It was bad D against one of the worst offensive teams in the league. Not fun to watch. Speedy point guards, been our weakness all year.
The Knicks always find a way to play down to the worst competition. I completely missed this one, but probably for the best as it would have left me scratching my head. Why isn't Shumpert guarding opposing point guards? Is he still not 100%? He was great at that last year, and I can't remember him doing it once yet. I still say we start Amar'e.
He is not 100%. He still needs to be worked into the game. What is with this obsession of starting and not starting? He is still going to play the same minutes. If you think starting means more minutes, you are mistaken. Woodson is doing the right thing. Amare minutes should remain between 24-28 minutes, give or take. He has been extremely effective in this role while keeping himself healthy. We do not need to push him out there for 35 minutes. We are no longer a team fighting to get into the playoffs, we have to now, plan for a deep play off run. If you want to start him just so you can satisfy his own ego, and have him be on the court on tip off, that is an entirely different thing. But, what I am getting from your post and previous posts is that you want Amare to start which will mean more minutes. We don't need him to play 30+ minutes. The problem with the Knicks is - they will do 1 thing, then go back to ISO Melo. Which I hate. If Amare is dominating down low, which he has been, don't stop it just to give melo the ball. Melo is going to get his no matter what.
Just the nature of the game. Miami lost to them earlier on in the year as well. Sometimes you just can't win a game. We played horrible defense too. If this sort of stuff starts happening in April when we are getting to the wire, then we have a problem.
It has nothing to do with his ego, just the fact that we have our best production with Melo, Amar'e and Chandler on the floor together. I don't think small ball is the most effective line up to start games, that's all. We often find ourselves falling in early holes with that line up. Shumpert still needs to get to 100%, I suppose. I didn't think he was that far off. Wouldn't it make more sense to have Shump come off the bench? Why do you think Amar'e can't play more minutes? Just because he's doing well with the minutes he has? That's not exactly a great reason. If it's because he's still banged up, then I'd agree, but if he's playing well you try to give him more minutes and see how it goes.
No. Over the last 10 games, out best 3 man combo has been Melo, Chandler, Smith. Then 5 more combos before we get to Chandler,Amare,Melo. Has the Amare/Melo/Chandler trio been better than last year, worlds better. But still not our best production. Also, Felton, Smith, Melo, Amare, Chandler net rating of 11.1 Felton, Kidd, Smith, Melo, Chandler net rating of 25.5 Kidd, Smith, Novak, Chandler, Melo net rating of 24.5 Then we go to units under 50 minutes played. The most promising combo is Kidd, Smith, Melo, Chandler Amare which comes in at 20 rating which is great but don't have much time together. Small ball is one of our most effective units and the most effective.
Melo just totally dissed Woodson on TV. The reporter asked him why he though Woodson was the fastest to 50 wins in New York, and he had dead air for a few seconds then he said it was because of the players. Nada about coaching ability. Me thinks Melo is pissed for Woodson chewing him out earlier in the game
It is because he is fragile. And we do not need to increase his chance of injury. If we were a 8th seed team, then yes I'd agree. As I said before, we are no longer a team fighting to be in the playoffs, we are a team fighting to go deep into the playoffs. Managing his minutes as well as our veterans minutes is extremely important to making a deep playoff run. Working him back into the game plan slowly is important. Personally I do not want to give him more minutes to see how it goes. I know what he can do with a cap of 28 minutes, give or take. We don't need him to play 35 minutes a game and risk injury or risk putting him in a bad situation where he actually has to make defensive plays. Don't forget, more minutes means more times he has to play defense. I want Camby to come back healthy. I really want to see a Camby/Chandler defensive combo.
He is fine physically, for now. But why would you increase his minutes just to see how it goes? We aren't desperate. We aren't in a situation where we have to increase his minutes to win games, that is my point. Wouldn't you rather his minutes be managed now so that he is able to play a bigger role in the playoffs? Or would you prefer him play close to 35 minutes now, and increase his chance of being hurt/not 100% for the playoffs? The risk of injury is always there of course, but its certainly increased with more playing time.
I only caught the highlights. Another game where we did just enough to win. We have a tough stretch after AS break. Hopefully we get things back on track and can take the better teams. Also, James White in the Dunk Contest and Steve Novak in the 3 point contest. As long as it isn't rigged, James White is winning
Phoenix Suns have interest in Iman Shumpert. The Knicks have interest in Jared Dudley. The Knicks have not show interest in trading Shumpert, BUT no young player is safe. They are in a win now mode. I hope we keep Shumpert because I think he provide better value than Dudley.
I can't understand how James White is even in the NBA. He's a good dunker but not a good enough player to merit being on an NBA roster, let alone being paid over a million. they're paying him to play minutes only in garbage time. You could sign anyone for the minimum to do that. Did they sign him and keep him on the roster just so he could represent the Knicks in the dunk contest?
Woodson likes the older players on his team. I believe White could also play the 2-4 reasonably well so when Melo went out he played quite a bit more. He hasn't had to play much because now the Knicks have their full lineup. They also plucked Pablo and Copleand from overseas. They like those players I guess That first half could be described as "it could be worse". We went to zone to end the 2nd quarter and Chris Paul said "eff this zone" and picked it apart. Amare/JR have both been bad shooting and the Clippers 3s are falling. Defense against a quick point guard, still troublesome. Shumpert was only on Paul for the first 5 minutes then didn't see the court. He made a bad pass for a turnover, probably part of it.
Also Hubie has been spot on all game. Refs (Joey Crawford I believe) have done a good job keeping Blake and Melo at 2 fouls and not 3 to keep them in the game. They let a couple slide each way for both players once they hit two fouls.
