In the perfect world, Lin is not worth 324523043142034134 billion dollars and he stays a backup here while we improve the roster. That was the whole problem this offseason Lin, lose most of the little signings we made, don't resign Lin, run with an older crew. I'm fine with Prigs getting more minutes. I'm worried with Kidd getting more minutes because of age. If Melo is back, the offense will just run through him making the PG lives a lot easier.
The Knicks didn't want to get rid of Lin either, but in no universe was that contract a reasonable one for him. They're hoping to ride the old guys to a title this year and get younger in the next year or two, for far less money and probably better play. If Woodson is smart he'll let them lose some games in December - February by restricting minutes of people like Kidd so they win games in April - June when it really counts.
Had to watch the gamecast/box score on my phone for this game and rely on texts. Just caught a few highlights now. Agree with Galpal and Staff on their posts. And, from the box score at least, this felt kind of like the PHX where we were PHX. Down a lot, game feels out of hand, comeback to take a late 4th quarter lead, blow the lead, lose on a buzzer beater. Also, our 3 buzzer beater games have all come with Melo not on the floor.
Knicks have just seriously been slacking off on the defense end until they realize in the 4th quarter they're about to lose. Then they turn it on, sometimes they get the win, sometimes it's too late. And here we are in win one - lose one mode
I realized we are missing PG Felton, SG, Shumpert, F Melo, F Amare. We are also missing C Wallace. We are going to have to tread water until Melo comes back, shump comes back and then Amare is healthy and back. I don't missing Felton will hurt too much and now he has time to rest both hurt hands.
I think Wallace brings that toughness like Oakley did. Team has been soft. Also frustrating when they miss out on easy rebounds because they don't box out.
I think Breen and Clyde mention this a lot, but Sheed is always talking on defense. That sort of drops when he's not there and Chandler's not there on the bench. The talking helps a lot. The defense is definitely gonna suffer when Novak, Copeland, Prigs have to be primary defenders for long minutes. Like I said, we just need to tread water until Melo comes back. If Amare beats him to it, it wouldn't be the worst thing in the world letting him roam around as the main threat until Melo and him assimilate. Shumpert is going to bring the perimeter we are sorely missing. Felton, while ok, isn't great. I love what Kidd is doing for this team, but he can't stop a main threat. That's something Shumpert can do, and hopefully if ACL is ok, we gain another player like Smith who can drive and create his own shot. Having two of those players with Melo helps greatly. Shump also imrpoved his shot greatly and I think the Knicks shooting coach has something to do with this. That greater % should continue.
Not sure what all the complaining is about. We are 21-9 and have missed key players, up to 4 of which are starters. Can't really ask for much more.
Just things to be worried about. Our health staff has had trouble with injuries recently, or at least evaluation injuries: Lin- was supposed be day-to-day, out all year Felton- sprained finger day to day, fractured 4-6 weeks Amare- routine surgery couple weeks, out 2 months Melo- sprain knee questionable, still hasn't returned a week later But our defense has dropped and we aren't playing 4 quarters. Hopefully it picks up when melo comes back, but we don't know when that it is.
Yeah, the injuries have been ridiculous, not just this year, but going back at least halfway through last year as well. I just hope that we do actually get the pleasure of watching this team at full strength some day. We brought in the older guys for veteran leadership and team depth, not to be 30+ minute a night starters. There's no way that is sustainable.
It's not an evaluation problem, it's a PR problem. For whatever reason, the Knicks are downright Belichick-like when it comes to hiding injuries from the media.
Anyone got an idea what the starting lineup will be once all roster players are ready? Felton Kidd Shumpert Melo Chandler ^^^ This???
I'd say that. Unless they're playing a scrappy, tough team. I see them going with something along the lines of Felton Shump Brewer if he stops sucking Melo Chandler.
Once again the Knicks don't bother showing up for the first 20 minutes of the game and end up falling short. It also doesn't help when everyone else on the team other than Anthony, Smith, and Chandler score a total of 17 points.
Yeah but it's Lebron. Welp, nice to see Amare back. Our defense has been strikingly bad and surprisingly enough, Rasheed Wallace is the catalyst behind it is my theory. He was always talking on the court getting they guys moving. Besides that, it's worth it to lose the games now to win them in June. We have a nice half season to get Shump, Amare, Melo and then 1/3 of the season for Felton to join them. We can slowly introduce each piece onto the team. I hope Woodson runs this though: Prig and Amare pick and roll at either elbow/wing, Melo at the top, Novak/COpeland/Kidd and Smith in the corners. Deadly. Also, Brewer has to stop doubling when Chandler is guarding someone. IT's Tyson Chandler, he can handle it most of the time, especially when not in foul trouble. The doubling leads to open 3s and players out of position for defensive rebounds. Brewers has to realize, you double if Amare is guarding, not if Tyson is guarding.
What happened to our defense? We were #1 in the league, now we're back down to middle of the pack. We're not boxing out, we're not making free throws, we're allowing tons of wide open 3s every game, teams waltz into the paint like its a joke, we're letting poor teams score 60-70 points in a single half. You can't win a playoff series, let alone a title like that. We need to open games as strong as we close them. We can't just wait until halfway through the 4th to start playing with intensity. What a mess. Also our 3 point shooting has gone off the deep end. We were doing great early, but we can't nail open shots anymore. What's the deal with that?
