OT - Jeremy Lin !!!

[newmexicuse]

Think D'Antoni has enough sense to keep playing him? Some of his coaching decisions lack any logic or sense.

There is a lot of D'Antoni hate out there amongst Knick fans. I am on the fence about him. No doubt that he does some things that I question, but by and large the man hasn't had a full deck to play with.

Pre-Stat the talent was low & the strategy was simply to clear roster cap wo regard to acquiring talent. Once Stat signed (pre-Melo) he had a young team that was playing well and was exciting. I thought he did a really nice job with that group. Post-Melo he was at first lacking any inside defensive presence. They then signed Ty to fix that, but until Lin they were totally wo PG play, which is critical in Mike's system. Now, let's see if Lin has staying power, and if so, let's see how Mike does with a full deck.

Mike really hasn't had much of a fair shake in terms of coaching a decently talented balanced roster during his time in NY. The time may finally be at hand for him.

 

[Knicks411]

I'm getting the feeling we may not see a whole lot of Baron Davis this year.

As for Douglas vs Flynn; Douglas has been awful this year. His track record is that he is better than Flynn, but I am not sure you can play any worse than Douglas has this year.

 

[SoBeCuse]

Lin is impressive. I've only seen highlights but he looks pretty tall with a decent handle.

As for Flynn and Wes. I don't think any system can fix these guys. Unfortunate. A good friend of mine at work grew up with and is best friends with Daryl Morey. Morey posts on his FB all the time...jokes and such. I'll try todo some digging and find out what HOU's plans are with Flynn.

 

[AZOrange]

What was D'Antoni inferring last night when he said this after being asked about coaching without his stars, "It's fun, you can actually draw a play up and (say), this might work," D'Antoni said. "So it was good."

Is he saying that Melo and Amare go off script and call their own number too often?

I dont think that is what he was referring to. I think he was referring to having a guard that can actually start the offense, run a play. It is Douglas/Shumpert who are playing without a clue on the offensive end. They literally cannot even run an out of bounds set correctly.

 

[AZOrange]

I'm getting the feeling we may not see a whole lot of Baron Davis this year.

As for Douglas vs Flynn; Douglas has been awful this year. His track record is that he is better than Flynn, but I am not sure you can play any worse than Douglas has this year.

Beyond awful. Thing I always struggle with is that he was known as some type of defender in college...but his defense is abysmal (he is tiny). Last night they said he looks like a guy with a pretty serious shoulder injury. Honestly, if they could get JR...Lin, JR, Melo, Amare and Chandler with Fields, Iman, Walker off the bench isnt to bad.

I still think D has to find a way to get Novak in the game...and never put Jeffries in.

 

[Knicks411]

The thing about TD's defense is he only knows one way to play; b asically check the opposing PG as soon as he gets over the half court line. Not always a great idea.

He definitely has a shoulder injury; he had it l ast year, had surgery, but he will occasionally re-aggregavate it, and I refuse to believe he is as bad a player as he has shown to be this year, so I am going to give him the benefit of the doubt and say he's playing through pain.

 

[MyMeloMyMan]

The tricky thing for the Knicks becomes..."OK, now how are we going to win a 7 game series against the Heat or Bulls over the next 5 seasons?"

I guess, getting to .500 is the first step.

 

[newmexicuse]

Beyond awful. Thing I always struggle with is that he was known as some type of defender in college...but his defense is abysmal (he is tiny). Last night they said he looks like a guy with a pretty serious shoulder injury. Honestly, if they could get JR...Lin, JR, Melo, Amare and Chandler with Fields, Iman, Walker off the bench isnt to bad.

I still think D has to find a way to get Novak in the game...and never put Jeffries in.

Jeffries has played very well recently. Yeah, he can't finish at the rim too well, but he has played great D (he gets steals and draws charges quite well), done some decent rebounding, & lately has even got himself to the FT line. Plus he does what he does wo having to run any plays for him. He has been a big plus lately & in an under the radar way he has been almost as responsible as Jeremy for the Knicks two recent wins.

 

[AZOrange]

Jeffries has played very well recently. Yeah, he can't finish at the rim too well, but he has played great D (he gets steals and draws charges quite well), done some decent rebounding, & lately has even got himself to the FT line. Plus he does what he does wo having to run any plays for him. He has been a big plus lately & in an under the radar way he has been almost as responsible as Jeremy for the Knicks two recent wins.

Hard part is that on offense it is 4 on 5.

 

[Knicks411]

The tricky thing for the Knicks becomes..."OK, now how are we going to win a 7 game series against the Heat or Bulls over the next 5 seasons?"

I guess, getting to .500 is the first step.

That's not just the tricky thing for the Knicks though; that's the tricky thing for every other team in the league, minus maybe OKC. I hear you though. All you can do is just keep putting a good team out there, and maybe you can pull a Dallas.

 

[MyMeloMyMan]

That's not just the tricky thing for the Knicks though; that's the tricky thing for every other team in the league, minus maybe OKC. I hear you though. All you can do is just keep putting a good team out there, and maybe you can pull a Dallas.

I know..it just seems like the Knicks went "all in" with the wrong guys. Thats all.. but maybe there was no combination that could combat Lebron James/Wade in their prime in the east anyway. I would have rather waited on Howard.

 

[AZOrange]

I know..it just seems like the Knicks went "all in" with the wrong guys. Thats all.. but maybe there was no combination that could combat Lebron James/Wade in their prime in the east anyway. I would have rather waited on Howard.

They have played Miami pretty tough, Boston and Chicago too. If they can get through this...they will be a nightmare for any team in the playoffs.

 

[MyMeloMyMan]

They have played Miami pretty tough, Boston and Chicago too. If they can get through this...they will be a nightmare for any team in the playoffs.

Teams that can't get stops don't fare well in the playoffs unless you have Steve Nash running things. Hopefully Chandler helps...but.. I'm not that optimistic. Who's sticking Lebron or D Rose on the perimeter?

 

[newmexicuse]

I know..it just seems like the Knicks went "all in" with the wrong guys. Thats all.. but maybe there was no combination that could combat Lebron James/Wade in their prime in the east anyway. I would have rather waited on Howard.

If DH wants to come to NY he could probably be had in a package that would include both Ty & Stat. It would be a tough call as to whether or not the Knicks should give up that much. I really like Ty & his attitude & he may well be the 2nd best center in the elague, but DH is in a class by himself.

 

[IthacaBarrel]

Davis can still play if he comes back,granted his best days are behind him but he will help for sure. Who knows when he will be back though

 

[AZOrange]

Teams that can't get stops don't fare well in the playoffs unless you have Steve Nash running things. Hopefully Chandler helps...but.. I'm not that optimistic. Who's sticking Lebron or D Rose on the perimeter?

A guy like Rose cannot be stopped. Have to stop everyone else around him.

LEbron stops himself in the playoffs.

 

[MyMeloMyMan]

A guy like Rose cannot be stopped. Have to stop everyone else around him.

LEbron stops himself in the playoffs.

I seem to recall him single handedly shutting down D Rose last playoffs in the 4Q of games...and getting the Heat to the finals. If Melo could play that poorly, Id take it each season!