BUT, consider how this team has looked outside the Cleveland vortex - even with Chauncey being out for 3 games, even with Stat and Melo still learning how to play together, this team has two impressive road wins (Atlanta and Miami) and two impressive home wins (Milwaukee and New Orleans). One close loss in Orlando that could have easily been a win if the Knicks got a few calls or Dwight didn't take out Chauncey with a dirty hip check on a screen (no call).

Consider this stat (courtesy alan hahn):

Knicks before trade (54 games): 104.5 points for / 104.3 points against.

Since trade (7 games): 105.4 points for / 101.5 points against.

These new Knicks have also won the rebounding battle in 5 of their 7 games together. (4 of 5 if you take out the Cleveland vortex games).

This team has shown signs of being improved defensively and offensively. And Billups is still out. And they only have to play the Cavs one more time this season.

I think that Melo is the difference on the boards. While his overall D is not great, his rebounding is excellent for a small forward. Also, tonight we saw some really strong defensive combinations on the floor. TD, Shawn W, Mason, AC, and of course Jefferies are all pretty pesky defenders. Shawn W has really impressed me with his all around game. He was actually guarding Howard for alot of the Orlando game and had a really nice block tonight. If he is hitting his shots, he will be getting many minutes.

I would like to see MDA using a defensive rotation at certain points in the game. And I like the zone tonight which is anchored by Jefferies. Maybe MDA is getting the hint that in NY, we are intense people and intense fans like intense Defense.

simrud wrote:Can't do this, the Cavs games just point to the inconsistency of our defense and rebounding. Both games were lost because we could not get a stop or rebound. Scoring should never be an issue for this team, it has 2 guys that can score one on one wihout any flow to the offense.

In my opinion this team should grind it out like we used to with Houston and Spree. Slow the game down, play hard D and rebound, then walk it up and iso all day to get double teams and swing the ball etc.

1000% agree. Unfortunately, MDA does not agree. How great would it be to have JVG back running this team [salivating]?

simrud wrote:Yeah JVG would do great with this team imo. Functionally we have a very similar team to what he had back then, but better all around. They played great defense, even when Camby was hurt, which was for like 1/3 of every season. Houston and Spree were used to iso, and obviously Melo and Amare are 10x the players those 2 were. And we actually have legit PGs with Billups / Carter / Douglas as opposed to the garbage that Ward and Childs were. The bench is way better too.

Definitely! I just wrote a thread the other day too about Houston and Sprewell ISO's. Houston was actually deadly in the ISO. However, for it to work, you need deadly shooters to feast off the double teams and I don't think our shooters have been consistent enough to burn the doubles. The doublae and triple teams have been killing our ISO's. Amare does not do too much scoring with his back to the basket and does not have a turn around J. He usually catches the ball and turns to face up.

Knicks before trade (54 games): 104.5 points for / 104.3 points against.

Since trade (7 games): 105.4 points for / 101.5 points against.

These new Knicks have also won the rebounding battle in 5 of their 7 games together.

The point of this thread was mainly to say that this team has looked pretty good - and against some playoff caliber opponents in Miami, Atlanta and New Orleans, they have defended AND rebounded and won.

I'm not ready to excuse them for losing to the Cavs - though the Cavs also just beat the Lakers. Good teams lose to inferior teams in the NBA all the time. It's not great, but I think it's understandable with 6 new faces on the team and some injuries to boot.

But, even with those two horrific losses, the defensive numbers show a team giving up about 3 fewer points per game. And a team that rebounds better. The wins against lowly teams will come easier with more familiarity - and they will be driven by some of the defense and rebounding we're seeing from guys like Anthony Carter and Jared Jeffries. Not to mention the play of our two all-stars.