Melo Bashing....

[newmexicuse]

Yes, the Knicks are in trouble and yes, Melo hasn't played up to his full potential.

However, I simply cannot believe the amount of Melo bashing I have read on this forum in other threads.

Melo is a great player. He is not the best in the league, we can all agree on that.

As Cuse fans, it is inexpressable what he has done for all of us both directly and indirectly. Melo bashing on this forum is frankly unacceptable, which is not so say that there can be no fair criticism.

Does anybody here think even the great LeBron would beat Indiana with the supporting cast that Melo has ??? JR has been horrid, Jason has literally not scored in seven games (I thought Woody should have let him take that technical FT to try and get him going - the one that JR missed). Tyson is still obviously not 100%. Shump was hurt yesterday. Has anybody given Melo any help whatsoever other than Felton, who is a very nice player, but hardly a superstar PG. And how much help has Melo gotten from his $100M sidekick in all this ???

People talk about preferring Paul George to Melo. Give me a break. George is a very nice young player, but would anybody rank him amongst the league's Top Ten ???? People talk about George shutting down Melo, but how much of that is happening with Hibbert's help ???

The Knicks were winning when JR was playing well enough to share the load. With help, Melo did more than his part. The Knicks are a couple of fairly big pieces away, they will not acquire those pieces by hoping ancient mariners can climb aboard some time machine.

And all this is not to mention that I think Melo's shoulder has been bothering much more than has been let on. I think we will hear more on this after the season is over. Melo is a warrior and is giving it his all.

 

[chucks broken hip]

Yes, the Knicks are in trouble and yes, Melo hasn't played up to his full potential.

However, I simply cannot believe the amount of Melo bashing I have read on this forum in other threads.

Melo is a great player. He is not the best in the league, we can all agree on that.

As Cuse fans, it is inexpressable what he has done for all of us both directly and indirectly. Melo bashing on this forum is frankly unacceptable, which is not so say that there can be no fair criticism.

Does anybody here think even the great LeBron would beat Indiana with the supporting cast that Melo has ??? JR has been horrid, Jason has literally not scored in seven games (I thought Woody should have let him take that technical FT to try and get him going - the one that JR missed). Tyson is still obviously not 100%. Shump was hurt yesterday. Has anybody given Melo any help whatsoever other than Felton, who is a very nice player, but hardly a superstar PG. And how much help has Melo gotten from his $100M sidekick in all this ???

People talk about preferring Paul George to Melo. Give me a break. George is a very nice young player, but would anybody rank him amongst the league's Top Ten ???? People talk about George shutting down Melo, but how much of that is happening with Hibbert's help ???

The Knicks were winning when JR was playing well enough to share the load. With help, Melo did more than his part. The Knicks are a couple of fairly big pieces away, they will not acquire those pieces by hoping ancient mariners can climb aboard some time machine.

And all this is not to mention that I think Melo's shoulder has been bothering much more than has been let on. I think we will hear more on this after the season is over. Melo is a warrior and is giving it his all.

Great post. Some of the NBA analysts on this site are utterly clueless.

 

[RandygoCuse]

No, it isn't fair to blame Melo for everything. But yes, I do think Lebron could beat Indiana if he had Melo's cast. And I understand that NO ONE in the league is as good as Lebron. He's probably the only player in the league I would say that about but Lebron is that good.

 

[realorange]

No, it isn't fair to blame Melo for everything. But yes, I do think Lebron could beat Indiana if he had Melo's cast. And I understand that NO ONE in the league is as good as Lebron. He's probably the only player in the league I would say that about but Lebron is that good.

So this is assuming that the rest of the Knicks would play the same and all of a sudden collectively make up the point differential between Melo/cast and LeBron/cast. Staggers the imagination. :crazy:

 

[NineOneSeven]

Give me a break.

Guess we have different definitions of "bashing". Do I love what Melo has done for this university? Damn right I do. Do I think he has gotten away a bit from what got this team to this spot in the first place? Definitely.

I understand others aren't contributing their part (that's an understatement), but the fact is, if this was some other player not associated with SU, the comments would still have the same validity.

 

[RandygoCuse]

So this is assuming that the rest of the Knicks would play the same and all of a sudden collectively make up the point differential between Melo/cast and LeBron/cast. Staggers the imagination. :crazy:

I think Lebron's passing and defense would help the rest of the Knicks play better.

 

[SoBeCuse]

Yeah, I don't think anybody is "bashing" Melo. He is what he is. A great scorer. He can be somewhat taken out of games because he dosn't do many other things.

Everyone is admitting that the Knicks supporting cast obviously isn't doing much. Their guards are playing horribly and even Chandler is struggling. Hibbert is winning that battle and IND is DESTROYING them on the boards.

It's a flawed cast and style of offense. Melo is a small part of the problem. A very small part. I do think the Knicks could beat IND with LeBron and the same Knicks cast. The guy freaking controls games without scoring. No brainer. He got the Cavs to the finals for crying out loud. Again, nobody is bashing Melo. It is what it is.

 

[newmexicuse]

Yeah, I don't think anybody is "bashing" Melo. He is what he is. A great scorer. He can be somewhat taken out of games because he dosn't do many other things.

Everyone is admitting that the Knicks supporting cast obviously isn't doing much. Their guards are playing horribly and even Chandler is struggling. Hibbert is winning that battle and IND is DESTROYING them on the boards.

It's a flawed cast and style of offense. Melo is a small part of the problem. A very small part. I do think the Knicks could beat IND with LeBron and the same Knicks cast. The guy freaking controls games without scoring. No brainer. He got the Cavs to the finals for crying out loud. Again, nobody is bashing Melo. It is what it is.

Melo can do other things. He knew his team needed help on the glass & he went out & got 9 boards yesterday. If you watched the game I saw him make a minimum of three kick out passes to wide open trey shooters that would have been assists....had they made the shots. He has stepped up his D play - D hasn't been the Knicks problem this series. Yes, scoring is what he does best, but he does do other things to try and win.

 

[Captnhowdy]

Have people forgotten that the pacers were up 2-1 on Lebron and better supporting cast last year?

 

[newmexicuse]

Have people forgotten that the pacers were up 2-1 on Lebron and better supporting cast last year?

And that was before the emergence of George and with Hib playing at a much lower level.

 

[Knicks411]

Have people forgotten that the pacers were up 2-1 on Lebron and better supporting cast last year?

The supporting cast Lebron had at that point wasn't all that great. Wade was banged up (got his knee drained after game 3 of that series, if I recall) and Bosh got hurt after Game 1. Udonis Haslem was working his way back in from injury.

Game 3 of that series saw no Bosh and Wade play 36 minutes and shoot 2-13. Dexter Pittman started. Joel Anthony played 27 minutes, Ronny Turiaf played 15 minutes, James Jones played 15 minutes, Mike Miller played 17. Juwan Howard actually played 3 minutes!

The Miami team for th e 2 games they lost in that series was nothing like the team that won the title.

I think if the Knicks had Lebron they'd win the series. But all that being said, Melo is about the last problem with the Knicks right now.

 

[Captnhowdy]

Ya, and I would take Lebrons supporting cast at that point over this knicks supporting cast in a heartbeat.

 

[TinyManInside]

I don't really think anyone is bashing him. I just don't think he's good enough to win a championship, or even consistently win more than a series, by himself.

 

[Gabjon]

Stat of the series! The Knicks have one player under 27 years old (Iman Shumpter coming off of an ACL) the Pacers have one player over 27years old David West!

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[Captnhowdy]

I don't really think anyone is bashing him. I just don't think he's good enough to win a championship, or even consistently win more than a series, by himself.

ls
It looks like, Lebron is the only player that can carry a team to the finals by himself. But this is also when the eastern conference is weak.

 

[Melancer46]

Stat of the series! The Knicks have one player under 27 years old (Iman Shumpter coming off of an ACL) the Pacers have one player over 27years old David West!

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And yet the Pacers are the team that plays with maturity/look like a bunch of veterans while the Knicks look like a bunch of inexperienced players that are having calls go against them for the first time in their careers.

Regarding the OP, I'm with the crowd that doesn't think it's bashing Melo. It's legit criticism of his play. I do think LeBron replacing Melo would be enough for the Knicks to win the series, because LeBron replacing Melo would basically guarantee that the supporting cast plays better.

My biggest problem is with Mike Woodson. Melo hasn't shot the ball well pretty much the entire playoffs, and JR has been even worse. The supporting cast has gone cold in this series. So what does Woodson do? He focuses more on isolations, which only result in more difficult shots, players standing around watching and getting tight, and players losing their motivation because they aren't touching the ball at all. You're playing against a Pacers team that tries to force you inside and then collapse on you with their great length, so what does Woodson do? He puts out a lineup in which he has two big men that literally can't score so that the Pacers can focus even more on just making life a living hell for Melo and JR. Jason Kidd has been horrific, while Pablo Prigioni has shot the ball well and is just about the only guy on the team that still believes in ball movement, so what does Woodson do? He plays Pablo less and less with each passing game, and never lets him play important minutes. Melo and JR can't drive because when they do, there's 2 or 3 people there to contest their shots, so what does Woodson do? Nothing. He just lets Novak and Copeland and Pablo rust on the bench while he watches his team self-destruct before his very eyes. Woodson has done a lot of good for the Knicks over the past year and a half, but in this postseason, he's showing why the Hawks made the right move in firing him years ago. When the postseason rolls around, it's like he completely forgets what worked for them in the regular season.

The worst part about this is that it's now infected the players as well. Melo and JR have especially given up on their teammates (really, Melo has been playing this way before the opening tipoff of the playoffs started). I don't know why they did it, but the only chance that the Knicks have is if they get back to moving the ball around instead of giving it to Melo and watching what happens. That starts and ends with Woodson and Melo. Woodson has to have the balls to tell Melo that holding onto the ball for 15 seconds and then making a move and never passing the ball can only work here and there. This team drew a lot of comparisons to the Mavs team that won it all a couple years ago because they have Kidd and Chandler, and because they moved the ball so well. Melo has to reassert himself as the Dirk of this team; the go-to guy that is always looking to make the hockey assist. Dirk only averaged 2.5 assists per game during that amazing run, but he also shot the ball FAR better than Melo is, and if you account for hockey assists (where he skipped the ball to a teammate and they made the extra pass that led to a bucket, he would have likely been averaging double digits in that category. Watching that team was a thing of beauty, and watching the Knicks early in the year was the same way. Granted the supporting cast shot amazingly early in the year while they're shooting like crap now, but so is Melo, and he has to realize that he needs his teammates if they want to win, and his teammates won't get better if they don't move the ball around so that they can catch the ball in rhythm and get open shots/penetration to the hoop.

Sorry I kinda typed an essay, but it's just disheartening to see what this Knicks team has turned into, and while it isn't all Melo's fault, and he might not even be the one most at fault, he's definitely #2, and as the go-to guy on the team, he needs to make better decisions and get his teammates going. If you've been watching the Thunder series, while the Thunder have been losing, Durant talked about how important it was to get his teammates going in order for them to win, so early on, he tried to get Ibaka a lot of touches to work him out of his slump a bit so that he would play with some more confidence and so that it would rub off on the rest of the guys. That's the difference between Melo and Durant (besides the fact that Durant is flat out playing better). Durant realizes what needs to be done; Melo doesn't.

 

[Knicks411]

The only small quibble i would have with your post is that in this series, the Knicks are apparently running fewer iso's than they did during the season. The Boston series was awful in that respect though.

I basically think Woodson has done a terrible job with the rotation.

 

[CorduroyG]

I don't really think anyone is bashing him. I just don't think he's good enough to win a championship, or even consistently win more than a series, by himself.

nobody is good enough to win a championship by himself. how many championships did lebron win before playing with wade and bosh?

 

[Madbiker]

And yet the Pacers are the team that plays with maturity/look like a bunch of veterans while the Knicks look like a bunch of inexperienced players that are having calls go against them for the first time in their careers.

Regarding the OP, I'm with the crowd that doesn't think it's bashing Melo. It's legit criticism of his play. I do think LeBron replacing Melo would be enough for the Knicks to win the series, because LeBron replacing Melo would basically guarantee that the supporting cast plays better.

My biggest problem is with Mike Woodson. Melo hasn't shot the ball well pretty much the entire playoffs, and JR has been even worse. The supporting cast has gone cold in this series. So what does Woodson do? He focuses more on isolations, which only result in more difficult shots, players standing around watching and getting tight, and players losing their motivation because they aren't touching the ball at all. You're playing against a Pacers team that tries to force you inside and then collapse on you with their great length, so what does Woodson do? He puts out a lineup in which he has two big men that literally can't score so that the Pacers can focus even more on just making life a living hell for Melo and JR. Jason Kidd has been horrific, while Pablo Prigioni has shot the ball well and is just about the only guy on the team that still believes in ball movement, so what does Woodson do? He plays Pablo less and less with each passing game, and never lets him play important minutes. Melo and JR can't drive because when they do, there's 2 or 3 people there to contest their shots, so what does Woodson do? Nothing. He just lets Novak and Copeland and Pablo rust on the bench while he watches his team self-destruct before his very eyes. Woodson has done a lot of good for the Knicks over the past year and a half, but in this postseason, he's showing why the Hawks made the right move in firing him years ago. When the postseason rolls around, it's like he completely forgets what worked for them in the regular season.

The worst part about this is that it's now infected the players as well. Melo and JR have especially given up on their teammates (really, Melo has been playing this way before the opening tipoff of the playoffs started). I don't know why they did it, but the only chance that the Knicks have is if they get back to moving the ball around instead of giving it to Melo and watching what happens. That starts and ends with Woodson and Melo. Woodson has to have the balls to tell Melo that holding onto the ball for 15 seconds and then making a move and never passing the ball can only work here and there. This team drew a lot of comparisons to the Mavs team that won it all a couple years ago because they have Kidd and Chandler, and because they moved the ball so well. Melo has to reassert himself as the Dirk of this team; the go-to guy that is always looking to make the hockey assist. Dirk only averaged 2.5 assists per game during that amazing run, but he also shot the ball FAR better than Melo is, and if you account for hockey assists (where he skipped the ball to a teammate and they made the extra pass that led to a bucket, he would have likely been averaging double digits in that category. Watching that team was a thing of beauty, and watching the Knicks early in the year was the same way. Granted the supporting cast shot amazingly early in the year while they're shooting like crap now, but so is Melo, and he has to realize that he needs his teammates if they want to win, and his teammates won't get better if they don't move the ball around so that they can catch the ball in rhythm and get open shots/penetration to the hoop.

Sorry I kinda typed an essay, but it's just disheartening to see what this Knicks team has turned into, and while it isn't all Melo's fault, and he might not even be the one most at fault, he's definitely #2, and as the go-to guy on the team, he needs to make better decisions and get his teammates going. If you've been watching the Thunder series, while the Thunder have been losing, Durant talked about how important it was to get his teammates going in order for them to win, so early on, he tried to get Ibaka a lot of touches to work him out of his slump a bit so that he would play with some more confidence and so that it would rub off on the rest of the guys. That's the difference between Melo and Durant (besides the fact that Durant is flat out playing better). Durant realizes what needs to be done; Melo doesn't.

Agree with a lot of this. But who do you want Melo to defer to or set up? JR Smith, Shumpert, and Kidd can't make a shot, nothing. K Mart and Chandler can't do anything but dunk. Novak never even gets the game. If Melo doesn't take 25 shots the Knicks will have a hard time getting to 55 points. The Knicks have the same old problem since the days of Ewing...there is no second shooter who can score to play off the star. JR Smith as good as he was in the regular season has been a total disaster in the playoffs.

 

[Gabjon]

And yet the Pacers are the team that plays with maturity/look like a bunch of veterans while the Knicks look like a bunch of inexperienced players that are having calls go against them for the first time in their careers.

Regarding the OP, I'm with the crowd that doesn't think it's bashing Melo. It's legit criticism of his play. I do think LeBron replacing Melo would be enough for the Knicks to win the series, because LeBron replacing Melo would basically guarantee that the supporting cast plays better.

My biggest problem is with Mike Woodson. Melo hasn't shot the ball well pretty much the entire playoffs, and JR has been even worse. The supporting cast has gone cold in this series. So what does Woodson do? He focuses more on isolations, which only result in more difficult shots, players standing around watching and getting tight, and players losing their motivation because they aren't touching the ball at all. You're playing against a Pacers team that tries to force you inside and then collapse on you with their great length, so what does Woodson do? He puts out a lineup in which he has two big men that literally can't score so that the Pacers can focus even more on just making life a living hell for Melo and JR. Jason Kidd has been horrific, while Pablo Prigioni has shot the ball well and is just about the only guy on the team that still believes in ball movement, so what does Woodson do? He plays Pablo less and less with each passing game, and never lets him play important minutes. Melo and JR can't drive because when they do, there's 2 or 3 people there to contest their shots, so what does Woodson do? Nothing. He just lets Novak and Copeland and Pablo rust on the bench while he watches his team self-destruct before his very eyes. Woodson has done a lot of good for the Knicks over the past year and a half, but in this postseason, he's showing why the Hawks made the right move in firing him years ago. When the postseason rolls around, it's like he completely forgets what worked for them in the regular season.

The worst part about this is that it's now infected the players as well. Melo and JR have especially given up on their teammates (really, Melo has been playing this way before the opening tipoff of the playoffs started). I don't know why they did it, but the only chance that the Knicks have is if they get back to moving the ball around instead of giving it to Melo and watching what happens. That starts and ends with Woodson and Melo. Woodson has to have the balls to tell Melo that holding onto the ball for 15 seconds and then making a move and never passing the ball can only work here and there. This team drew a lot of comparisons to the Mavs team that won it all a couple years ago because they have Kidd and Chandler, and because they moved the ball so well. Melo has to reassert himself as the Dirk of this team; the go-to guy that is always looking to make the hockey assist. Dirk only averaged 2.5 assists per game during that amazing run, but he also shot the ball FAR better than Melo is, and if you account for hockey assists (where he skipped the ball to a teammate and they made the extra pass that led to a bucket, he would have likely been averaging double digits in that category. Watching that team was a thing of beauty, and watching the Knicks early in the year was the same way. Granted the supporting cast shot amazingly early in the year while they're shooting like crap now, but so is Melo, and he has to realize that he needs his teammates if they want to win, and his teammates won't get better if they don't move the ball around so that they can catch the ball in rhythm and get open shots/penetration to the hoop.

Sorry I kinda typed an essay, but it's just disheartening to see what this Knicks team has turned into, and while it isn't all Melo's fault, and he might not even be the one most at fault, he's definitely #2, and as the go-to guy on the team, he needs to make better decisions and get his teammates going. If you've been watching the Thunder series, while the Thunder have been losing, Durant talked about how important it was to get his teammates going in order for them to win, so early on, he tried to get Ibaka a lot of touches to work him out of his slump a bit so that he would play with some more confidence and so that it would rub off on the rest of the guys. That's the difference between Melo and Durant (besides the fact that Durant is flat out playing better). Durant realizes what needs to be done; Melo doesn't.

This is silly Melo is not Lebron so he sucks. Lebron is the best in the world so by definition NOBODY is better or as good as him. So saying it over and over is not smart it's meanless! 27 is roughly a players prime. This team isn't experienced it's old. JKidd is one of the best PGs of all time but he is playing the 2g because he is too old and slow to guard PGs. Amare body has failed him his career is over. Durant's team is in the exact same boat as the Knicks and his numbers in the last two games are similar to Melo's. And I would take Martin and Ibaka over JR and Chandler in a heartbeat. Woodson deserves criticism but you can't or shouldn't criticize Melo for coaching decision.

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[Melancer46]

Agree with a lot of this. But who do you want Melo to defer to or set up? JR Smith, Shumpert, and Kidd can't make a shot, nothing. K Mart and Chandler can't do anything but dunk. Novak never even gets the game. If Melo doesn't take 25 shots the Knicks will have a hard time getting to 55 points. The Knicks have the same old problem since the days of Ewing...there is no second shooter who can score to play off the star. JR Smith as good as he was in the regular season has been a total disaster in the playoffs.

I think they'd be much more likely to make shots if they move the ball the way they did earlier in the year where they had nothing but wide open jumpshots. It's easy to point at their low shooting percentages now and say they can't shoot, but the shots they're taking now aren't nearly the same as the shots they used to get when the Knicks looked like a formidable opponent. Kidd, Smith, Pablo, Shump, Novak, Felton, and Copeland are all pretty good shooters. Give them shots where they can catch it in rhythm and not have a hand in their face and they'll probably hit a decent amount.

 

[Melancer46]

This is silly Melo is not Lebron so he sucks. Lebron is the best in the world so by definition NOBODY is better or as good as him. So saying it over and over is not smart it's meanless! 27 is roughly a players prime. This team isn't experienced it's old. JKidd is one of the best PGs of all time but he is playing the 2g because he is too old and slow to guard PGs. Amare body has failed him his career is over. Durant's team is in the exact same boat as the Knicks and his numbers in the last two games are similar to Melo's. And I would take Martin and Ibaka over JR and Chandler in a heartbeat. Woodson deserves criticism but you can't or shouldn't criticize Melo for coaching decision.

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Just because Woodson is deciding to run isos for Melo doesn't excuse Melo for forcing up crappy shots and completely ignoring his teammates for the majority of the game. The Mavs ran a ton of isolation plays for Dirk, but they were used to either get a good look for Dirk, or a good look for a teammate because the defense would collapse on Dirk and he'd kick out to get the ball moving for a good look. Melo is still fully capable of passing the ball in isolation situations, and even though it's technically Woodsons job to tell them what to do, Melo certainly is in a role with this team where he should have the leadership abilities to tell them that if they move and find an open spot, or if the defense collapses on him, he'll find his teammates. It's clear as day that he's made no effort to do that since Game 1 against the Celtics.

 

[scottynguyen]

The only small quibble i would have with your post is that in this series, the Knicks are apparently running fewer iso's than they did during the season. The Boston series was awful in that respect though.

I basically think Woodson has done a terrible job with the rotation.

Yeah, they're actually running a ton of pick and rolls. They just haven't been effective, for several reasons. Two obvious ones - the Pacers are a historically good defense, and the shots (including some clean looks) aren't falling.

Thought it was foolish of Woodson to start Martin and Chandler. All season long your teams identity is Melo at the 4 and surround him w shooters. Knicks fall down 2-1, Woodson panics and adjusts his lineup that essentially plays right into Indys strengths. So now you have two guys (one playing hurt) with redundant skill sets and no ability to stretch and space Indy's D. On top of that, they STILL got killed on the boards last night with that big lineup. Go with what got you here, play Copeland and Novak. And for god sake bench Kidd,I feel like Prigioni has been far more creative and useful.

 

[NineOneSeven]

This is silly Melo is not Lebron so he sucks. Lebron is the best in the world so by definition NOBODY is better or as good as him. So saying it over and over is not smart it's meanless! 27 is roughly a players prime. This team isn't experienced it's old. JKidd is one of the best PGs of all time but he is playing the 2g because he is too old and slow to guard PGs. Amare body has failed him his career is over. Durant's team is in the exact same boat as the Knicks and his numbers in the last two games are similar to Melo's. And I would take Martin and Ibaka over JR and Chandler in a heartbeat. Woodson deserves criticism but you can't or shouldn't criticize Melo for coaching decision.

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So...what? You bounced all over the map here.

I have no problem with melo taking a 15 foot fadeaway with 15 seconds left on the shot clock, in the fourth down by ten. At that point you are desperate for points and I'll take my chances with melo making that over the other options which quite frankly are terrible (I'll get to Woodson in a second).

However, I DO have a problem with melo taking that same shot when the score is 9-6 in the first quarter. At that point, it's simply a bad shot. Sure he has the same odds of making it as he would in the fourth, but alot of it is about the scenario. Get teammates involved. Get to the hoop. Draw the double team. Anything.

Concerning coach Woodson- Novak and Copeland, arguably the best long distance shooters, sit on the bench. Why? I understand you lose defense and Novak is shaken up but they can give instant treys which the Knicks are desperate for. Prigioni has proven to be much more serviceable than Kidd who hasn't hit a shot since Reggie miller was playing. He deserves more minutes.

If I had to rank the remaining teams in terms of "how fun are they to watch", Knicks would be 8. And no, of course this isn't all on melo, but he's got to be the one who demands change and sets the example.

 

[Knicks411]

Yeah, they're actually running a ton of pick and rolls. They just haven't been effective, for several reasons. Two obvious ones - the Pacers are a historically good defense, and the shots (including some clean looks) aren't falling.

Thought it was foolish of Woodson to start Martin and Chandler. All season long your teams identity is Melo at the 4 and surround him w shooters. Knicks fall down 2-1, Woodson panics and adjusts his lineup that essentially plays right into Indys strengths. So now you have two guys (one playing hurt) with redundant skill sets and no ability to stretch and space Indy's D. On top of that, they STILL gote killed on the boards last night with that big lineup. Go with what got you here, play Copeland and Novak. And for god sake bench Kidd,I feel like Prigioni has been far more creative and useful.

Yeah, I even saw a quote from Vogel where he said he was happy he could keep Hibbert near the bucket. How much more obvious does it need to be to Woodson?

Knicks played Indy about a week before the season ended with no Kmart or Tyson. They started Copeland at the 5, and killed them. I'm not suggesting that's going to happen, I don't see how it can hurt to try a lineup that worked previously when basically all of the lineups you're playing now are getting killed.

And yes, they are also just bricking some wide open shots. Nothing you can do about that as a coach (to an extent, playing Jason Kidd results in a lot of bricks) but if they spread the court some more they could get even more open looks and some will fall