Comments on: Quick Reaction: Bucks 100, Knicks far less than that

By: airchibundo507

airchibundo507 — Sat, 21 Jan 2012 20:27:09 +0000

after enough potential saviors, eventually one of them will carry us over the top like the last straw breaking the camel’s back. BD and JR give us two NBA rotational players (giving us a grand total of 6-7) and they at least have the ability to play off a double team with shooting (in Smith’s case), penetrating and playmaking.

what should make you salivate the most is that with Smith playing 36 minutes a night, we have at least one bonafide shooter on the court 75% of the time. if only we can make it until March. the only threat to kick us out of playoff seeding is Boston, and they are having their own struggles, especially now that Rondo is banged up.

By: mase

mase — Sat, 21 Jan 2012 18:05:51 +0000

if jr. smith is a savior we’re really screwed!

By: airchibundo507

airchibundo507 — Sat, 21 Jan 2012 17:27:31 +0000

the only way to salvage this season is for Baron to be a solid contributor and to pick up JR Smith in March (if we last until then). as long as we don’t play Miami or Chicago in the first round, we have a small chance

By: xduckshoex

xduckshoex — Sat, 21 Jan 2012 15:28:29 +0000

The Infamous Cdiggy: With all due respect, I am NOT OK with losing 120-0.I think some people get too caught up in “playing the right way” to the point that they’d rather lose this way vs. win with more selfish ball-play.If your outside shooters keep going 0-for-60, but Melo 1-on-3 nets you, say, 15 or 20-for-60; then that’s 30 to 40 points closer to winning.Is it the best way long-term to go about things?No.But if you’re in the business of doing whatever you feel gives you the best chance at winning games, and plans A, B, and C haven’t worked, then isn’t it you job as coach to find something – anything – as an alternative until something better comes along?

I agree that winning with a selfish brand of ball play would be preferable, but the Knicks aren't winning with it. The Knicks are 4-3 when Melo shoots fewer than 20 shots, 2-5 when he shoots more than 20 shots. It's a small sample size, but it does support the idea that the team is not playing better when he tries to carry them to victory.

By: Jim Cavan (@JPCavan)

Jim Cavan (@JPCavan) — Sat, 21 Jan 2012 15:26:36 +0000

NICE JOB BOBBY!

I came to a painful realization last night: Pretty much every opponent plays the way the Knicks say they want to, but can’t.

By: xduckshoex

xduckshoex — Sat, 21 Jan 2012 15:08:41 +0000

This whole “ball movement is pointless because everyone else sucks” thing is factually incorrect because Melo’s isolations produce fewer points per possession than every other play type(cuts, pick and rolls, etc.) by a pretty significant margin. Not only is it worse than every other play type for the team in general but it’s worse than every other play type for him as an individual by a significant degree.

That’s an inarguable fact. Melo’s isolations kill the teams offense.

By: Juany8

Juany8 — Sat, 21 Jan 2012 14:53:13 +0000

‘Well said ruruland, although I’m not totally sold on Baron being the answer to all our problems (although he’s capable of playing at an all star level in a best case scenario, look at Felton last year). You can’t win if only one of your players can dribble. Ball movement is worthless if role players are doing awful things when they are totally open, and reliably turning the ball over if they are under the slightest pressure. By the way, people call for D’Antoni’s firing, then expect him to be ok with losing a game 120-80 because “open shots are the right shots always!” are living in a dream world. What our guards are doing with their open shots is not good basketball in any sense of the imagination, and blaming Carmelo when he’s consistently played on elite offenses throughout his career for somehow making our guards terrible is ridiculous. By the same logic, the same reason Artest and Fisher can’t make a jump shot is because Kobe is a ball hog, but then I’m sure this board would probably bury Kobe if he was our star instead.

By: Nick C.

Nick C. — Sat, 21 Jan 2012 13:42:12 +0000

Reading these posgame wrap-ups is all to often the only entertaining part of the game. Well done Robert!

By: Thomas B.

Thomas B. — Sat, 21 Jan 2012 12:58:15 +0000

No Robert, Melo’s “36 point performance” was especially impressive because he only scored 35 points.

By: Z-man

Z-man — Sat, 21 Jan 2012 12:33:38 +0000

Something is definitely wrong with Amare, my guess is that either his back (most likely) or his knees are a problem. He has no lateral movememt and no lift. He’s getting burned to his left time and time again, he is coming up short on dunks he used to ferociously slam, he is slow to loose balls, he stands straight up rather than in a defensive stance, etc. Maybe he loosens up, maybe not, but he is clearly not the same player he was at this time last year.