there that are willing to write on a consistent basis.
http://www.nypost.com/p/sports/knicks/uncertain_future_oOeNKWHLsogAJJ49XDyG9M
Screw New Orleans, Stern and the NBA need to seize THIS franchise.
The flesh is willing but the time commitments are really tough lately. Sorry.
Totally game. I sent y’all an email to this effect as well.
I’m a college student! Journalism major at Boston University. What you need, Mike?
I’ll shoot you an email this weekend.
Mike, you give Philadunkia a nice, thoughtful interview and this is the garbage that they post…
http://philadunkia.com/?p=3699
Let’s hope the Knick’s prove them wrong tonight.
It is great that for once the Knicks have a fairly big regular season game with playoff implications where they are the team being chased in the standings and not for a playoff spot really but for playoff positioning.
Interesting, even with Chandler playing tonight Shawne Williams is starting at PF. Also not surprisingly D’Antoni said Mozgov is not guaranteed to play tonight.
I have to assume this is because they don’t want to rush Chandler back. Shawne’s numbers have slowly come back to earth as he gets more PT it’s sad to say. He’s pretty good defensively though (as far as Knicks go.)
I like this part:
“For a little more insight into the Grizzlies team the Sixers face tonight, we turn to our man Mike Kurylo from KnickerBlogger.net to answer two questions on the Knicks from us here at Philadunkia as well as provide us with two points of analysis on this New York squad from an insider’s perspective.”
Grizzlies??
can our backcourt outplays theirs?
It is as simple as that
what we would have become if DW
drafted holiday instead of “hill”?
Anyone else absolutely sick to death of the opposing team almost constantly coming out of the gate shooting about 70% or better in the first 6 mins of hte ballgame due to our utterly atrocious interior D (really just D in general)!!!!!!!!!!!!
Turiaf is a horrible man defender, all he does well is get blocks while helping like Amar’e does.
The box score is showing Iggy with nine assists in the first nine minutes. That must be a mistake right?
Nope, its sadly true.
Looks like one of those games where every time a Knicks player gets stripped while driving it is clean and no fouls will be called.
Mozgov in Knicks on a little “run”. Are the two relayed or is it just a coincidence?
It’s like every game I find myself thinking, “Why are you not giving Gallo the ball?!?!”
GALLO
That was Ben Wallace ugly.
Gallo driving is really the most awkward, ungainly thing.
Oops, I meant to specify that I meant the Mozgov missed free throw. It was Wallace-like.
But yeah, Gallo’s drives are awkward, too. However, they’re effective, and they still look away from him way too much. What’s crazy is that when he is in control of the ball, he looks for his teammates, but they don’t do the same for him! Maddening.
We all just learned WWE Smackdown is coming to the Wells Fargo Center.
MOZGOV GOTDAMN!
HO SHIT MOZGOV, i just started watching, didn’t know the sixers got 35 points int he first with 19 from brand lol
Gallo, dude, you gotta keep your feet behind the line. That said, I love that Fields passed to him.
Timmay!
Gallo!!! Mozgov!!! And the lead that has already evaporated. :-(
Gallo!!! Mozgov!!! And the lead that has already evaporated. :-(
They never keep feeding the hot scorer. It does not make any sense!
I know Chandler has been injured so it is not fair to judge him based on his recent performance…but the more I see gallinari play like this….if he can keep this up (keep fingers crossed)….rebounding, getting to the line…playing passable d…I think he is more of a keeper than chandler….
WTF, Felton?! 0-2!?
Uh not to be that guy or anything, but I think SSOL favors the open man over the hot hand.
I mean, I guess I have to be happy that the Knicks are up 52-51, but man, some ugly play this first half. Two separate 0-2 trips to the line, some ugly shots and some poor defense in the first period on Brand. Mozgov looked good on Brand – they basically stopped going to Brand after Mozgov was put on him. I’d consider starting the second half with Moz at the 5.
Felton shooting is just painful now. His form looks so different from earlier in the season. It isn’t just that his luck is the other way… he seems to just be flinging the ball instead of setting himself and holding his follow through.
If they were moving the ball, I’d be cool with it. But it wasn’t like they were passing the ball around and other guys just got the open look. They were trying to establish Amar’e inside (plus Fields just took a quick three on one of the possessions).
All things considered not bad. Up one at the half. Gallo is tearing It up and Felton seems to have gotten the memo.
He hurt his hand, right? I did like that he took it to the hoop for a shot once (and he scored – you would think that would let him know he should keep doing it).
When I coached my son’s travel soccer team, they used to come out really flat to start the game and we’d find ourselves trailing right off the bat. So we used to pass out the pinnies and set up the mini goals and have small scrimmages to warm them up. Seemed to work, maybe the Knicks need to do the same thing!
I would love to see a stat for points for and against in 1st quarters this season, I’m sure it’s pretty lopsided.
I was gonna say same thing. We should be thrilled being up 1 at the half considering they were down 14 in the 1st quarter but they should be up a few points at the half if it wasnt for stupid missed ft’s.
I think he just has to stop shooting 3′s, especially those godawful hoists off of the p and r handoffs.
I find the fact that they never disclosed that bizarre left hand injury strange….did he gash the hand while cutting an apple at home or something? ever since then more or less his shooting has gone to hell….I think we can almost call the inflection point right around when the “injury” was sustained…..
mozgov and gallinari the two best players in the first half….positive sign is that although he missed a bunch of gimmes, looked as though amare can take the ball to the hoop on brand unemcumbered whenever he wants in the second half.
He is actually 3 for 3 in shots inside the paint tonight, 0 for 4 in shots outside the paint.
It has been mentioned by the beat writers a few times that he hurt his hand in the Celtics game and his ankle in the Portland game I believe. After last game was the first time D’Antoni and Felton admitted the left hand has been a problem for awhile.
I forgot he hurt his hand- that makes sense. I wish he would adjust his game to fit it- he still finishes fairly well around the rim, although the first part of the season it seemed like he was incredible while driving and then later he started throwing shots into the bottom of the rim. But hopefully the break can let his hand recover a little bit.
We learned to rebound during the TV break between quarters
Question: I missed the first quarter, how did Iguodala get 11 assists that half?!? That just seems like such a random stat.
If your hand hurts too much to shoot, don’t shoot.
@55 Same way Brand scored 19 in the first quarter
Right?!!? And yet, he keeps shooting.
haha hawes got owned
Turiaf with the NCAA 3!
RayRay!
RAY! ITS A MIRACLE!
Poor Spencer Hawes.
Was Brand’s cooling off in the 2nd quarter in correlation with Mozgov entering the game?
Knicks played worst defense of the year in the first half….they basically showed up for this game at the start of the 2nd quarter…iguadala was just the lucky beneficiary of their atrocious d….he gave the ball to elton brand in the post and brand scored every time…nothign special or noteworthy that iggy did, really.
Maybe high TS% Ray is suddenly back? That’d be awesome!
His fouls on Williams have been insanely bad, though.
Gallo COAST 2 COASTTTTT
Not really. They took Brand out of the game when Moz came in. I think the odd substitution pattern hurt him more than anything. That said, when he returned, Moz did play him well.
Can’t really see what they called as a foul on Ray on that one.
Repeat after me, Knicks – do not go for Lou Williams head fakes, do not go for Lou Williams head fakes.
Yeah– maybe now that he’s not trying to play his way onto the all star team he’ll be better.
It looked like it to me. Mozgov did a great job of guarding him and denying him the ball.
Where did this come from with Felton? He has been on fire.
Z Ithink Mozgov is offering some resistance with Brand. A few possessions back he strode perpendicular to the baseline and Brand had to take an awkward shot.
Felton seems to have rediscovered his shooting form tonight.
That miracle three might have been what Felton needed to get back on the right track!
Kinda watching the Clippers/Hawks game for kicks and giggles. Man, there’s a LOT of dribbling going on in that one.
He’s holding his follow through. Distinctly noticeable past few shots. If this continues…. Yes.
Welcome back Raymond, we missed you!
I used to think as goes gallinari, so go the knicks…now it seems to be more like felton is the crucial x-factor.
Felton… with the follow-through.
Okay Ray, go ahead and keep shooting :)
[In my Charles Barkley voice]
Firstuvall, Tonay Battie still in’da league?
Oops. that was an ugly ray attempt.
That was an ugly last possession (especially with the Sixers getting the ball to start the fourth), but I am loving the nine-point lead.
Good quarter
Ha!
I’m telling you – the miracle three brought him back! :)
Dude does philly have a mic in their rims? Or is the crowd so quiet that it really sounds that loud?
Not very positive minutes for the 2nd unit there. Guh.
They really should let Gallo play point forward when Toney is out there. Gallo got stripped, but at least he was doing something logical, unlike Toney’s “strategy” of dribbling the shot clock down to 2 then whoever gets the ball has to quickly put it up.
I KNEW this lead would evaporate without amar’e or felton in the game….unbelievable how they play like a completely different team without them in….douglas just moves laterally, can’t penetrate….reminds me of a mardy collins who can shoot.
Four Knicks and no one can get a rebound. Insane.
douglas we know u suck and u can’t shoot so please stop
Just get a rebound!! Man!!!
heh season high for elton brand, everyone gets a season high against amare and the knicks
This is insane. This is so nuts.
God damn it, same as last time we played philly, gimme a break
Chandler looks like a shell of his former self, having zero impact on the game at either end.
We have by far the best player on the court in STAT…..time for him to step up…in tight games team with best player ought to win most of the time.
THIS IS FREAKING TERRIBLE
The Sixers are outscoring the Knicks 17-4 in the 4th. I don’t believe you can play shittier than that.
Why? It’s exactly what happened in the first game against the sixers.
And now the knicks are getting whacked constantly and no call.
LOL i guess i’d rather have brand than amare, this is ajoke
What a complete meltdown. A couple more of these and we will be watching a press conference re-introducing Isiah.
You know what? Fuck.
lol this could be the season, i don’t know how can u recover from this
Oh jesus christ this is bullshit
21-4.
I am out of here. This is the worst.
wonder if stoudemire knows that even when he gets 25 and 8 that his man generally has 13-15 boards and at least 20 points no matter the quality of player from maurice evans to elton brand
Tonight AI >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> Gallo
This is horrendous
What a complete meltdown, the Knicks better be ready to play Sunday or we are in panic mode.
I can’t watch anymore. BYE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Wow. Wow. wow.
@104 shut your filthy mouth!
btw the sixers are a better team. they have more depth and more athleticism. our record against them in the d’antoni era is terrible because they play fast better than us.
classic
I am literally just stunned. Wow. No fight. Dumb decision making.
gallo touches the ball seldom
that reason he forces shots
felton with a good game left to waste, also the knicks thought they were going to get an easy win, they were up and everything was coasting, this is what happens with a joke of a team
Philadelphia announcer goes: “AGAIN. RAYMOND FELTON.” Again? How about finally? He’s been OK but damn.
dude what the hell 6 seconds just ran off the clock with the ball out of bounds
Time to hit some 3′s.
Geez. I turned away for three minutes and THiS is what has become of the game… :(
haha i love hearing that, brand season high as a sixer YES
wow are they really not going to fix that?
nice full court defense
Nice full court press :(
lol IGGY GO AHEAD FOR THE LAYUP
time to start thinking about us as the .500 7-8 seed that we are. collins has done a nice job with this team.
i hope this team just doesn’t make the playoffs such a joke
I’ll bet you 500 bucks right now that we finish ahead of the sixers.
I’m getting the Philly feed and NOT liking these announcers. They are sooo excited, you’d think this was Game 7 of the Finals. Hell, Gus Johnson’s about to ask these guys to tone it down a bit.
No fight?
Extra E. Shoot the damn shot.
Dumb dumb dumb coulda stole that right there
Shoot it! Somebody shoot it!
Whoa. That was so fast I don’t even know what I saw!
Were we out of time outs? If so, how/why?!?
And why did Williams take it to the basket?? Why not Gallo shoot it when he had it???
Why the hell did Gallo pass that shot up. Then why the hell did Shawne pass that 3pt shot up. Both fucking pissed in their pants. Nice.
It coulda been worse. Now lets come up with a way to blame Raymond Felton for this loss.
If anyone is curious about my statement about the Knicks vs Sixers in the Dantoni era they are 1-8
Philly isn’t going to pass us, so don’t worry.
Nobody say crap about not getting Gallo the ball at the end of the game. He had a shot to win it and passed it up.
no
…. I just don’t understand
We won’t be the 7-8 we’ll be the six.
How could Coach (any coach) not call a time out with 10 seconds to set a play? Inexcusable Inexplicable. This was a terrible loss.
The Knicks scored half of their 4th quarter points with under 1:40 to go.
None left.
Please trade for melo now.
They didn’t have a fucking timeout!! Should they still call one?
This team had better learn something from this game because otherwise WHAT IS THE POINT OF EXISTENCE I MEAN SERIOUSLY.
@150, agreed.
Funny thing is when they let those 6-8 seconds go off the clock and not fix it, i had a feeling it was going to matter. I just friggin knew it. I’ve never seen that happen before.
what difference does it make. the sixers are going to get beat anyway. i just hope they dont face the bulls cause those games will make the 90s knicks and heat series look pretty offensive games
c’mon man, it didnt matter. the knicks had a chance to win and didnt get it done. Those seconds wouldnt have changed that.
Yup. Once Philly got the lead, their PBP guy and Eric Snow revealed themselves to be homers of the worst kind. The PBP guy was orgasming on live television every time Brand made a shot.
Are you seriously saying having 16-18 seconds on the last possession going the length of the floor is the same as having ten? Really dude?
no,
he almost did not touch the ball for entire second half
and they give him the ball only at the end and they say ” hey gallo, please win the game for us”, he still made five points and pass the ball for an open 3. Tonight gallo played very well and he could have played much better if only felton realize it.
oh c’mon. AI is a very good defender and really bothered Gallo tonight.
Spree–The announcers said there was a time out left and Coach didn’t use it to preserve momentum. If there wasn’t a time out, there should have been. That’s also on the coach and part of clock management.
Stupid loss. Those 6 minutes in the 4th where the Knicks didn’t score at all and kept bricking contested shots up in the middle killed more than anything.
We’ll get ‘em on Sunday.
I mean that’s not the same thing as complaining about a foul or some judgement type thing. That kind of thing should NEVER happen. How can they not fix the clock?
Well idk what feed you were watching but they did not have a timeout. They were most certainly out of timeouts. And they didn’t have one because they had to burn them out trying to get back into the game. Not having a timeout there is not a big issue, because if they didn’t use their other to’s the way they did they probably wouldn’t have gotten to that point anyway. Now having the 6-8 seconds that just kinda ran off the clock while the ball was out of bounds, that woulda been nice to have.
Yeah, I’m still confused. Did we have a timeout? And if not, why not?
People shouldnt complain about not calling a timeout, they wound up with Gallo and Shawne each passing up pretty good looks at 3pters that couldve won the game.
2 best 3pt shooters on the team each had a chance to win the game but didnt want to apparently, not D’Antoni’s fault unless you wanted Amar’e or Ray to take a shot in which if they miss everyone here wouldve been complaining.
Also, the extra time that should have been on the clock is certainly relevant. Same thing happened at the Boston game when Stat’s shot didn’t count, but there should have been a little more time left on the clock. We better win on Sunday.
Ok for all those “we don’t need Melo, we’ve got plenty of offense” folks, tonight was a perfect example of when you need a guy to give the ball to and let him go one on one and either score or draw or foul. The Knicks went SIX AND A HALF MINUTES without scoring, I just don’t see that happening with Melo on this team.
No, we did not have one. We burned a ton of them trying to slow the sixers down when they went on their run and just ended up running out of them.
Bottom line is that the knicks continue to give up monster all-career games to mediocre power forwards….the list goes on and on….andrea bargnani, elton brand…I can keep going….part of that is on STAT and part of it is on no one being available to guard power forwards and playing STAT as a center…and part of that is simply not having any big guys who can be a presence inside….maybe mozgov turns into that….we can’t rely on turiaf….too injury prone and too inconsistent….I guess we just ahve to accept the team for what it is….. it is a .500 team the rest of the way as we wait out melo….the fact that they have to wait him out is actually what is keeping them from improving the roster…walsh will not make any changes I believe until the melo situation is settled….beit this season or not
I just wanted ‘a play’ to be called and not go helter skelter. If there wasn’t a time out left, and he used them to stem the tide, I get it, but that’s not how I saw this debacle at all.
Yeah, exactly like that, but with that shot we lost like 2 tenths of a second. With this one we lost like 8 full seconds. How the fuck does that happen?
I would rather have felton take a 3-point heave from half court than shawn williams shoot anything other than a wide open 3.
jaylamerique,
yes, sure he is.
at the same time our gallo has not been involved
in the offense in second half, barely watching felton play his own game as if he was lebron. no need to be moon scientist to say that if gallo gets the ball regularly he makes 25 or something every night.
this team need a pg, a true pg
you’re right. i looked at 2 years and 3 years not 2 years and 1 year.
Again WHO CARES about calling a timeout or not, they got good 3pt looks for their 2 best 3pt shooters but they didnt shoot it. This is on them not D’Antoni who I dont know if you guys have noticed does not like calling timeouts late in games to setup a play which is something many coaches do.
how exactly was he going to get 25 against AI. he is not driving by him or getting fouled.
This game is not on Felton. 26 pts while going 11 for 20 from the field with 9 assists and only 2 to’s is a good game plus he didnt force up a stupid shot at the end so you cant blame him for that either.
dont waste your breath man. Gallo is a saint and needs the ball in every possession and felton should never shoot.
Whatever, just win Sunday and this game becomes irrelevant in the long run.
You people are ridiculous if you are going to blame felton for this one…the game was lost while he wasn’t even in the game at start of 4th.
Spree–I was watching MSG and this is what Clyde said about the time outs. I’m sure you’re right and there were no time outs, which is probably worse. In any case, many other problems tonight, most of which have been well chronicled here. Time to get my Kindle, chill and read some Sci Fi. I’ve had enough of Ayn Rand for one night.
Im in the Gallo needs the ball alot more camp and Felton has killed the Knicks lately but not tonight. Gallo couldnt score on AI and Felton played like he did in December tonight. Plus again Gallo had the chance to take the winning shot but passed it up.
wow, I am glad I didn’t watch this one.
ARGH. Just a total team collapse at the end. Chalk it up to being young I guess. Felton is at fault for getting the ball up too slowly and not getting it to someone in a good position. Gallo is at fault for not taking the shot and passing to an inferior teammate. Shawne is at fault for not shooting the three.
The second Shawne put the ball on the floor, you know we’re gonna lose. Back to the bench, scrub! Your Jonathan Bender moment is over.
Once Chandler is back to full health and Mozzy is fully in the circle of trust, we’ll be much better. Just annoying to watch that kind of ending.
here is something I’ve never said before: Mike D’Antoni isn’t a very good coach. I can live with the mediocre at best D, and even the generally awful rebounding, but only if the offense executes at an extremely high level. that’s the tradeoff D’Antoni is supposed to give you, and instead NY is consistently undisciplined on offense, with 2 or 3 guys just standing around on too many possessions. it’s really really really frustrating.
Chandler has gone from a mainstay to an afterthought. This is the single biggest difference in the team now.
felton played well in the second quarter
when he stopped to shoot and started
to create for the others.
Magically the ball move from player to player and
everyone is in the flow. Felton can be a good pg for us, a good distributor if only he wants too. Tonight he took more than 20 shots, kobe like.
And yes, gallo could have been involved much more in the second half,
driving as point forward, trying to get to the rim, drawing fouls or pass to open man. Still he has 18 + 13, nine on nine from the line.
Ive been frustrated with him lately too but clearly his calf is bothering him and probably has been for awhile.
I think the sports guy is right about what he says…we like to blame the coach when things go wrong….but the fact is that if the coach doesn’t do damage he is better than most….his job is the supervise….only a handful of coaches actually add value I believe….riley, popovich, maybe jackson….
felton played well in the second half because his shots went in for a change….he didn’t do anything materially different from what he had been doing in all of his previous games…only difference was that he made shots…if they hadn’t gone in, we would be saying what an awful bust he has been and what a god awful game he had….most of his shots, once again, were from long range.
We’re not a team that can afford to lose any rotation player for any amount of time. That’s a lot of pressure. But come to think of it, what year hasn’t Chandler been injured? I just hope he’s really healthy and can put the Melo/free agency stuff out of his mind.
ess dog,
best comment of the year
seems only few realize how bad coach he his
As a team, we only shot 40% and 30% from three. Only the Celtics can possibly win with those numbers.
But hey, we did almost win with those #s. We rebounded behind gallo’s 13 and Moz with 7 in 22 minutes. Ray is starting to make some shots. All is not lost…
Dallas won in Boston tonight. I guess the loss on Wed doesnt look that bad now lol.
I think we can avoid telling other commenters to “die.”
If Knicks lose on Sunday Im sure our favorite person will be back lol.
As for tonight, I don’t think any one Knick deserves the blame. They all had a terrible fourth quarter. But yeah, when Chandler gets healthy, the team will look a whole lot different, and Mozgov was pretty decent tonight.
Really, as bad of a loss as this was (and it was right up there with the worst of the season), it was so bad that I am not too worried, as you’d be hard pressed to duplicate their ineptitude in that stretch in the fourth quarter.
i would like to ask spree-sprite:
are you happy with this coach? because, you know, he so stubborn, maybe you’ll see your dear melo defending howard……
do you really think felton is a pg for contender?
you agree with the coach does not play randolph?
do you really think this coach can win a title?
you see, spree-sprite
your answers are “no”
you agree with me, ah ah
Actually, the player whose performance I found most troubling overall was Amare. The fact that he hasn’t been mentioned in the post-game part of this thread is indication enough that he failed to step up in crunch time and assert his will like MVP-caliber players should. I know he’s banged up, and clearly the left-knee strain is compromising his leaping ability, but his repeated failure to finish at/near the rim tonight was the difference. Amare has value if and only if he’s a dominant finisher. The number of times he was stripped (a constant issue) or had his shot blocked was unacceptable. The best players know how to react to their health (not to mention the defense) and adjust their game to maximize performance. Amare doesn’t have the spring right now to dunk over people; how about a head-fake here and there, rather than these off-balance floaters he shoots in traffic, continually to no/little avail?
Also, I’m increasingly concerned about his rebounding. There has simply been no improvement in his block-out technique, which is even more essential now, given how the knee soreness is hampering his athleticism. He was absolutely maligned on the defensive glass tonight, conceding numerous second-chance points. There is nothing more frustrating than seeing the Knicks start to excel in their half-court d and force tough shots–only to yield tip-ins and put-backs.
As the leader and best player on the team, Amare is receiving too little scrutiny as we ceaselessly pore over Felton’s decision-making or D’antoni’s substitution patterns (to be sure, worth scrutinizing as well). As much as I’d like to see Felton better distribute the basketball to his wings (particularly Gallo, of course), it is equally important that Felton find passing lanes to Amare that enable him to catch the ball going to the basket. THAT is Amare’s game. If Felton can’t execute with said court-vision, we will not contend (even w/ Melo). CP3/D-Will/Nash are, ultimately, a necessity.
at least mozgov played pretty well
amare getting owned again, prototypical guy who just scores and gets rewarded for a big contract
at least he’s a good leader off the court
You know, I was thinking Felton’s little hot streak there in the third was fool’s gold. I mean, every shot was like, “Nooo, yessss!”
But I said it three times to my wife, who was getting pissed at me – and she hates Felton – that his shots were fool’s gold. But I shut up.
Then I thought, ‘Gallo was working his will against everyone that was guarding him in the first half.’ He got 9 FTs, but he was 4 for 12 on the night. Still, he took only 3 shots in the fourth, hitting one 3pt. All in all, a reasonable night with 18 points, 13 boards(!!!) and a +3. But he was all but forgotten in the fourth.
Our All Star PF had an average night, a quiet night, at best, with 21 points on 19 shots, 7 boards and 3 TOs, +3. 38 minutes.
Caught too many passes from his guard 10-15 ft from the basket.
The bench? Bad. No flow.
Chandler, 1-6, two boards, 1-4 from 3pt.
Douglas, 1-6, 0-3 from 3pt, 2 assists. But hard to get in flow in only 13 mins.
Williams, who is really a bench player, 2-8, 2-4 from 3 pt, 4 boards. Terrible finish. Choke really.
The guy with the best overall night was Mosgov: +8, 3-4 from the field, 3-4 from the line, 9 points, 7 boards, two blocks in 22 minutes.
Still, there was something about Ray’s play that bothered me. It’s his job to ensure the ball moves around. And tonight, the ball did not move consistently. During the period where the Knicks dominated, it moved great. Mosgov and Gallo played well together. The ball was flying and the Knicks were fluid.
But Ray took 20 shots and got only three FTs.
He had 9 assists, but he didn’t get the offense moving. He tried to be too much of the offense, IMHO, and D’Antoni let him. And I think that is one reason why they were mediocre. Some bad jumpers across the team. Too much standing around.
I know Ray had a decent shooting night in 39 minutes. Kept Douglas pinned to the pine. But I don’t feel like Ray ran the offense well. Stat and Gallo weren’t in the flow.
Fool’s gold.
by this absurd logic, how is our loss in Cleveland looking these days? :)
Knicks outrebounded Philly 48-41. Philly only had 7 offensive rebounds the whole game. Rebounding wasnt the problem tonight.
Nice to see Silent E take responsibility and admit he made a dumb mistake by not shooting that 3pter especially like he said since he had just made a 3pter previous possession.
Touche :-)
Being a Friday night, I got roped into watching a flick with the missus. Every once in a while I’d pick up the laptop and check the score, and was pretty confident when I turned on the TV at 10:20 and….. oh shit.
Reading the thread, it seems like tonight was a pretty epic meltdown. Having only seen the box score / recap and gleanings from the highlight reel and our fair KB blog, a few things stick out:
1) Mozgov with a solid outing (I actually saw a bit of the 2nd quarter when he was being quite active). Definitely encouraging.
2) Felton hoisting 20 shots. Really? I know he made 11, but that’s really a lot of shots. Just out of curiosity, how many of them were 3-pointers from the top of the key early in the shot clock?
3) I think this is about the 9th loss in a row where STAT’s explanation has been the team not “having energy”. Always about the energy. I know he’s been a great leader and all, but I really cannot remember the last time he took a loss on his shoulders and his shoulders alone. Even if a loss cannot be objectively or statistically placed on your shoulders, I feel like a true leader would at least say it every once in a while. It’s clearly not ALL on STAT, but he has to know he’s getting abused almost every game by his matchup, right? Is he just embarrassed?
Huge game Sunday. A loss doesn’t mean we miss the playoffs, but being 0-3 to Philly would be painful nonetheless.
The energy thing is definitely relevant tonight because they came out looking like they didnt give a crap and were trailing by 14 after the 1st quarter. I remember earlier in the season during the 3-8 stretch he took the blame for a couple of the losses when he played bad. He did unleash on them after the 8th loss though and certainly backed it up with his play right after. Problem is you can see he is nowhere near 100% healthy right now just like…
Just like Chandler is not anywhere near healthy. Throw in Felton who is banged up too and its tough right now because this team doesnt have the depth to make up for them not playing at their best.
Yeah, I can’t knock STAT too much because he’s obviously majorly affected by the injury. I mean, imagine actually knocking Chandler for his poor play tonight – it wouldn’t make sense because we know he’s hurt. Sort of the same with Stat (although why he keeps trying stuff that he can’t do is beyond me).
I get the depth thing, but every team is banged up this time of year. Again, I didn’t see the whole game, but if Mozgov was being as effective as he seemed, why didn’t he get a little more burn? I know they won the rebounding battle anyway, but — correct me if I’m wrong — that stretch in the second quarter where he played well, Brand didn’t get too many clean looks. Feels like having a healthy Moz down there to supplement a not-so-healthy STAT would’ve helped our cause vis-a-vis keeping Brand from having a career game.
Turiaf left with a sprained ankle, so Mozgov fans should get to see a lot of him Sunday.
Yeah, I don’t have any problems with D’Antoni aside from normal little things that I’ll always have hindsite to prove me right on. Yes, I like Felton as a PG. Yes, I think D’Antoni can win a title.
Sorry to disagree with you Mr. Italian pest.
I kinda hope we trade Gallo so you can be a nuggets fan….I swear to god.
Just saw post-game interviews on MSG.com, mad props to Shawne Williams for manning up and not making any excuses. Heck he even admitted numerous times he messed up and shouldve taken the 3pter.
Much respect to Silent E. I know things like how players handle interviews really doesnt matter but its always nice to see guys take accountability, especially someone like him who hardly ever gets any interviews and this is probably the first time in his career he was in a position like he was tonight to take a game winning shot and failed and had to face all the questions afterward.
Oh and yes, I agree with him not playing Randolph. How can you not agree with it? When the guy gets in he does practically nothing.
Interesting, D’Antoni said that Gallo shouldve made the pass to Shawne quicker than he did. Hell I still wish he wouldve taken the shot because while AI recovered to get right on him he looked like he had his hands down and looked like he was playing Gallo to drive not to shoot. But I get what D’Antoni is saying because Shawne was open the whole time and the extra second Gallo took to think about shooting before passing it to Shawne allowed the defender to get to Shawne quick enough to put some doubt in him to take the 3pter I guess.
Seriously I need to forget about this game tonight. See you all on Sunday.
as long as you’re broaching this kind of thing, you (Spree8nyk8) have been far and away the worst poster here over the course of the season. even maurice lucas was only annoying in brief stretches, you’re like the LeBron of Lame, the LVP (least valuable poster). 1 vote for totti to stay and you to go.
The screen+rolls between Mozgov and Felton seemed to be working GREAT in the 3rd Q!! Felton was getting wide open looks. Moz was rolling nicely. MDA started the 4th w/ DWTDD who doesn’t run the screen+roll and then pulled Moz when Felton came back in. By the time Moz returned, Knicks were already slipping and then STAT and Ill Will completely shit the bed on the next FIVE possessions.
Write it up as part two of your Mozgov coverage, KB!!
Wow…
…
You know when you see an ass whooping and it goes down so one-sided you kind of cringe?
This was kind of like that.
Welcome back, JA. It’s been a while.:)
I wonder if Felton was trying to prove he should have made the All-Star team with all those shots…at least some of them went in tonight.
Somebody brought this up earlier and it’s a good question: why didn’t D’Antoni keep Mozgov on Brand?
spree,
i forgot, you’d gut the team for melo at 20 mil.
I suppose to be in denver by then,
maybe watching gallo blossoming,
maybe thinking of knicks and their new three
basketballs offense system, one for melo, one for stat, one for felton,
the new three stars of knicks, the most expensive of the world.
@2 kindly give me the links.My GOD when will this stubborn,idiosyncratic coach see the value he is WASTING in AR? Why can he play AR and MOZGOV 15mins each and even pair them at the same time when AMAR’E rest? or even with them and STATS at the same time? Mr. Walsh NEVER give AR up in any trade,PLEASE.
Whatever tool, I support the team, so I’ll be here. If you are the one with the problem well then I guess you’ll be the one going. The guy I bashed is not a Knick fan he’s a Gallo fan and a Gallo fan only. And sorry, but the answer to every problem is not more Gallo. If Gallo wanted to be the guy than Gallo should have taken the shot. Plain and simple.
And Frank, don’t really know how this statement equals an ass whooping, but hey if it gets you off kudos to him.
Something that has bothered me some. And this is not to say that Amar’e has played as well as he needs to, I don’t think any of them right now are doing that. But at least be fair in the criticism that is doled out on a player. I know a lot of big men have had huge nights against the Knicks this season. But Brand got most of his points against Shawne Williams and not Amar’e. You can’t keep putting that on him when he’s not even the one defending him.
And the stats the were listed about AR from last season, they are interesting. But look at this…..The guy has never done ANYTHING when he’s been in the lineup. Ever, not even flashes really. And with everyone pointing to MDA not wanting to give him a shot, take a look at this year thus far. Moz was in, then out, now he’s back. Same with bill walker. Extra E was the 12th man on the roster and MDA is getting him good minutes now. For the most part I think he’s done a really good job of getting a good bit out of the players he has at his disposal. Everyone except AR……doesn’t that at least make you think for just a second that maybe it isn’t MDA at all…..Maybe it’s AR? Maybe the guy isn’t the same player after his injury. Maybe he isn’t committed to the team. I mean maybe SOMETHING is going on that is causing this kid to not get a shot. Because pretty much every person on the damn roster has been given at least 2 shots, and this guy just hasn’t really brought it. I mean you can keep baggin on MDA for not turning shit into gold, but a good many of you gave up on Mozgov right away and didn’t care if maybe it was a nerves issue with him. Moz can play. He’s showing it. He’s only gonna get better. And sure, I’d love to see AR become what everyone thinks he can be. I just haven’t seen him do anything that actually suggest he can be it. But I wouldn’t want to see them start losing games just for the sake of getting AR playing time. Idk, just my two cents on it.
My thoughts on the closing seconds: I’m actually completely fine with Gallo swinging the ball after a hard close out with Shawne Williams open for a corner three. I’m fine with Shawne Williams putting it on the floor after a delayed pass from Gallo and another hard close out. The bottom line is that Gallo should have swung the ball immediately for a ridiculously wide open William’s corner three rather than headfaking before the pass. Being a great player in the clutch doesn’t mean taking every big shot, it means finding the best shot (see: Kobe Bryant misses).
Secondly, I thought Mozgov played well and we seemed like a different team with him on the floor tonight. One thing that was bothering me all night though, he turns the wrong way after EVERY pick and roll, showing his back to the ball handler. How is this possible for an NBA big man after almost 50 games and why is someone not forcing him to repeat the proper footwork at every practice?
Spree, comment was less about you and more about jon abbey’s distinctive tone and sharp brevity, often applied when he finds something or someone irritable.
Since his recent return to KB, I have not seen it much, where once it was a more frequent occurrence.
I was amused to see it because it always happens seemingly suddenly, and it reminded me of times past in this blog when the heat came high and hard with a dose of pepper, from time to time.
Not sure I’m explaining myself very well, but it’s a jon abbey association for me.
It reminds me of why I’ve enjoyed this blog – perhaps, you too – over the years: You need to keep your powder dry, facts straight and skin thick. You will be right and wrong, generally humbled, and at the end, probably better for it if you can keep it from being personal, IMHO.
Hey guys, this nastiness and pettiness between posters needs to stop. If someone is a true troll (ML) then just ignore him, but otherwise, we really need to keep it civil. The name calling and taking sides is getting ridiculous, we’re all Knicks fans (well most of us) so lets focus on the team and not each other.
Secondly, I think we all have to stop playing the blame game after every loss (“It’s D’Antoni!” “It’s Felton” “It’s STAT”) The team is banged up right now, and yes, I know every other team is as well, but guys are definitely not playing at anywhere near 100% health. We need to weather this slump and find our mojo again, which I think we will, and take care of business tomorrow which would be a good start.
Kumbiyah.
Not sure if the 7th seed is such a bad thing if we draw the Celtics. We seem to generally match up better with them than Orlando or Atlanta. Of course, if the Bulls rise up to the 3 seed, the 6 would be great for us since we seem to match up ok against the Bulls as well.
Generally, I’m just rooting to finish over .500 and let the chips fall where they may.
In other news (drama):
http://basketball.realgm.com/wiretap/210632/Agent_Telling_Teams_Carmelo_Only_Wants_Extension_With_Knicks
This is pretty brutal for the Nuggets. I’m not sure if the blame goes more to Leon Rose or the Nuggets, but as I said in September, dragging this out is not going to help them. I’m not saying I want Melo, but if I’m Denver, I just do the deal already. Isn’t 50 cents on the dollar better than 10 cents? If they can get AR, Fields and a pick they should be stoked. I’m not sure we even win on that deal in the long run. We would get stuck with a bloated cap, and they get a hungry, young, cheap team. Maybe we’ll even take Balkman back.
As for Gallo, we are beginning to see tangible signs of the greatness that before were only abstractions.
His last seven games have been more active, especially in the absence of WC, who before he was injured was not playing well.
Gallo is increasing his points per 36, which currently is better than any year to date.
Gallo’s PER is almost two points better than his best year to date.
His TS% of .604 is significantly better than his career average, largely because he’s getting to the line a third more than his career average. His eFG% is down largely because his 3 pt shooting average is off quite a bit from his career average as are his attempts from 3 pt.
All this is going on, and yet his overall shooting percentage is what it has always been, roughly .425.
His FT shooting is excellent, significantly better than his career average, or .112 from being perfect, and he hasn’t missed a FT in four games. That’s 34 shots in a row.
The rebounding is an issue, but there has been notable improvement in the past three games. I think last night was his biggest rebounding night this season.
I cannot emphasize this more. He needs to keep that up. It will better the team and ensure he’s involved in the game flow. It is a waste of Gallo’s overall skills to have him stand off in the corner waiting for a ball to find him. He is a more diverse and, hence, more difficult player to counter when he is actively in the flow of the game.
When Felton is not on the floor, the Knicks should run their offense through Gallo, as they did with Lee. We have seen some of that, and, when we have, there are tantalizing signs that it could be very productive.
Problem is, we’re 3-4 in our last 7 games. It’s hard to tell how much of this is that we’re missing Chandler, or because Ray is struggling. Probably some of both. Sending Shawne back to 9th man status will help.
“Not sure I’m explaining myself very well, but it’s a jon abbey association for me. It reminds me of why I’ve enjoyed this blog – perhaps, you too – over the years: You need to keep your powder dry, facts straight and skin thick. You will be right and wrong, generally humbled, and at the end, probably better for it if you can keep it from being personal, IMHO.”
Co sign.
I had a dream last night that the Knicks lost to Duke on a buzzer beating three. I am dead serious.
WHAT DOES THIS MEAN
@ Spree
I disagree about AR, he has not played one stretch longer than 6 minutes. Granted earlier in the season he did have some horrible FGA but lately the little hes played was within his skills. 5 boards and a block in 8 minutes is not bad at all if your not MDA.
@ EssDog
I knew this was going to happen and kudos to ShawnE for keeping it up for this long. But MDA went to far in the first by putting Extra E on Brand. Hes more of a good defender against strong 3s not a PF. He was exposed badly and I really dont like what he brings to the table when it comes to good teams that close out the 3pt. He stops the offense if he doesnt have the 3.
And no Gallo gave it to the open man instead of trying to play hero basketball, he did the right decision which should be commended knowing the fact that he has the guts to take those types of shots.
I for one believe MDA should play more all of the bench players (except Mason) and find a good balanced unit. If not we will not get the best out of our starters due to fatigue. It seems every game there is a different bench unit and after 4 bad minutes they get yanked. He needs to put them on trial for longer and more consistent minutes. MDA is too quick with the trigger and knowing were not a very good team he should sacrifice the now for later.
Mike k.:
Just sent you an e-mail. Check it out. Something you could use.
I think it’s more about the combined play of Ray and Toney.
I just wrote something for Mike about that. See if he wants to use it.
It could mean that we’re about to unload Chandler, Gallo, and Curry’s contract for Gordon Hayward. Just a guess.
Regarding the news about Melo’s agent saying he will only sign an extension with NY, it’s an absolute lock that the Nuggets will start floating rumors that they are in “serious negotiations” with the Mavs or whoever to trade Anthony without an extension. It’s the only leverage they have left to try and force the Knicks hand to give up quality assets. Knowing Donnie, he won’t flinch, and eventually Denver will have to take much less to make a deal happen before the deadline.
for sure i’m a gallo fan, all the italians are gallo fans
but don’t underrate the new york appeal,
along with coca cola and apple, the most secure assets that
you have across the ocean.
you see, i find myself thinking how the knicks can win a title in next years. Personally i’ll trade for iggy at 2 and for nash at 1, taking a high risk with mozgov to stay, or i’ll keep felton and i’ll trade for iggy and a center.
The last thing i’ll do now is gutting the team to have melo at 20 mil., this will be as stupid as isiah thomas.
Otherwise we can stay put now and go strong for melo in fa at 15 mil.
In any scenario i don’t trust dantoni. Any other coach from any other country could be at 25-23 at this point of the season.
Wow, Moz is starting Sunday!
http://www.theknicksblog.com/2011/02/05/moz-gets-starting-nod/
And I was beginning to think my MOZGOV:OBEY shirt was a waste of money…
Moz to start tomorrow!
http://www.theknicksblog.com/2011/02/05/moz-gets-starting-nod/
So does this mean…Oh wait no it doesnt.
I think this is going to be the rotation.
C: Moz, STAT
PF: STAT, Extra E
SF: Gallo, WIlson
SG: Fields, TD
PG: Felton, TD
With Walker getting the Y as a vocal treatment and getting 5-7 minutes.
Frank, it’s cool dude, different people are into different things so whatever you and Jon abbey like to do together is perfectly well within your business. I’m just here for the team.
Totti, the moves that you talk about for the team aren’t remotely possible. 1) iggy’s contract would pretty much kill all of the rest of the things you talk about 2) who would you move to get Nash? 3) Waiting on Melo to be a free agent is a big risk. When it gets closer to the deadline we can probably get him for a decent price but that price is going to include Chandler or Gallo.
And you do understand the improvement that being 25-23 at this point of the season represents right? We have made a ton of progress. But I think all of us tend to wish daily that we were just one rung higher than we actually are. But I don’t think there are really any coaches out there that would have made us much better to this point than what MDA has done.
Hey the stats for AR that were posted, are those mostly from his rookie year? Or were they from last season?
I bet the conversation went a little like this:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sUwuMbNnccc&feature=related
Days like today kill me, the day after a tough loss when I just wish they could get out there today and beat the hell outta philly.
The secret to win is to find legal ways to spend well beyond the cap
I say 80-90mil. How much are the payrolls of lakers, boston, spurs or mavs?
If you do that “à la isiah” then you deserve another decade of nothing, but if knicks management keeps the brain cold and act wisely, maybe there’ll be a chance to compete next years.
If you go for melo now at 20 mil, giving away fields, gallo or chandler, randolph, how can you spend that much if you don’t have anymore the young players to renew?
If the title is the absolute goal, then take the risk of free agency or abandon the idea of melo and go for a 2(iggy) and a 5 now or for a 1(trading felton) and a 2.
Trading young talent is not the way to build championships. Waiting for Melo IS the way to go because we lose little to no talent that way. If we trade Fields, Gallo, Chandler, and AR that would take away any possibility of us getting another asset. STAT and Melo will not get us through the 2nd round guaranteed.
Also, the more we wait to actually start prioritizing defense and rebounding the more we will not see a Championship hoisted or even an appearance. Defense gives you more room for mistakes on offense, rebounding minimizes easy opportunities that teams might get. But no, MDA swears to his father that sacrificing size/rebounding and defense for offense is the way to go because the team that scores more always wins.
I see some posters that go against getting AR some burn time because he has not found his role on offense but ignore the Cambyesque rebounding and shot blocking rate he provides. Hes better than Turiaf is, yet because he had some bad jumpers earlier in the season hes in the doghouse.
Lmao ess-dog.
MDA: Timo are you ready to start?
Mozgov: Da!
1) What was the last championship team in the nba that got there on home grown talent?
2) What if Melo isn’t there because we waited? It’s not a given that he’ll be there.
And question 1 is a real question. It’s not a barb. I always hear people say you have to do this or you can’t do that, but historically that is exactly what other teams have done. The majority of the last 10 or so championship teams were built from trades and on top of that most were trades for star players. (Shaq, KG/Allen, Gasol).
And Nate, to be honest, if I could see the future and know that we get him both ways, then I 100% wait. I just don’t know if that’s going to work.
Totti, IGGY is not a free agent. He’s unavailable, and to trade for him doesnt make sense.
@ 248
1) Spurs, Pistons
And most teams to a certain extent have home grown talent.
@ 249
his agent said (or so says the article) that Melo is only signing an extension with the Knicks.
Plus Melo is not the missing piece, if we develop our young’ns we can get a non crippling offer from any team were trading to.
so basically 3 times in the last 11 years. Doesn’t seem like a super high success rate.
Re: trading for Melo vs. waiting until the offseason,
Melo doesn’t HAVE to sign a 22 million dollar extension. He could demand that the Nuggets sign him for less (and watch their heads explode.) Also, salaries could get rolled back after the year. There really is no way of knowing which option is “better” although it seems like Walsh is in the catbird seat and really can lowball Denver at this point.
What do you think Dallas would offer to rent Melo? Beaubois and a 2011 first round pick? I think we would just have to beat that in a trade. Maybe AR and two firsts? Just pulling this out of my ass…