Posted by bobs3304:

Win or STFU.

That's what I would recant with.


But that's just me.

[Edited by - bobs3304 on 08-31-2007 10:50 AM]

Posted by nixluva:

Posted by Bippity10:

Nixluva: Until it translates onto the court I could careless about any perceived cohesiveness etc. Patrick's teams showed commitment to winning every year, yet I never got excited or down about any offseason reports. I waited until the season started. If guys spent the entire offseason working on their games instead of getting together once in a while it will show on the court during the season. Please explain to me, what is wrong with this point of view. I'm dying to hear your explanation.

You sound like someone who is dispassionate. The whole idea of being a FAN which as you know is short for fanatic is to be excited for your team and that doesn't stop just cuz it's the off season. Millions of sports fans have the same sort of take on things that I do or else there wouldn't be so much talk about preparation for the new season, no matter what team or sport we're talking about.

You can go ahead and wait for the season, that's your right, but MANY fans like to get into the spirit of things early. News like this as well as all the positive things we've read this summer is part of the fun of following a team. Blogs are still being frequented by fans. Forums like this still get posts regarding the summer activities of the players.

All i'm saying is that just cuz you feel this stuff has no merit doesn't make it so. I fully explained why I think this year is different from the last 2 years, which is all that really matters when it comes to THIS group. Not Patrick's teams or Allan's. I'm saying that since we've added Curry and the other players to this team, we haven't seen them prepare in the way that they have shown this summer. Nate and Lee as well as Q have come out and testified to the higher level of commitment. Steph actually with the team and trying to help a young guy like Chan. When did you read that before? There have been articles written like the one on Jared showng that guys are far more determined to improve this year. That stuff means nothing to you, fine, but don't rain on our parade.

Posted by nixluva:

Posted by mythfaze:

Posted by nixluva:

Posted by mythfaze:

Posted by misterearl:

nyk.com: What are you working on to add to your game for the coming season?

Lee: I'm still continuing to work on my jump shot, especially that 12- to 15-footer. I'm also continuing to work on my ball-handling, but for the most part, I am planning on coming into training camp in the best shape of my life and being ready to go.

Question: Have you been able to stay in contact with a lot of the guys over the summer?

Lee: Yeah, absolutely. We had a week in August where everybody came in, and we had some scrimmages with about 12 guys. It was good to have a week where you could see everybody and play with and against one another.

(did he say 12?)

Question: Finally, what can the fans expect from the Knicks in 2007-08.

Lee: It's going to be an exciting year. We've got some new pieces and some pieces that are still in place from last year, so it's going to be an exciting year. We expect to make the playoffs, and we expect to make a run this year. We're very excited, and the fans should be as well.

I'm widit.

It is great that he's upbeat and ready to go. Counts for a lot that he's in the best shape of his life, especially coming off the injury.

Doesn't count for anything that he says this year should be "exciting" and that "we're expecting to make the playoffs." I can't remember a season when that same message wasn't regurgitated by at least half of the team. I'm pretty sure that's the mindset for every team every year, except for those that are good enough to talk championship.

What kills me about this subject which comes up every year is the lack of context. His words THIS YEAR carry more weight, given that the team is clearly working harder this year than it has in recent times. The team has added even more talent and we should be much more prepared from the start of the year than at anytime in the last 3 years. This is the 1st year that we've had not only a lot of talent, but that talent has developed some chemistry and continuity. In essence it's more like a real team. We can feel more confident that we know what we have on this team and that they know what they can do as a team. I just think that this time the team is READY to do more.

In past years say the LB year, we only had hope that he could eventually turn the ship around and that it might lead to a playoff birth. No one was ever saying that they expected a team that would come out the gate running on all cylinders. The same could be said for last year when we were looking for the team to repair the damage done by LB. THIS YEAR is far different in that we don't have those same issues. Now we're looking to build off of the lessons learned last year. To me there's a big difference. Most of the pieces are in place.

Fine. You're telling me it is different because there are no real hurdles to overcome this year, while in years past we've had to deal with lesser talent (LB era) and a broken squad (post-LB era). But I don't want to hear it then when we have a rocky start and people start saying "well we just added a completely new piece with ZR - you need to give the team time to adjust to the new player and try to figure out a way to make it work."

Either his words should be taken lightly, as they are uttered every year and we always start off struggling for one reason or another, or they should be taken uniquely and seriously because the team has no real hurdles to overcome.

I never said we had NO hurdles to overcome, just fewer of them than we've had in the past. This is just part of the natural progression and the result of some continuity for a change. I think all the players on the team have a similar take on things this year and it's been evident in the things they've done this offseason.

With the young talent we've been adding over the last 3 offseasons, it's not that hard to imagine a point at which that talent matures and starts to really make a bigger impact. We've been looking for things like that to happen and I think some of that is gonna happen this year. That in addition to adding a stud like Zach. I think Isiah was beginning to have a positive effect on this team last year and that he'll get some more traction this year.

We're not destined to fail every year just cuz we've had some bad failures in the past. I think that we've just gotten so jaded that we no longer take these kinds of things into perspective. Look, this team has been adding talent for years now and most of that talent has been young and inexperienced and not fully developed at that. It takes time for players like that to reach their peak and to fully grasp things on the NBA level. We're at the point now where those young players should start to really get it and I think they'll be bigger factors from this point forward.

Lee should be improved, Balkman and Mardy should be a good deal more mentally ready to contribute from day one as opposed to last year as rooks, not being ready. Nate should be a bit more mature and in a contract year serious about making a better contribution. Curry should be brimming with confidence and I expect him to come in ready to take over. Jared may just come back ready to prove he's better than he showed last year. Q if he's fully healthy should be able to give us more this year. Even Isiah should be better this year. Last but not least we added a near All Star PF. I'm not buggin out here, these are legit reasons to think this team should be better.

Agreed. "Cause David Lee said so" isn't.

Posted by BasketballJones:

Posted by Bippity10:

Maybe my logic is different. There are two different kinds of fans. I respected them both. There was the fan that would cheer me when things went well and get on me when things went wrong. Then there was the fan who I could spit on and they would still think I was great. Either one, was still a fan. I personally tended to listen to fan #1 first, but they were all fans.

You had some truly tolerant fans.