Do you think Zach will benefit from coach D'Antoni's system?

No, unless he steals some of Curry's minutes.

Posted by BigC:

Do you think Zach will benefit from coach D'Antoni's system?

everybody will be able to shoot in this system, hence everyone will benefit. when the motto is 7 seconds or less, the only guy i see possibly being left behind is curry. everybody else is going to get their shots up. that's why gallinari won't be a bust, he will get every opportunity to shoot, and since he can shoot the ball, he will put up some points.

the question isn't whether zach will benefit, the question is will the knicks win more than 30 games.

1. Gallinari won't be a bust because he seems to be an outstanding prospect, not just b/c he'll get a lot of looks.

2. Zach - unless he changes his me first, me 2nd & screw whoever is 3rd attitude....Zach is way down the list of options as far as I'm concerned. And the Knick chances do not hinge on him.

not only do I think Zach will have a good year but I think he will be a big reason why we win more games. There is a misconception that Zach loafs and he doesnt. Zach is a tough guy who likes to rebound and likes to score on his opponents. Zach will earn the 20 shots a game he gets because he will rebound. I see Zach being the dominating rebounder on the team next year. After he cleans the glass if we dont score on a fast break he will be one of the first and best options on offense. He can spot up, has great Kurt Thomas like range on that jumper or he can quickly post and go into a fast move.

Zach is a douche and an Isiah aquisition. Get past that and his skills are perfect for what Mike will want to do next year. Also.. he can pass. Look at the Knicks last year and the types of shots our guards took. If you were Zach would you pass? Honestly.. thats not really defending him either, just is what it is.

I personally don't like Zach. But in this system he may actually be pretty good statistically. I think someone else will have to lead us to wins, but I think he will be more valuable in this system than curry will. No matter what numbers he puts up we still will have the issue of two poor defenders and shot blockers standing next to each other night after night. That can only get you so far.

Posted by BRIGGS:

[quote]
Posted by Bippity10:

I personally don't like Zach. But in this system he may actually be pretty good statistically.


---Do you think he has any chance to be better than 2006 his last year with Portland?

http://sports.yahoo.com/nba/players/3531

That season yielded the Blazers Steve Francis and aback up PF

I could see close numbers. Not sure how to respond to the second part of your post. I think you are asking me in a roundabout way if his value will skyrocket if he has a great year. I personally don't think it will.

Randolph always puts up "numbers" if he plays enough minutes. What exactly constitutes a good season for him? My feeling is that he should not take significant minutes from any of the younger frontline players who I want to see develop in D'Antoni's system. For me, those players are Lee, Gallinari, and Chandler. Hell, I would rather see Malik Rose play than Randolph in certain spots. If Randolph is somehow a changed player and actually fits into the system- fine, but I don't care if the Knicks get another high lottery pick because they lose this year. We have to accept that there are going to be a lot of growing pains this year.

By the way, other than blocked shots and assists, Randolph and Amare are not that different statistically. Look at the 36 minute stats on basketball-reference.come for the two guys, and you may be surprised. The biggest difference- Randolph has more assists, and Amare more blocked shots. I don't see the shooting % as that important because Amare's % is due to the kind of game Phoenix played, who he played with, and where he took his shots. I don't recall that Amare was a particularly great defender- man to man (could be wrong) - but the blocks seem to indicate that he does help out on D. I was very surprised, however, that on a team with so many skilled offensive players he could pass to, he averaged only 1.4 assists. (Randolph is at 2 APG)

If Amare did it, maybe Randolph can fit into D'Antoni's system, but he is not an interior defender, and never will be.

With Curry and Randolph we have a butter defense in the middle. Having one of them there might be OK, but you need at least one player who can clog the middle and block shots.


[Edited by - Paladin55 on 07-17-2008 11:51 AM]

Posted by fishmike:

it depends on the wins and losses. I dont think this is a 22 win team. Its not a 50 win team either. We won 37 games with an Othella/Kurt front court and Eisley/Ward as PGs. We did so because we were well coached and had a system that put everyone in a place to do what they did best.

I think we will see that kind of turn around. I think we have some firepower on this team and Mike will run the score up enough to keep us close.

So I think this team will win 35-40 games, be competitive most night and Zach will fill out the stat sheet quiet nicely. He's a very very productive player. After that your looking at a guy with 2 years left on his deal which is a short enough commitment for most teams.

It's completely situational. GM's are very forgiving when it comes to talent. If the perception is that Zach was a good soldier and led to a turnaround I could see a bump in the demand for his services. If he's seen as counterproductive of course his value won't change. I personally don't think the perception of Zach will change that dramatically even with wins. I think he is who he is and there will be evidence of that this year even with added wins. He will have value at some point, but we will need to be smart in what we obtain in order to get equal value. I just don't think you can trade him for equal talent, unless that talent also comes with baggage.

Posted by BigC:

Do you think Zach will benefit from coach D'Antoni's system?

I think the real question is will this team get better. Only if they give center spot to zach (with curry as backup) and move Lee into starting PF position.

Posted by BRIGGS:

[quote]
Posted by Bippity10:

I personally don't like Zach. But in this system he may actually be pretty good statistically.


---Do you think he has any chance to be better than 2006 his last year with Portland?

http://sports.yahoo.com/nba/players/3531

That season yielded the Blazers Steve Francis and aback up PF

Umm didn't he sit out most of the 2nd of that season due to knee surgery? So thats not really a great judge of anything.