Carmelo Anthony - playing the best defense of your career. Who knew? You have yet to trust your running buddies, outside of Jason Kidd. We can see you trying to expand your role but you revert to taking full responsibility in situations where others could grow. Playing with force does not need to include forced shots. You are only a skootch away from greatness.

Raymond Felton - homey, you would be wise to feed the big man. Your defense has brought a toughness and set the tone. "I’m kind of upset at myself. I had a bad shooting night. It happens like that sometimes... that's kind of riding on my mind right now. But the only positive thing about this thing is we've got another one on Wednesday so we've got to put it behind us fast and move on and get ready for the next one.” Feed your big man. Feed him.

Tyson Chandler - see Raymond Felton. When you are engaged your energy picks up considerably.

Ronnie Brewer - the three ball was nice for starters, but need him to start going stronger to the rack. Your rebounding suffers by going perimeter.

JR Smith - we see you playing defense with passion. Your infusion of energy off the bench has been a major plus. You are matched against some of the elite scorers and have held your ground. Howeva, next time you pull up for a three point shot in the open court, you sit.

Rasheed Wallace - get thee in the post and do that old school thing that you do so well. The three point shots can be saved for emergencies.

Steve Novak - keep shooting. Nice to see some variety in your game. One more thing, you are 6'10... keep working on defense and grab a rebound.

James White - your small sample has been encouraging. Stay ready. You may be called sooner than later.

Jason Kidd - pace yourself. You are our best assistant coach and we need you to keep things under control. Your presence makes us better.

Pablo Prigioni - we need you to stop being a rookie and play like you've been here before, even though you haven't. It's not really fair, as your tour of the NBA is in a new country, but we need you to at least act like you have a subway to catch. Go hard young man.

ChuckBuck wrote:Phuck we gotta deal with Brandon Jennings and Monta Ellis ass...those guys always kill us.

And Mike Dunleavy Jr as well. He absolutely torched us last season.

56 win trajectory!

Do I think it holds up? Not really.

X-factor? Luck, health and integration of Amare and what do we get with Shump?

We could get better. Tune in and find out.

The Fables don't tell the story, you eyes will.

misterearl wrote:10-4

Iman Shumpert - we know not playing is a bummer. We also know that your strength is your explosion and ability to backpedal quicker than most guys can go forward. Those attributes are directly linked to you being at peak health. We also know it took Bernard more than a full season, and he rehabbed like a madman. If you decide not to push it this year, we understand. See you in Las Vegas.

Amar'e Stoudemire - it's nice to see you at the games but if you are in the arena, sit on the bench with the fellas. If you need a break we can keep an exercise bike in the corridor. We are planning and playing like you might not be here. If you return, hopefully you can reinvent yourself with fundamentals of boxing out, passing and rebounding. We promise not to make you play center (fingers crossed) anymore.

Jason Kidd (update) - okay, so you're not going to Milwaukee. Dang. For some reason, we always struggle in Wisconsin. Rest up. We still have Steve Novak. Can you please return before Christmas?

Chris Copeland - watch and learn.

I agree...I think it's partly to avoid being interviewed. It wasn't a huge deal, but I did find myself annoyed when I saw him in one of the Boxes. If he's not traveling with the team due to rehab, at least be there in the trenches supporting the team at home (yes, I consider a Nets game a home game, BK is not exactly a far far away land). Shump is always there despite injury. I think it's clear that this team will be better with Amare but if Amar'e wants to be a leader on this team he should be as present as possible.

ChuckBuck wrote:I was actually cursing in my screen when they showed Amare in the luxury box.

My first gut feeling was "that phucking coward bastard don't want to answer questions from Craig Sager, be skewered for his outfit by Charles Barkley, Shaq, and Kenny Smith or get heckled by the fans".

Then upon re-inspection....yea I'd probably do the same thing too if I were Amare.

haha..yea but none of that really matters at the end of the day. He plays in NY, if he isn't used to the chatter by now...he'll never be.

VCoug wrote:

ChuckBuck wrote:Phuck we gotta deal with Brandon Jennings and Monta Ellis ass...those guys always kill us.

And Mike Dunleavy Jr as well. He absolutely torched us last season.

Wasn't just last season either, he torches us who ever is playing for..

We did beat them last yr despite him having a good game, and shump at ellis on smash..

Melo seems to torch the bucks, he may drop 50

ChuckBuck wrote:

MinsHeartsReezy wrote:

ChuckBuck wrote:I was actually cursing in my screen when they showed Amare in the luxury box.

My first gut feeling was "that phucking coward bastard don't want to answer questions from Craig Sager, be skewered for his outfit by Charles Barkley, Shaq, and Kenny Smith or get heckled by the fans".

Then upon re-inspection....yea I'd probably do the same thing too if I were Amare.

haha..yea but none of that really matters at the end of the day. He plays in NY, if he isn't used to the chatter by now...he'll never be.

Thick "NY" skin...indeed. Few athletes can handle it with grace and aplomb like Messier, Jeter, and (gulp as a diehard Jets fan) Eli.

I suppose winning multiple championships like the guys you mentioned, or just winning period, helps too.
This is going off topic but I do give Amare credit for at least giving us what he could in getting us two winning seasons and two playoff births after a 10 years of losing. Personally, I appreciate it and we certainly would not have any right for the high expectations we do this season if it weren't for Amar'e coming here. I'm not going to get into the un-insured contract business, the fact he's been injury prone, and his lack of defensive effort, but ultimately his presence did benefit the Knicks.

misterearl wrote:Last But Not Least

Mike Woodson - we love your gospel of defense. When the chants rain down from the blue seats it will wire up any team. Still, can you please remind the guys that the Knicks mantra also includes, "hit the open man."? Our assists are sliding. That is not a good sign. That is not the way its supposed to be. Even with Kidd (8 points, 3.4 assists a game) excelling in a tandem point guard attack with Raymond Felton, the Knicks have not been a team that relies on assists. Their high-powered offense ranked 26th in the league entering Monday’s game.

There has GOT to be a means, even with Jason Kidd out, to rebuild trust in someone other than Carmelo being leaned on. The winning formula is seven guys in double figures. Check out some of the early box scores if you need proof. If this does not change, the offense is not only predictable, it makes us more vulnerable to solo-act turnovers.

It's true. Ball movement is huge. To quote Clyde, "We always hated to play the teams that passed it, because it made it that much harder on our defense"

One last shot from Carmelo, and some backcourt minutes for Prigoni against the Nets, and we are 12-3 for the first month of the season.

Not bad.