Posted by misterearl:
>>Yes, though it's a different 2 guys every night. Though one is usually a PG, and the other someone in the front court.
BlueSeats - there IS a pattern.
what would you project the best Knicks defensive shift to be?
is that a starting point?
It's a great question that has no easy answer. The problem is, of our 5 starters only Q is playing good defense, and as of a week or two ago he was actually projected to be out of the lineup upon Jeffries return.
So all I can say is, on a team with VERY few two-way players, and a coach with a lot of salaries and acquisitions to justify, this is no easy feat to solve. Adding defenders can certainly help, but I'm less confident in the variety that add little to no offense. What we need is not tricks and twists to our rotations, what we need is guys who can own a position. And when I say "own" I don't mean to embarrass his opponent (lets no go overboard) I just mean to be better than a tweener, and/or to be the best guy on the team at that position.
Far too many of our guys are so deficient at one component of the game or another it's always a scramble to keep them from being exposed.
That said, our second unit constantly proves that hustle and heart will outperform unrealized potential 90% of the time.
First order of business is at the PG spot. We're too lacking at both sides of the court at that position. On offense we need one who can execute sets and distribute with prudence. That mean keeping everyone involved, feeding the hot hand, rewarding steals and blocks, managing the clock and tempo, etc. Barring that (and I know how hard it is to find both) we need a guy who defends at that position. That's where the offense initiates. The ability to pressure the ball, take time off the clock, confuse the offense, inhibit the pick and roll, etc, is of near equal value. Getting so little at both sides of the position has been disastrous.
A good perimeter defender (and I'd guess Balkman is better than JJ2, though I can't say for sure) would come next. I can live with scorers getting unconscious, like last night, but the job done the prior game against Toronto, where guys could count to five before a defender would get to them, was pathetic.
Lastly we need a shot blocker.
Lets remember, offenses all start on the perimeter and that's we defense must begin.
But until all that is accomplished, EVERYONE on the floor needs to toughen up, body up on their man, take the charge, take the elbow, box out, dive on the floor, run to the perimeter, whatever it takes to make the opponent uncomfortable out there. Instead of striking fear in our opponents we're becoming an elixir for all that ails them. Struggling teams are trying to book appointments at MSG like we're an all-inclusive spa.
12/7/2006 2:42 PM
