1st year Stat on display...What is it about him when Melo is out his game just changes. Woodson needs to deploy more PnR and stop with the ISO game...it will lead to nowhere in the playoffs
Not going to go over the Miami Heat game. We already know that was a joke. Still have a lot of problems with the way Woodson is managing this team. JR bad outweigh his good. He has to control him. I feel like the guy just has no brains. When the second unit is playing, the offense should run through stat, not JR.
Stat is most effective when Tyson/Felton run the pick and roll and he flashes on the baseline. So many wide open dunks/baskets that way. If Amare can start setting real picks like Chandler does, he can get that mid range jumper wide open from Felton. We won 4 out of the last 5 games which is nice. We need to win 2 out of the next 3 games against DET, OKC, and JAZZ before going on a 5 game road trip. Nice to see the defense play better when they try but the Cavs are also not very good and missed open shots late but I guess that cancels the tough shots they hit in the 1st half. Great to see Amare following his miss late in the game and following up strong even though he was fouled. Also Novak's reaction was awesome on the bench. Our two best lineups last night were: Felton, Shump, JR, Amare, Chandler Felton, Kidd, JR, Amare, Chandler Also on JR, 18 points, 7 rebounds, 7 assists. Still not buying he's more bad than good. Melo's knee is worrisome. He said he has been having problems the last 2 weeks and they gave him an MRI that was all clear a couple days ago. The Knciks of course didn't do any test yesterday for whatever reason. They didn't run tests until two days after Felton broke/fractured his finger and same for Lin's knee.
There is more to it than just how many points, rebounds, assists he puts up. Things that cannot be measured statistically. In game decision making, and at which point in time those decisions hurt the team. I mean, if there was a way to calculate "bone-headed" plays, JR would lead that category by far. JR is definitely a good guard rebounder but hes just so damn stupid and ignorant. Just for discussion purposes, lets look at the most recent "retard" decisions he has made. vs Miami: No not the turn over at the end, but right before this, the Knicks down 1 possession, get a huge stop, and JR chucks up the 3. Last night, towards the end of the game, JR decides he is the new Iverson of the league and starts dribbling the ball running the clock to 5 seconds to where he has to do some And 1 street ball chuck up move. And this is just off the top of my head. I am sure if I think about it longer, there are much more instances of his "bone headed" decision making. Yes he had a good February (compared to his past), but hes right back on track with his low basketball IQ and trigger happy shooters hand. Since you posted his points, rebounds, and assists from last night. Lets look at how he got those points. VS Cleveland - 38 minutes. 6-17 (35%). From 3 point land 1-7 (14%) VS Miami - 36 minutes. 5-18 (27%). From 3 point land 3-14 (21%) VS Wizards - 33 minutes. 5-13 (38%). From 3 point land 3-8 (37%) Don't see anything great here. All I see is lots of shooting and not much production. Most glaring is his 3 point shooting. That is really what brings his overall shooting production down. He chucks up the 3 ball way too much. A lot of times its unnecessary. Now lets look at his shooting percentages by month (average not by game): November: 5.2 FGM - 11.9 FGA (44%). 1.4 3PM - 2.9 3PA (47%) December: 6.8 FGM - 17.2 FGA (40%). 1.6 3PM - 5.3 3PA (30%) January: 6.0 FGM - 16.4 FGA (36%). 1.5 3PM - 5.5 3PA (25%) February: 5.8 FGM - 13.5 FGA (43%). 3.4 3PM - 8.0 3PA (42%) March: 5.3 FGM - 16.0 FGA (33%). 2.3 3PM - 9.7 3PA (24%) Just by looking over quickly, you can see for the most part, his shooting % goes down significantly as he shoots more 3s. February is an exception, and we will consider it his "was hot" month. Even then, he averaged 8 3PA. That is WAY TOO MUCH. This doesn't even take into account the times at which he chooses to shoot his 3 pointers. Which is what hurts this team the most. This goes back to decision making. He chooses the worst times (usually crucial points in the game) to start chucking up 3's. I get you are a JR defender. I actually like JR as well. But, at some point he has to get it through his thick head that he is not a 3 point shooter. He never was. He needs to improve his decision making drastically. His game should be predicated on dribble penetration and mid range game. This is what will not only improve himself but also the team. Lets look at his best game IMO of the season. VS Sacramento, a game we lost by 1. 43 Minutes. 11/25 (44%). 1/3 3 pointers (33%). 5-5 FT. 7 Rebounds. 5 Assists. 28 points. Yes he took 25 shots, and yes he shot 33% from 3, but he only shot the 3 ball 3 times! And he got to the line 5 times. You can't get to the line shooting the 3.
Yeah he got the points the inefficiently against the Cavs, he also had 7 rebounds and 7 assists. In the Miami game he had 12 boards I believe and in the WAS game he had 13 rebounds. He also, unfortunately, is one of our better perimeter defenders. Felton, Prig, Kidd can't stop anyone. It's Shump and JR. Someone wanted to trade JR, I don't see the value in that. Someone said JR was more bad than good, I really don't believe that either. I don't think it's that outlandish. He's not 6th man of the year, he's not an All Star, but he's a valuable player to this team who is more good than bad (his net rating on the team is positive) He used to just be ONLY a chucker, but he's contributing to this team in other areas which is something he didn't use to care about or try to do. Does JR need to improve offensively with decision making, of course he does, but he's been like this since he entered the league. He can shoot you into games (GS) and out of games (MIA). That's who he is and what we signed him to be. I agree with Woodson and you, when his 3 ball isn't falling JR needs to attack the rim more. He had 0 free throw attempts in his last 3 games before last night. He picked up 6 last night. The 3 pointers he took were within the flow of the game last night, I don't have a problem with it. If the open looks don't fall, it sucks but the offense gets more compromised when someone ruins the spacing or passing by hesitating to shoot or driving into traffic. That ruins one of the main things the offense is built on whether the passing starts from Melo/Amare on the block or Felton off the pick and roll. Novak had 4 three pointers last night, JR assisted on 3 of them. His decision making has always been a problem, but it's not the constant problem it used to be And the GS had to be his best game. Every time Curry hit a big shot on us, JR answered. He went 10-17, and 6-11 from 3 point range that game. It's hard to evaluate his December/January numbers without remembering that he had to play point guard in Felton's and Shumpert's injury. His number obviously dropped then and one of the reasons I think a bunch of us on here considered was because he had to play PG for Felton and Smith is not a point guard. He also played some games in that timeframe without Felton and Melo and Amare where by default he's the #1 option which it in itself is problem before the team even steps on the court. I understand we all have opinions, but I think it's wrong that a) we should have traded JR b) that JR is more bad than good for this team That's all I was saying. I really don't see how people think JR is a detriment to this team. He can hurt the Knicks from time to time just like every other player on our team does time to time and he's not as bad as people make it out to seem. The team would be worse off without JR Smith. I don't think he's amazing, I just don't he's a cancer that everyone is making him out to be. I also don't understand why people are still shocked he's such a streaky shooter, that's what he was his whole career. The shocking part is that he's playing defense, hustling, and doing other things besides shooting.
Interesting tweet OptiKNICKStic™ @IamBrianJ Coach Woodson said that Melo asked to come out BEFORE he fell. Said Melo never asks to come out of the game. via 98.7FM ESPN NY
Not sure where the discussion came up about his defense. But I agree, he has been playing very good defensive. I also agree he is a good rebounding guard. I also believe the only reason he is even playing hard on defense is because Woodson lets him shoot as many times as he does/do whatever he pleases on the offensive end. His 3 ball is rarely falling. Again, he is not a 3 point shooter and never was. Every now and then you have good games, but when you look at the whole body of work in a season, you will see he is not a 3 point shooter, something he doesn't want to believe. Statistics don't show everything. Like I said, there are few things you have to take into consideration that cannot be measured. This is a football forum, so let me put it like this. What is more detrimental, a QB who throws an interception in the first quarter at his own 30 yard line with a 0-0 score with 2 minutes left in that quarter, or a QB who throws an interception in the 4th quarter with 2 minutes left at his own 30 yard line with a 0-0 score? Now at the end of the game the stat sheet will show 1 interception. But obviously the second interception scenario has a bigger impact in the game, its most costly. Its like having Brett Favre on our team. JR makes the worst decisions at the most costly moments in a game. Fine he will go 1-6 in the first half. But 2 minutes left in the game, him shooting 0-3 from 3 point range when we are down 1 possession is unacceptable. He shouldn't even be allowed to do this. You think Kobe would let World Peace start chucking up 3s in the last 2 minutes without himself touching the ball? You think LeBron is going to give the ball to Mario Chalmers to dribble around and then shoot without touching the ball? No. Trade him? Not sure if I said that. Perhaps in a trade scenario to land Josh Smith. JR COULD be a huge asset if he can be tamed/controlled. Woodson was red hot yesterday when JR decided to play And 1 basketball towards the end. So how do you stop that? Sit his ass down instantly. He should still be rewarded for playing good defense, just let him play the mid range game. Also to your point about him having to play point guard. Him bringing the ball up isn't him playing point guard. Point Guard position has become hybrid now. He was bringing the ball up in the last few minutes of that MIA game, and we had felton and melo on the floor. JR is becoming the Russell Westbrook of this team. Not as good, not as great of a scorer or passer. But he doesn't know his role. Late in the game, the ball should always touch Melo's hands first. He should never be dribbling around at the 3 point line then chucking up a prayer. That's all. If he cuts down his 3 point shooting, he is going to be much much better for his team.
Well my first response to posting 18,7, 7 was that JR is more bad than good. Defense has to come into that argument, as well as scoring, rebounding, passing, etc if you want see if JR is more good than bad or vice versa. You can't just look at offense. It's why Novak and Amare aren't considered elite players, their defense is garbage. Someone wanted to trade him at the trade deadline to get rid of him. For what reason, I don't know. It wasn't to bring in someone, it was to trade him just to trade him. And yes if a stat says a team plays better with a player on the court than off the court, a sample size of 50+ games is pretty indicative of how the team plays with that player. JR is considered a positive to the Knicks. It's an all encompassing stat based on the whole season and the offense and defense with him on and off the court. It's nowhere near the example of 1 INT in a game. And yes JR messed up late against MIA, it really hasn't been indicative of his whole season though and rarely is he the one not getting Melo the ball late or not letting Melo get late shots. Late against Cleveland: Assisted on the Kidd 3 pointer with 1:36 left to give us a 97-91 lead. Misses 15 foot jumper on horrible possession with 1:01 left. Doesn't shoot the ball until up 3 with 2 seconds left where he sinks two free throws. In the time between his missed jumper and free throws, Felton got a shot blocked, Kidd missed a free throw, Amare missed 2 shots while making 1. He really didn't undermine much there. IN the WAS game with 4:50 left, it's 87-82 and JR just missed a 3 pointer. Then Melo turns it over, Kidd misses a 3, Chandler hits 2 free throws, Melo turns it over, Melo makes 3 pointer, Felton misses jumper, Felton misses jumper, Smith fouled out with 53 seconds left. In the GS game, down 1 with 4:16 left, JR makes a 3, Shump misses a 3, JR misses a 3, Melo hits a 3, Felton misses a 3, Melo misses a jumper, Felton misses a 3, JR gets 2 to give the Knicks a 107-105 lead with 1:09 left, Melo gets 2, Felton misses two free throws, Melo misses layup, we win as GS runs around doing nothing. The TOR game before that, Tied at 88 with 5:23 left. Melo misses a jumper, Melo misses a jumper, Amare splits free throws, Felton misses jumper, Melo hits two free throws, JR gets 2 on a jumper, Melo misses a 3, Melo gets 2, Felton misses a 3, Chandler splits free throws, Melo misses a 3, JR misses a 3 down 100-96 with 4 seconds left. The MIN game, cut to 4:35 left as Melo hits layup to draw within 4, 85-89, JR makes layup cutting it to 3, Melo hits 2 free throws cuts it to 1, Melo gets 2 cuts it to 1, JR misses a 3, Chadnler gets 2 (JR assist) 1 point lead, Melo gets 2 for a 3 point lead, JR smith converts AND 1 getting a 4 point lead, Felton hits 2 free throws making it a 6 point lead. ATL, cut to 4:16 left as JR hits a 3 to give us a 3 point lead. JR misses a 3, MElo hits jumper up 2, Felton turns it over, Melo misses jumper, Amare hits 2 free throws, JR misses jumper, Carmelo turns it over, Carmelo misses jumper, Carmelo converts AND 1 and we win. The of course my favorite win of the seaosn, the win in BOS, up 2 with 1:10 left JR drills a 3, Melo misses a jumper, Kidd misses a 3, JR forces a TO, we win. If you want to find other examples besides the MIA game where JR isn't letting Melo get the ball late, go ahead. Melo gets the ball down the stretch plenty, JR isn't hoarding shots away from him. Melo couldn't get open against Lebron's D. Start of season to December 25th (Felton injures his hand): FG % 41.1, 3P% 37.6 December 25th to January 26th (Felton doesn't play) FG% 37.4, 3P% 24.1 January 26th to now( Felton playing again) FG% 39.9, 3P% 36.7 So yeah I think him being PG/main scorer/ main ball handler led to terrible shooting for him, especially from 3 point range. Maybe it's only a coincidence the drop occurs when Felton is out, but I think it isn't just a coincidence. He's a liability against playoff teams. Against teams like CLE, DET, we should be able to stick him on someone who can't score and he should be able to get open. He's going to see more minutes if Melo is out for a while. We could even get by with Novak with Chandler out there. If MElo was healthy and Kidd off the bench, I was interested in a Felton, Shump, Novak, Melo, Chandler lineup against the lesser teams. It could jump start our offense without screwing up our rotations or defense too much. I wish... Westbrook is going to have a field and if Melo doesn't play, so will Durant. Amare is going to have rebound and play defense and the Thunder can screw us over by going small ball. We have no way to counter a Westbrook, Martin, Sefolosha, Durant, Ibaka lineup without Melo. If we go big with Amare and Chandler than means one of them is chasing Sefolosha around the court and outside the paint. Brooks usually only likes to go small when he gets to dictate the terms of it, not when other teams force him to. This would be a time he gets to dictate the terms. If they go small, we probably counter with Amare/Chandler meaning Amare will need to be on point with his passes, dribbles, and post moves with Durant potentially guarding him and getting double teams to help
Again I'm not saying JR is awesome or our best player, I just think he's more good than bad for us and good asset for this team.
NBA: Game 707-708 (ORN# 2411-2412) Injury Status Games PTS REB AST STL BLK New York F Carmelo Anthony knee Doubtful 50 28.2 6.2 2.8 0.8 0.5 injured last game, is downgraded to doubtful Wednesday vs Detroit.
Knicks say there is fluid in his knee, some rest will take care of it. Woodson says if Melo doesn't play, he will start with: Felton, Shumpert, White, Kurt, Chandler. Uhh not really sure about that, would run a pick and pop with Thomas/Felton and have Chandler cutting baseline in the Amare role. Thomas can knock down that jumper. You have James White never touching the ball also
Now this is a good game to badger me about JR Smith. He's done nothing overall including shotoing, rebounding and passing. That's when he really hurts us.
We win, now have won 5 out of our last 6 with none of those 5 being convincing. Whatever, I'll take it as we are winning the games we are supposed to. Thunder tomorrow so yeah
