still...

you just have to be excited by tonight's game, as imperfect as it was. why? because of the energy and the amount of cohesion and grittiness. nerves at the beginning, sure. they tended to dissipate over towards the end of the half. the depth and overall play of the bench is going to be a difference maker during the regular season, while the starters continue to work on running a more effective triangle more frequently, hopefully developing a harmonious unit that develops genuine synergy. i counsel patience to those who would start the bench players. and remember this was without afflalo.

melo-- looked more engaged and unselfish for the most part. i respect the energy he brought to the defense. his shot selection stems from his being mentally weak. a storyline is going to be how long it takes for him to unravel and what fisher will do about it. i would call a timeout or yank him the minute he takes two bad shots.
o'quinn and galloway-- solid and steady and tough and chippy and unselfish-- genuine new york knicks playing authentic knicks basketball. kudos to jackson.
porzingis-- what can you say? the sky is the limit for this kid. already a positive-sum player, even if weak and possessing rudimentary footwork. getting to the line is an elite skill that you need in a starter and a playoff-caliber player. knicks win big here. his three-point shot will come. he took only two. and his defense... come on now! kudos to jackson.
williams-- love his game in this role. but he got too loose when the knicks had a big lead. he has to remain focussed every minute he is on the floor. still, kudos to him and to phil jackson.
grant looked good too. it's a long season and he has lots of room to grow. he has composure.
thomas i can't tell you how happy i am for him. he looked like garbage in summer league and preseason but you know what the guy has some skills and savvy that he showed last season. now it looks like he's back and with a better group.
lopez no comment except his floor impact was minimal.

notable absences: cleanthony early and seraphin.

dk7th wrote:first step of a long journey and against an admittedly undermanned bucks team.

still...

you just have to be excited by tonight's game, as imperfect as it was. why? because of the energy and the amount of cohesion and grittiness. nerves at the beginning, sure. they tended to dissipate over towards the end of the half. the depth and overall play of the bench is going to be a difference maker during the regular season, while the starters continue to work on running a more effective triangle more frequently, hopefully developing a harmonious unit that develops genuine synergy. i counsel patience to those who would start the bench players. and remember this was without afflalo.

melo-- looked more engaged and unselfish for the most part. i respect the energy he brought to the defense. his shot selection stems from his being mentally weak. a storyline is going to be how long it takes for him to unravel and what fisher will do about it. i would call a timeout or yank him the minute he takes two bad shots.
o'quinn and galloway-- solid and steady and tough and chippy and unselfish-- genuine new york knicks playing authentic knicks basketball. kudos to jackson.
porzingis-- what can you say? the sky is the limit for this kid. already a positive-sum player, even if weak and possessing rudimentary footwork. getting to the line is an elite skill that you need in a starter and a playoff-caliber player. knicks win big here. his three-point shot will come. he took only two. and his defense... come on now! kudos to jackson.
williams-- love his game in this role. but he got too loose when the knicks had a big lead. he has to remain focussed every minute he is on the floor. still, kudos to him and to phil jackson.
grant looked good too. it's a long season and he has lots of room to grow. he has composure.
thomas i can't tell you how happy i am for him. he looked like garbage in summer league and preseason but you know what the guy has some skills and savvy that he showed last season. now it looks like he's back and with a better group.
lopez no comment except his floor impact was minimal.

notable absences: cleanthony early and seraphin.

Seraphin I think was not active.

Melo played unselfish for most of the game.

Give Sasha credit, he played really well.

Williams is a freak of an athlete. NY is going to love him. He does things I expected to see from THJ and JR last year. He has attacked the basket,and played with a lot more energy than most on this board have expected

Grant will be a nice player. He needs to replace Calderon.

ChuckBuck wrote:No mention of Hoe-zay?

you're joking i hope. minimal floor impact.

herkyJerky wrote:Observations? Your assist numbers go up when guys hit their shots.
More than enough trips to the charity stripe to win a game.
Gallo the killer continues to kill.
Consistently attacking the basket brings about positive results more times than not.
Either Lance Thomas was having a very cold pre-season in terms of making shots, or the Bucks are even worse than they looked.
If The Mighty O'Quinn continues to play like this, he's going to really upset a lot of people.
If I were coach Fisher I would not change a damn thing about the line-ups or the rotations just yet.

your assist numbers go up when you pass the ball better and with more willingness and respect for teammates, rather than as a last ditch attempt from mistrust or disrespect. it's related to the ball having energy, as d'antoni counseled. melo's passes often don't have the right energy. last night they did for the most part.

again, it's the difference between being a begrudging passer and a willing passer.

mreinman wrote:

dk7th wrote:first step of a long journey and against an admittedly undermanned bucks team.

still...

you just have to be excited by tonight's game, as imperfect as it was. why? because of the energy and the amount of cohesion and grittiness. nerves at the beginning, sure. they tended to dissipate over towards the end of the half. the depth and overall play of the bench is going to be a difference maker during the regular season, while the starters continue to work on running a more effective triangle more frequently, hopefully developing a harmonious unit that develops genuine synergy. i counsel patience to those who would start the bench players. and remember this was without afflalo.

melo-- looked more engaged and unselfish for the most part. i respect the energy he brought to the defense. his shot selection stems from his being mentally weak. a storyline is going to be how long it takes for him to unravel and what fisher will do about it. i would call a timeout or yank him the minute he takes two bad shots.
o'quinn and galloway-- solid and steady and tough and chippy and unselfish-- genuine new york knicks playing authentic knicks basketball. kudos to jackson.
porzingis-- what can you say? the sky is the limit for this kid. already a positive-sum player, even if weak and possessing rudimentary footwork. getting to the line is an elite skill that you need in a starter and a playoff-caliber player. knicks win big here. his three-point shot will come. he took only two. and his defense... come on now! kudos to jackson.
williams-- love his game in this role. but he got too loose when the knicks had a big lead. he has to remain focussed every minute he is on the floor. still, kudos to him and to phil jackson.
grant looked good too. it's a long season and he has lots of room to grow. he has composure.
thomas i can't tell you how happy i am for him. he looked like garbage in summer league and preseason but you know what the guy has some skills and savvy that he showed last season. now it looks like he's back and with a better group.
lopez no comment except his floor impact was minimal.

notable absences: cleanthony early and seraphin.

Seraphin I think was not active.

Melo played unselfish for most of the game.

Give Sasha credit, he played really well.

smackeddog wrote:Did Calderon actually do anything in the game? I did not notice a single positive- he was invisible throughout. Thankfully he played under 20 mins.

KP looks week and clumsy (as is to be expected), what is encouraging is he found a way to contribute despite that (drawing fouls)

Monroe is a strange one- he puts up monster numbers that seemingly have no impact on the game what so ever.

Melo was grimacing at his knee a few times- not sure what is going on with him the last 3 games, could be rust, conditioning or his knee. Thankfully we have Williams to pick up the slack.

Very good games by pretty much all of the bench.

A very enjoyable season opener!