"To give up 64 points in the first half and (50) in the second half. . . . I don't care how good your offense is," said Chauncey Billups, who had 14 points and 10 assists, but missed 10 of 16 shots, including a late jumper. "We'd have to score 120 points, and that puts a lot of pressure on our offense. Our defense is going to make or break us, I believe."

ESPN

"We have a lot of talent, but talent isn't everything. Camaraderie, cohesiveness and being a good team beats talent every day of the week, and when we get to the point where we get that, combined with the talent, we're going to be a very dangerous team. But talent isn't everything," Chauncey Billups said.

New York Times

“We’re switching back and forth just trying to make it happen, and we do certain schemes for a certain part of the game, or for a different team we switch up. At the end of the day, really, you’ve got to be good enough to switch two or three different schemes and not miss a beat, and we’re just not good enough to do that right now.”

Juice wrote:Daily News

"To give up 64 points in the first half and (50) in the second half. . . . I don't care how good your offense is," said Chauncey Billups, who had 14 points and 10 assists, but missed 10 of 16 shots, including a late jumper. "We'd have to score 120 points, and that puts a lot of pressure on our offense. Our defense is going to make or break us, I believe."

ESPN

"We have a lot of talent, but talent isn't everything. Camaraderie, cohesiveness and being a good team beats talent every day of the week, and when we get to the point where we get that, combined with the talent, we're going to be a very dangerous team. But talent isn't everything," Chauncey Billups said.

New York Times

“We’re switching back and forth just trying to make it happen, and we do certain schemes for a certain part of the game, or for a different team we switch up. At the end of the day, really, you’ve got to be good enough to switch two or three different schemes and not miss a beat, and we’re just not good enough to do that right now.”

Winning on the road can be tough, I want to see what the Knicks do when they return to the Garden. If this team has the mentality of a championship squad, then they should be able to fight their way out of this hole.

TheGame wrote:Our problem is that we have a team full of average defenders at best who need to be intensively coached on the defensive end, and we have a coach that does not coach defense to the level needed to get these guys to play quality defense. MDA needs more than one practice devoted to defense (I remember him talking about that a few weeks ago).

masud wrote:

TheGame wrote:Our problem is that we have a team full of average defenders at best who need to be intensively coached on the defensive end, and we have a coach that does not coach defense to the level needed to get these guys to play quality defense. MDA needs more than one practice devoted to defense (I remember him talking about that a few weeks ago).

Actually based on what Billups said it seems like D'Antioni's defensive schemes are too complicated or that he's over coaching on that end. But that doesn't jive with the narrative that Knick fans have created...

Well, if that is the case, then MDA just does not now what he is doing. If Billups, who played on one of the best defensive teams of the last decade says your defense is too complicated, then it probably is too complicated and you need to simplify things. That is probably the reason players look so out of place all the time. They are doing too much thinking and not enough reacting and anticipating.

When Billups starts running the team like a PG then he should talk.

AnubisADL wrote:Billups should shut the hell up because he is part of the problem.

When Billups starts running the team like a PG then he should talk.

Telling someone to shut the hell up is not The American Way. Billups is free to talk.

"Shut up and play boy!"

If Billups did not talk to the media he would be vilified for avoiding the press as Carmelo was.

Less talking. More doing.

EwingsGlass wrote:

misterearl wrote:EwingsGlass - are you really that much against an MVP and future hall of famer stating his opinion?

"Shut up and play boy!"

If Billups did not talk to the media he would be vilified for avoiding the press as Carmelo was.

Sometimes there is a time for idle chatter and other times you put your head down and grind out the work. With 9 games left in the season and in the midst of a 6 game losing streak, yeah, maybe he should be doing more thinking and less talking. The PG should be a leader. Leaders lead through actions not words. Personally, his ring in Detroit means very little to me here. I think you continuously need to earn the right to speak to the media. You earn that right by learning the playbook and leading the team and winning games. Until you do that, perhaps he should be listening and not talking.

"I think you continuously need to earn the right to speak to the media."

Should Chancey refuse to answer questions?