"It's everybody's ballclub," Woodson said after practice Thursday. "I want everybody to feel comfortable. When I put a guy in the game, he's got a shot. I want him to feel comfortable about making that shot. But I want everybody to know, when it comes to nut-cutting time and I've got a big shot, I'm going to Melo and Amare and guys that have done it.

"A lot of these guys are still young and they're trying to figure it out. Those guys have been around the block a number of times and they've done it, so they'll be the go-to-guys down stretch."

SupremeCommander wrote:I was PUMPED to read this. It was my biggest complaint of :

"It's everybody's ballclub," Woodson said after practice Thursday. "I want everybody to feel comfortable. When I put a guy in the game, he's got a shot. I want him to feel comfortable about making that shot. But I want everybody to know, when it comes to nut-cutting time and I've got a big shot, I'm going to Melo and Amare and guys that have done it.

"A lot of these guys are still young and they're trying to figure it out. Those guys have been around the block a number of times and they've done it, so they'll be the go-to-guys down stretch."

Yea I thought that was an important statement and it also will make things tougher on STAT and Melo. They can't fail to perform as they did coming in. Let's not make it seem like MDA was anti STAT and Melo getting the bulk of the shots in crunchtime. Last year they SURELY were the targets in our games but the difference is they were both performing at a HIGH LEVEL. that hasn't been the case this year and that more than some design by MDA is the reason that the team started to go away from them.

Let's be honest here. STAT has only recently started to come around and Melo is shooting 40% on the season. So they are the biggest culprits in their own lack of shots in crunchtime. Now they will have a 2nd chance to be the studs of the team. Hopefully it's still a balanced TEAM approach and not "ISO Joe" as it was in Atlanta. I think Woodson did learn some things from MDA that he can blend with his approach and that experience could work to our benefit this time.

I think Woody has a real shot to succeed here with a more committed STAT and Melo. We've been missing their All Star level of play all year and they're the biggest reasons the team has faltered so it's on them to make up for it. Woody just might be the right guy to get it out of them with his no nonsense temperament.

loweyecue wrote:

nixluva wrote:

SupremeCommander wrote:I was PUMPED to read this. It was my biggest complaint of :

"It's everybody's ballclub," Woodson said after practice Thursday. "I want everybody to feel comfortable. When I put a guy in the game, he's got a shot. I want him to feel comfortable about making that shot. But I want everybody to know, when it comes to nut-cutting time and I've got a big shot, I'm going to Melo and Amare and guys that have done it.

"A lot of these guys are still young and they're trying to figure it out. Those guys have been around the block a number of times and they've done it, so they'll be the go-to-guys down stretch."

Yea I thought that was an important statement and it also will make things tougher on STAT and Melo. They can't fail to perform as they did coming in. Let's not make it seem like MDA was anti STAT and Melo getting the bulk of the shots in crunchtime. Last year they SURELY were the targets in our games but the difference is they were both performing at a HIGH LEVEL. that hasn't been the case this year and that more than some design by MDA is the reason that the team started to go away from them.

Let's be honest here. STAT has only recently started to come around and Melo is shooting 40% on the season. So they are the biggest culprits in their own lack of shots in crunchtime. Now they will have a 2nd chance to be the studs of the team. Hopefully it's still a balanced TEAM approach and not "ISO Joe" as it was in Atlanta. I think Woodson did learn some things from MDA that he can blend with his approach and that experience could work to our benefit this time.

I think Woody has a real shot to succeed here with a more committed STAT and Melo. We've been missing their All Star level of play all year and they're the biggest reasons the team has faltered so it's on them to make up for it. Woody just might be the right guy to get it out of them with his no nonsense temperament.

Guess we are quickly going back to grinding halfcourt offense and iso plays for Melo and Stat. It would be interesting see exactly what that looks like with both of them on the floor and plays designed to exploit that. Woodson is definitely one to rely on conventional wisdom, so I think we will be a middling team that consistently falls short in big games. Because our defense will not be great, look for the switching to increase.

I'm not sure. What I do know is that if Woody makes good use of the Defensive unit we saw during Linsanity, that can really change games for this team. Lin, Shump, Fields, Jared & Tyson!!! It's an intense group with some high level defenders. We would also get a boost from fewer TO's, which is a huge part of how a team plays D. If teams always have to go against your set D it makes a huge difference. The final piece is can Woody finally get STAT and Melo to hit the DEFENSIVE boards in crunchtime??? That's what winning teams do.

nixluva wrote:

SupremeCommander wrote:I was PUMPED to read this. It was my biggest complaint of :

"It's everybody's ballclub," Woodson said after practice Thursday. "I want everybody to feel comfortable. When I put a guy in the game, he's got a shot. I want him to feel comfortable about making that shot. But I want everybody to know, when it comes to nut-cutting time and I've got a big shot, I'm going to Melo and Amare and guys that have done it.

"A lot of these guys are still young and they're trying to figure it out. Those guys have been around the block a number of times and they've done it, so they'll be the go-to-guys down stretch."

Yea I thought that was an important statement and it also will make things tougher on STAT and Melo. They can't fail to perform as they did coming in. Let's not make it seem like MDA was anti STAT and Melo getting the bulk of the shots in crunchtime. Last year they SURELY were the targets in our games but the difference is they were both performing at a HIGH LEVEL. that hasn't been the case this year and that more than some design by MDA is the reason that the team started to go away from them.

Let's be honest here. STAT has only recently started to come around and Melo is shooting 40% on the season. So they are the biggest culprits in their own lack of shots in crunchtime. Now they will have a 2nd chance to be the studs of the team. Hopefully it's still a balanced TEAM approach and not "ISO Joe" as it was in Atlanta. I think Woodson did learn some things from MDA that he can blend with his approach and that experience could work to our benefit this time.

I think Woody has a real shot to succeed here with a more committed STAT and Melo. We've been missing their All Star level of play all year and they're the biggest reasons the team has faltered so it's on them to make up for it. Woody just might be the right guy to get it out of them with his no nonsense temperament.

VERY GOOD and balanced post...

nixluva wrote:

SupremeCommander wrote:I was PUMPED to read this. It was my biggest complaint of :

"It's everybody's ballclub," Woodson said after practice Thursday. "I want everybody to feel comfortable. When I put a guy in the game, he's got a shot. I want him to feel comfortable about making that shot. But I want everybody to know, when it comes to nut-cutting time and I've got a big shot, I'm going to Melo and Amare and guys that have done it.

"A lot of these guys are still young and they're trying to figure it out. Those guys have been around the block a number of times and they've done it, so they'll be the go-to-guys down stretch."

Yea I thought that was an important statement and it also will make things tougher on STAT and Melo. They can't fail to perform as they did coming in. Let's not make it seem like MDA was anti STAT and Melo getting the bulk of the shots in crunchtime. Last year they SURELY were the targets in our games but the difference is they were both performing at a HIGH LEVEL. that hasn't been the case this year and that more than some design by MDA is the reason that the team started to go away from them.

Let's be honest here. STAT has only recently started to come around and Melo is shooting 40% on the season. So they are the biggest culprits in their own lack of shots in crunchtime. Now they will have a 2nd chance to be the studs of the team. Hopefully it's still a balanced TEAM approach and not "ISO Joe" as it was in Atlanta. I think Woodson did learn some things from MDA that he can blend with his approach and that experience could work to our benefit this time.

I think Woody has a real shot to succeed here with a more committed STAT and Melo. We've been missing their All Star level of play all year and they're the biggest reasons the team has faltered so it's on them to make up for it. Woody just might be the right guy to get it out of them with his no nonsense temperament.

nixluva wrote:

SupremeCommander wrote:I was PUMPED to read this. It was my biggest complaint of :

"It's everybody's ballclub," Woodson said after practice Thursday. "I want everybody to feel comfortable. When I put a guy in the game, he's got a shot. I want him to feel comfortable about making that shot. But I want everybody to know, when it comes to nut-cutting time and I've got a big shot, I'm going to Melo and Amare and guys that have done it.

"A lot of these guys are still young and they're trying to figure it out. Those guys have been around the block a number of times and they've done it, so they'll be the go-to-guys down stretch."

Yea I thought that was an important statement and it also will make things tougher on STAT and Melo. They can't fail to perform as they did coming in. Let's not make it seem like MDA was anti STAT and Melo getting the bulk of the shots in crunchtime. Last year they SURELY were the targets in our games but the difference is they were both performing at a HIGH LEVEL. that hasn't been the case this year and that more than some design by MDA is the reason that the team started to go away from them.

Let's be honest here. STAT has only recently started to come around and Melo is shooting 40% on the season. So they are the biggest culprits in their own lack of shots in crunchtime. Now they will have a 2nd chance to be the studs of the team. Hopefully it's still a balanced TEAM approach and not "ISO Joe" as it was in Atlanta. I think Woodson did learn some things from MDA that he can blend with his approach and that experience could work to our benefit this time.

I think Woody has a real shot to succeed here with a more committed STAT and Melo. We've been missing their All Star level of play all year and they're the biggest reasons the team has faltered so it's on them to make up for it. Woody just might be the right guy to get it out of them with his no nonsense temperament.

I love everything Woodson has said, and am excited to see it come to fruition, but I have believed (and still do) that we'll be seeing a better Amar'e and Melo regardless of the coach.

STAT has been losing some weight, and has slowly but surely has been picking it up as of late. I only expect him to get better as we approach April/May. And Melo is just too damn good of an offensive player to stay down this long. Broke the system to do his own thing? Well he's made a pretty good career doing his own thing on some 50+ win teams in Denver.

I guess I'm just fortunate enough to not be the one required to adjust and motivate the players. My lazy ass just sits around waiting for it to happen.

nixluva wrote:From my vantage point, I think his work with STAT and Melo is really what is gonna define him. Can he get STAT to actually rebound like his position and size suggests? Can he get Melo to defend with energy every night? Can he get them to get back to the high level they performed at before they teamed up. Since joining together it's been very rare when they both play well and have complete games. If they raise their level of play that would most surely push this team into a high enough level to compete for the title. I'm not even worried about the teams role players. I think he'll get what he needs from them. But STAT and Melo are a different issue altogether. Game 1 was great but not the real test. The real test is doing it 23 more times and then in the playoffs. In other words CONSISTENTLY!!!

Agreed
but its more STAT than MELO
sure Melo need to play Defense. But at end of games Melo is knocking down shot OR going to basket or drawing foul cause he puts
pressure on himself & has succeeded (not this yr) in his career.

STAT needs to stop being fake and do all the other things in game.
You can hit MELO but he may bend & he wont break

You hit STAT he dont come back. Jeremy Lin got more staying power and can take it more than Amare Stoudemire.
Stoudemire got to back up all his tough tough talk cause he's sounding like a kitten when outcome dont go his way.

Only real fighters (basketball hoops terms) on NYK team is Tyson Chandler, Melo Anthony and Jeremy Lin.

Stoudemire needs to join the fracas for Knicks to be successful in last 3-5 wks of nba games left
Unless Amare does that Knicks aren't going anyplace & of course MELO Anthony will get worldly blamed.

RoyBatty wrote:Woodson has his style and it will obviously be interesting to see how they implement it for the remainder of the games. My only complaint is that he sounds like he's trying too hard to suck up to Melo and Amare. Do you ever hear Doc Rivers say "well Pierce and KG are going to take it"?

Hey he doesn't have a secure job yet!!! No interim coach is gonna be believed if he tries to come off too tough with the stars of the team. There are some politics involved. Woody just watched MDA bow out fighting with Melo for control, so you know he's gonna take a different tack. Dolan wants to see the guys he's paying big bucks to get the majority of the shots.

STAT and Melo have to perform now. Tho Dolan will likely blame it on Woody if they don't come thru. All of this leads to PJax in the end if Woody can't get STAT and Melo to give 100%, but IMO even PJax isn't a miracle worker, tho many seem to think he is.

The only thing that will work is if STAT and Melo really bring it on both ends. No more taking qtrs off. In particular 3rd qtrs. The Blazers blowout doesn't count in terms of seeing if they've really solved that problem against good teams. Can they keep the defensive energy up game after game?

Mray20 wrote:I think Woodson fits the team and is going back to traditional NYC Basketball rebounding and defending. It may not be pretty but if it translates in to wins I am all for it. I thought Dantoni and Lin were exposed in that Miami game when Lin was getting swarmed and yet Dantoni refused to stop running pick and rolls . The offense should be ran through Melo and Amare no more of Lin holding onto the ball and turning it over.

Lin needed more experience. It's not about exposing him as if he's not really talented. Any team that is as good as Miami that plays hard and knows what it's doing is gonna be tough. Lin is experiencing all of this for the 1st time. Even if we had given the ball to Melo what was he gonna go!!! He was stinking up the joint anyway with is 40% shooting. It's not as simple as saying MDA and Lin got exposed. You think slowing it down and going ISO is gonna beat the Heat more than great ball movement and player movement??? You're talking like MDA never faced the best competition in the NBA and gone to the WCF's before. Apparently when he was winning 60+ games they weren't exposing much. There's a lot of reasons this team lost games, but let's not make it seem like if we only played 1990's slow it down ISO basketball we'd somehow be beating Miami.