@DaJudge – bear in mind a key component to D’Antoni’s system is removing the traditional post player thus opening the lane for SR & creating space for the shooters. so a big that can stroke the 15 footer is key. we’ve seen this offense when defenders can clog the lane waiting on Amar’e…it ain’t pretty.

Ben, Re Randolph, I just don’t see it. Talent to me means having an innate ability (separate from intelligence) to pick up physical skills more quickly than others. I was a big fan of AR until I saw him in preseason and early on. I am now convinced that he is a super athletic kid with far less talent than I thought he had. I see a skilled bouncer of the ball, but not a skilled ball-handler. I see a guy who can jump high and quick, not a skilled shot-blocker or rebounder. We’re probably just quibbling about semantics, but no matter how you slice it, I just see a lousy basketball player. I said the same thing about Balkman (who is the same kind of player as Randolph) and he has done nothing but sit the bench in Denver, nor are people knocking down the door to get him. It is actually humbling of me to admit this because I was so high on him after the Lee deal. I would love to be proven wrong about this guy, but I have complete confidence in D’Antoni on this one.

I do not have sufficient info to evaluate AR. I would like to see him more if he’s busting it in practice. If he’s not, it’s on him. In his few appearances, I thought he was trying to hard to hit the J. Why? I don’t know. I know I’m in the minority, but the shot didn’t look so bad–sure, it didn’t drop and the selection wasn’t the best. It wasn’t terrible either. The kid never looked too happy and seemed really stressed. He actually appeared depressed to me. I’m sure we can all understand that reaction from a really young kid with Great Expectations. He was over hyped—so hyped that no one would trade him for Carmello. Remember? Unless he’s dogging it, I hope he gets a shot and has mentors that can lead him along. Certainly he has a huge upside physically. Just my view.

Ben R: Z-Man – Randolph is 6’10? though and for a player who is 6’10? he is very talented. His ball handling and passing ability are exceptional for a big man. Combine that with his rebounding and shot blocking skill and he is very talented. His jump shot is also not that bad it’s just alot worse than he seems to think it is. He can hit open shots and he can beat his man off the dribble the problem is after he beats his man he often gets stuck when help comes and ends up throwing up a bad shot or a desperate pass.His biggest problem is b-ball iq and court awareness not talent. He also has shown the ability to be modererately efficient, his 52.1% TS% is okay for a 20 year old high usage player. He just hasn’t been able to fit into our team concept but given time and coaching that should be fixable. Luckily most of his problems can be fixed with coaching and time and he is getting both of that here. (At least he should be)  

Being able to handle the ball as a big man is an over-rated skill, especially with felton on this team. His lack of jumpshot hurts his ability to beat people off the dribble because they just back off and give him the jumpshot. I consider AR athletic rather than talented.

His biggest problem is b-ball iq and court awareness not talent. He also has shown the ability to be modererately efficient, his 52.1% TS% is okay for a 20 year old high usage player. He just hasn’t been able to fit into our team concept but given time and coaching that should be fixable. Luckily most of his problems can be fixed with coaching and time and he is getting both of that here. (At least he should be)

amazingly NY is 17-3 since mid-November against teams not named Miami or Boston, and they came damn close to beating Boston also. I agree that the consistent effort since the first West Coast road trip has been remarkable, I just hope that Felton doesn’t hit a wall at some point.