The team is a work in progress. There are a lot of new parts and it is going to take some time.

That being said I see far more positives than negatives. Certainly Phil has talked culture and communication, who is the general of Phil's visions if not Fisher? What does he get credit for?

1) The team is defending top to bottom. Guys who are poor defenders like Jose are still poor defenders, but there hasn't been any lack of effort. We are very physical in the paint, and I don't believe we have seen a lineup that doesn't have Rolo, KOQ or Lance and all seem to do an admiral job enforcing a no layup rule. There is always some muscle on the floor.

2) Maturation of Carmelo. Yea he takes too many shots. He's passing the ball really well and before Grant's 8 assists last night was leading the team in dimes. He's #2 (behind new mooby KP ) in rebounds. He's playing less and better. He's defending more, his usages is down, his rebounds and assists are there. He's just shooting poorly but the shift to a more team game cant be denied. He's trying.

3) Growth of KP, Grant and Galloway. Grant's a work in progress but he's a rookie playing meaningful rotation minutes. KP has been a revelation and its playing defense and fighting on the glass that have fueled his confidence. Galloway is a NY gem and has only played for one coach in the NBA. Does the coach get any credit for the way these guys are prepared and playing? We all know DAntoni ruined Anthony Randolph....

To me these are the most important things, as both the near and far future success of the franchise are really hinged on the above three.

I think he's learning the Xs Os and rotations on the job and a veteran coach may have helped... who knows. He sat Jose and played Galloway in crunch time and it 100% was a factor in winning the Wash game. Overall, I don't have a good feel for him to be honest. Last year I watched the basketball but never listened to any coverage (DVR FF->through all the bs) so I didn't get a feel for him then either. Im just going on what I see, and I like the way we are playing. Need to adjust after teams are shutting down our fast break etc.. but the other team is also trying to win the game.

What of the above does Fisher get credit for?

Thankless job being a coach.

Got good players...they carry the coach and get the credit...

Got inadequate players, its the coach's fault for not using them properly.

Got bad players...why isn't he playing the guy on the end of the bench who has some fan support because he hasn't played enough to show he's bad, too?

Holds the team together and wins those games at the end of last season, and he's crucified for not knowing how to tank.

He does have to make a decision with his guard situation. Hopefully Aflalo's return makes things easier for him.

TeamBall wrote:My one and only problem with him are his rotations. Other than that, I think he's doing fine. Still learning, but doing fine nonetheless.

This is my only concern with him, there's no damn reason to play seraphin right now, but somehow i feel this has more to do with contract obligations.

I thought Rambis did an excellent job down the stretch, played the right guys together, love how he paired grant up with calderone as a spot up shooter(something i have been saying since preseason) and left sasha on the bench.

herkyJerky wrote:

knicks1248 wrote:

TeamBall wrote:My one and only problem with him are his rotations. Other than that, I think he's doing fine. Still learning, but doing fine nonetheless.

This is my only concern with him, there's no damn reason to play seraphin right now, but somehow i feel this has more to do with contract obligations.

I thought Rambis did an excellent job down the stretch, played the right guys together, love how he paired grant up with calderone as a spot up shooter(something i have been saying since preseason) and left sasha on the bench.

I'm pretty sure he played Seraphin because O'Q came out looking kind of funky for the 1st half, which he also did against the Bucks on Friday. Good news is that funkiness doesn't seem to carry over into the 2nd half for O'Q when it happens.

I was trying to pinoint what KOQ did to get yanked after 3 minutes in the first. It does seem like he doesn't get out to defend bigs who go out to 3 as well as go after rebounds occasionally, bobbling them out of bounds at the worst times.

herkyJerky wrote:Yeah, at this point the one thing I'm concerned about is SOME of his subbing decisions. I get the feeling that some of his goof ups were on account of his desire to experiment a little or relying too much on matching up to the other line-up. At some point though, hopefully yesterday, the experimenting has to stop. Go with what you know works.

I have to believe that Phil is having a say in the rotations too. Earlier he said that he would be more hands on. It's hard to believe that he's waiting around 'til Affalo comes back to put his imprint on the team.

mreinman wrote:

martin wrote:

herkyJerky wrote:

knicks1248 wrote:

TeamBall wrote:My one and only problem with him are his rotations. Other than that, I think he's doing fine. Still learning, but doing fine nonetheless.

This is my only concern with him, there's no damn reason to play seraphin right now, but somehow i feel this has more to do with contract obligations.

I thought Rambis did an excellent job down the stretch, played the right guys together, love how he paired grant up with calderone as a spot up shooter(something i have been saying since preseason) and left sasha on the bench.

I'm pretty sure he played Seraphin because O'Q came out looking kind of funky for the 1st half, which he also did against the Bucks on Friday. Good news is that funkiness doesn't seem to carry over into the 2nd half for O'Q when it happens.

I was trying to pinoint what KOQ did to get yanked after 3 minutes in the first. It does seem like he doesn't get out to defend bigs who go out to 3 as well as go after rebounds occasionally, bobbling them out of bounds at the worst times.

He has a very hard time guarding stretch bigs as well as guarding the post. You make a great point about his bobbles too ...

What I saw yesterday was that he had zero zip on his passes which gives the defenders way too much time to recover, and he is really slow to pass out of a double team.

WaltLongmire wrote:He does have a nice beard and presents a dignified look on the sideline...

Thankless job being a coach.

Got good players...they carry the coach and get the credit...

Got inadequate players, its the coach's fault for not using them properly.

Got bad players...why isn't he playing the guy on the end of the bench who has some fan support because he hasn't played enough to show he's bad, too?

Holds the team together and wins those games at the end of last season, and he's crucified for not knowing how to tank.

He does have to make a decision with his guard situation. Hopefully Aflalo's return makes things easier for him.

Great post!!!

StarksEwing1 wrote:I have been a fisher fan all his career. HOWEVER you can tell he is very inexperienced. He probably should have been an assistant coach for a few years first to learn a bit more

Phil actually WANTED a young coach he could mold and mentor after missing out on Kerr. He preferred the inexperienced coach to the multitude of experienced coaches out there. Even among his own guys he could've chosen from. He believes in Fisher's talent and is willing to wait for him to fully develop as a coach. He's willing to deal with some early struggles because he likes his overall talent for leading men. These are things that people are not keeping in mind when dealing with this subject IMO.

Phil likely feels he can help Fish with these kinds of things but he can't fix a lack of talent. Fish does have talent for leadership as his career as a locker room voice and Player Union role demonstrated. Guys Fish played with rave about his locker room presence and leadership. With experience Fish will learn his roster and how best to set his rotations. He's effective in getting his players to play hard for him and just needs some time to figure out his rotation and sub patterns. Getting Afflalo back should help. It think he's gonna figure it out before long.

StarksEwing1 wrote:I have been a fisher fan all his career. HOWEVER you can tell he is very inexperienced. He probably should have been an assistant coach for a few years first to learn a bit more

not me. Did not care for him as a player.

still too early to judge him as a coach but from what I see this year, he is doing an ok job.

for me, 35 wins but building a strong fundamental foundation is a win win