Mozgov started the game out by missing his first 4 shots... if this were any other night, he'd have been yanked out of the game at that point & Williams or Wilson would have been back in... Mozgov was interviewed after the game & admitted being nervous to start the game but settled down & got into a rhythm... that's not uncommon for young players to experience... i contend that AR suffered from a lot of the same kind of nerves in early games trying to learn a new system & never was able to get into any sort of rhythm after he got yanked out of the rotation & put into the doghouse... now i'm not saying Mozgov was ready early in the year to play at this level, he clearly wasn't, but in AR's case we've seen him produce at a high level in many NBA games before ever getting here.

it was great to see AR & Mozgov get a chance to show what they can do tonight, but in AR's case we've already seen him play MUCH better than he played tonight in prior games in Golden State... he can make a huge impact in games, we already know this... yes, he's still young & is a work in progress, but i think we need to get this kid into the rotation, both for the team's sake & for the sake of pumping up his potential trade value in case we look to deal him down the road... our lack of size has been our main weakness all year.... i think it does our team no good to have him sitting on the bench... if u get this kid regular burn i think he's gonna get more comfortable in his role & he'll start producing at a high level again like he was doing last year... if we have to go to a 10 man rotation & Walker is left as the odd man out, then so be it... play AR & Mozgov for the rest of the year!

C-turiaf
F Amare
F gallo
G Walker
G felton
C-Mosgov
F-Williams
G Chandler
G Douglas

Bill Walker is out imho.

bishop wrote:Loved what i saw out of Moz and AR today. I was a bit disappointed that AR didnt see any time in the 2nd half, he did exactly what was asked. Either way, STAT's minutes need to be brought down to 33-35 or so. Turiaf should start games but only play around 15. Dude is too injury prone but we need his post D. Moz should be a welcome addition to the rotation. I would love to see a 10 man rotation too with both Moz and AR but thats not happening under MDA. AR could use the minutes to build back that confidence. Confidence is a hell of a thing as Mozgov proved tonight.

i think a 10 man rotation is doable

C - Turiaf 18 min / Mozgov 18 min / AR 12 min
PF - Amare 35 min / Chandler 13 min
SF - Gallo 32 min / Williams 16 min
SG - Fields 30 min / Chandler 18 min
PG - Felton 36 min / Douglas 12 min

However, doesn't it also make sense that he puts his the best 5 players on the team on the floor at the same time, meaning Amare slides to center for stretches?

TMS wrote:

i think a 10 man rotation is doable

C - Turiaf 18 min / Mozgov 18 min / AR 12 min
PF - Amare 35 min / Chandler 13 min
SF - Gallo 32 min / Williams 16 min
SG - Fields 30 min / Chandler 18 min
PG - Felton 36 min / Douglas 12 min

TMS wrote:i think a 10 man rotation is doable

C - Turiaf 18 min / Mozgov 18 min / AR 12 min
PF - Amare 35 min / Chandler 13 min
SF - Gallo 32 min / Williams 16 min
SG - Fields 30 min / Chandler 18 min
PG - Felton 36 min / Douglas 12 min

I like it. Wouldn't mind seeing Amare and Felton cut to 34 minutes each. Up Chandler and TD.

SupremeCommander wrote:if what the reporters were writing is true, Mozgov was riding pine because of his confidence (whereas AR was riding pine because of a **** attitude). They weren't punishing him, just trying to build his self-esteem up. I see no reason why it would be low after tonight's performance.

after this performance his confidence has to be way up... but if you watched him early on in this game he looked as lost as ever... badly missed his 1st 4 point blank layup attempts, lost track of his man badly on defense which led to an easy made basket on the other end, & committed 2 early fouls... in any other instance he would have been out of the game at that point but MDA left him out there out of necessity tonight... i think sometimes a show of faith by the coach can bring out the best in a young player... it's pretty clear Mozgov was able to get into the rhythm of the game at the end of the 1st quarter after his teammates kept going back to him with some nice dishes under the rim, & after that he didn't look back... if not for the injury & suspension he may have not gotten the opportunity to even play.

the same is true for AR... he came into the game in meaningful minutes with a totally different mindset... instead of coming in with the pressure of making something happen in garbage run & impressing his coach to earn some playing time, he simply went in & did his job... think a lot of that has to do with the fact he was seeing some meaningful burn instead of meaningless minutes at the end of a blowout loss... we gotta remember these are young kids we're dealing with, they're not seasoned vets that know what their role is as soon as they get into a game... sometimes a kid like AR will need a little building up before he can perform just like Mozgov needed tonight... why it takes a player suspension & injury for MDA to finally recognize this is beyond me.

TMS wrote:

SupremeCommander wrote:if what the reporters were writing is true, Mozgov was riding pine because of his confidence (whereas AR was riding pine because of a **** attitude). They weren't punishing him, just trying to build his self-esteem up. I see no reason why it would be low after tonight's performance.

after this performance his confidence has to be way up... but if you watched him early on in this game he looked as lost as ever... badly missed his 1st 4 point blank layup attempts, lost track of his man badly on defense which led to an easy made basket on the other end, & committed 2 early fouls... in any other instance he would have been out of the game at that point but MDA left him out there out of necessity tonight... i think sometimes a show of faith by the coach can bring out the best in a young player... it's pretty clear Mozgov was able to get into the rhythm of the game at the end of the 1st quarter after his teammates kept going back to him with some nice dishes under the rim, & after that he didn't look back... if not for the injury & suspension he may have not gotten the opportunity to even play.

the same is true for AR... he came into the game in meaningful minutes with a totally different mindset... instead of coming in with the pressure of making something happen in garbage run & impressing his coach to earn some playing time, he simply went in & did his job... think a lot of that has to do with the fact he was seeing some meaningful burn instead of meaningless minutes at the end of a blowout loss... we gotta remember these are young kids we're dealing with, they're not seasoned vets that know what their role is as soon as they get into a game... sometimes a kid like AR will need a little building up before he can perform just like Mozgov needed tonight... why it takes a player suspension & injury for MDA to finally recognize this is beyond me.

I wonder if MDA also adjusted- and maybe has finally told AR not to try to do too much out there. Same for Moz.

A lot of Mozgov's hoops were easy dunks- part of that must be MDA & the staff working on that with both him and Felton.

http://www.postingandtoasting.com/2011/1/31/1965067/knicks-124-pistons-106-moz-gov-moz-gov

Yeah, Anthony Randolph played. Anthony's return to action was much less dramatic than Timo's, but he did gangle his way to 5 rebounds in just 9 minutes. After a decent stint in the first half, Randolph wasn't seen again until the fourth quarter. I wouldn't be surprised if he's headed back to the bench once Chander and E return, but there's no denying that he's capable of making an impact on defense and loose balls. What you also can't deny is that his presence on offense is akin to a daddy long legs' presence in your bathtub. Anthony's teammates are all like, "What is that? Do we give it the ball? Do we ignore it? Do we kill it?" and **** gets creepy and/or unproductive very quickly. Randolph just looks ridiculous in a halfcourt set, and I think it's perfectly justifiable that he sit until his sense of self in space is sharper. That probably requires some coaching, if not some advice from Mr. Mozgov.