Posted by EnySpree:

Well I didn't clarify. I meant to say Isiah's idea of mismatches is how the other team plays us.....like benching Nate cuz of his height or using a certain line-up to match another team. That's what Isiah has been doing and that's basically telling the team they can't win from the get go.

Its all good to have your bigger guy post up the littler guy or your faster guy beat the slower dude.........but what does that have to do with anything? You exploit mismatches when they come but as a team what are you trying to do night in and out? What is the game plan? How will you impose your will on another team/league?

Marbury was 20/8 before he became a Knick. He's not an idiot.....ok well he is an idiot. But he is a cat....if you want a dog, you should get a dog. If you can't get a dog then make the best of things cuz you are not gonna change the cat into a dog.

Aside from getting all defense lawyer on my tail wagging rant, what do you think of going full court? Not pressing x constantly on your playstation controler whlie holding the forward button and the turbo......I'm talkin set plays full court, instant fast breaks of a make or miss. Like I said the man guys on the Knicks are all uptempo guys. Stop with the "he's so dumb he can barely run water let alone run an offense har har har".....its not about that. It's about working these guys strengths for once into a team concept to win games.

No. Thats not what Isiah was doing. And if he did he wouldn't necessarily be wrong. Isiah's Xs and Os mistakes go far beyond benching Nate or Eddy or Marbs, where many times he was actually justified. Isiah's version of defense was either no help or unnecessary help from the wrong position on the floor. In contrast to sporadic help from the weakside big/top of the key with contiguous rotations excepting the corner spot. His version of offense was shoot it. In contrast to even something as ridiculously simple as putting Zach and Marbs in a pick and roll. So Isiah was terrible, not beacause every once in a while he'd recognize a gaping hole in our line-up, but because his alternatives created more gaping holes and his poor defensive schemes often exacerbated them.

But, the players were just as bad. They were right in the center of those offensive and defensive holes and, if you're skeptical, I suggest you use the search function that Martin and Andrew will shortly be adding. Or get your hands on a copy of a game from last year, a collectible which will undoubtedly be quite difficult to find. Marbury's inability to push the ball, get players into sets, find teammates of screens and shoot well from the perimeter remains problematic irrespective of the coach and the system. You saw it with LB. You saw it with Isiah. And you've even seen it with D'Antoni if you're memory is good enough. Its mystifying that you would get excited about Marbury running an offense, when all he has shown he can do is run his mouth and run in the mountains. In short, the excitement should be that Isiah is no longer coaching (or GM ing) rather than "we are champs, on paper." If you can dig your hand out of the cheetos for just a second, I think you'll see that.

I like D'Antoni and I think he's got a versatile arsenal, of which the uptempo hoopla is only a part. But, D'Antoni is a long-term investment. So when you say, even in hyperbole, you're excited about us being "champs" with Marbs and Craw in his system, it seems that you are, yet again, titillating yourself over a potential short term miracle that, after inevitably fading by mid-season, will leave you high and dry. And, that is why I went all defense lawyer on you tail wagging azz.

To answer your question about "going full court," I think we'll be trying it because some of our young players have shown promise in that department. I'm excited that D'Antoni will have a part in improving their play but I neither think nor want those improvements to increase our win total next year because the pick remains paramount in making us better than a borderline lottery team.

Posted by EnySpree:

Codeunknown......you break me down and them build me back up.

I dunno why you are ass raping me on Isiah's coaching. If we had a search fuction you could find at least one "eny rant" on how much of a caca poo poo Isiah is.

So we are in agreement about D'antoni, at least for the most part right? Okay dokay........so lets talk about that.

Posted by EnySpree:

Nah....I'm expecting ZERO wins. Seriously! I'm expecting some better coached basketball so we can see what works and what doesn't. Not from the coach, cuz he should be locked in. Its from the players. Whoever can't cut it because they never played like that? Whoa! Trade that caca and get guys in here D'antoni likes or fit the mold.

Posted by Bonn1997:

Talented enough to be a starter? He's talented enough to be an all-star. There's more to starting on a winning team than just talent, though. I'll go out on a limb and say that even if he's roughly the same player when his current contract expires, he won't be starting the next season on a winning team. It's more than just his contract that deters winning teams from wanting him as their starting PF IMO.

Posted by Solace:

Posted by Bonn1997:

Posted by Solace:

Posted by Bonn1997:

Posted by Solace:

Posted by EnySpree:

Solace - its not so much that I like the roster. Its just the group of productive guys that we do have, and actually played parts in some wins or comebacks.....those guys actually are uptempo players. D'antoni will be the first coach that actually fits that style to a "T". They aren't an all world group but they can fit D'antoni's style.

It wouldn't be a tragedy if Donnie made a minor tweak in this off-season and let the season begin with basically the same guys. Evaluations can be made imediately to improve what they are trying to do.

That wouldn't be a tragedy right?

I'm fine with an evaluation period. That's not a tragedy. What is a tragedy if we make the same mistakes over and over again. Too early to make those assumptions, though, so let's see what happens.

Posted by Bonn1997:

Posted by Solace:

Eny, I find your post interesting. I'm not sure I agree, though. When I look at the Knicks roster, I think the Knicks have one of the worst lineups, talent-wise, in the entire NBA. The only starting quality players on the team are Zach, Crawford and Lee. Clearly, that trio is behind the top three on most other teams in the NBA. Our youth hasn't been particulary impressive, either. I think Isiah has shown a history of taking very athletic players with limited basketball abilities. So, when they first come into the league, they look good. However, they all peak early, so there's no high ceiling. I think the roster needs major adjustments.

Also, saying that you like the Knicks roster is kind of saying that you support Isiah's GMing, which I consider one of the worst GMing jobs in the history of the NBA.

I don't think any of those 3 are NBA starters. They're all limited players who should be 6th men (or 7th man in Jamal's case).

Well, clearly Zach is a starter, as he has been in the past. Surely, he would be a starter on some other team. Craw, I think could find a starting role on a few teams. Same for Lee. That's why they're there. Technically, though, I could certainly see a majority of the teams in the NBA that Craw and Lee would not start for. Again, this is why the talent level of our team is so poor. You could argue that Jamal is a sixth man on most teams, yet he might have been our best player last year.

I think if Zach was viewed as starting PF, teams needing a PF would be willing to trade for him. He's overpaid badly, but lots of overpaid players are still tradeable if they truly are starting quality (which includes more than just skill set). When I say starter, I mean start on a good team, too, not start on a lottery team--Heck Eddy can do that.


[Edited by - bonn1997 on 05-19-2008 11:18 AM]

Unfortunately, most teams are conscious of attitude and contract size. All teams except one, actually. Zach's a starting quality fourth option quality player but is getting paid like a superstar. His attitude would likely reduce his worth down below MLE level. Yet, he's getting paid more than four times that. So, no he's not tradable because of that. He is talented enough to be a starter. Too bad he's crazy.

Talented enough to be a starter? He's talented enough to be an all-star. There's more to starting on a winning team than just talent, though. I'll go out on a limb and say that even if he's roughly the same player when his current contract expires, he won't be starting the next season on a winning team. It's more than just his contract that deters winning teams from wanting him as their starting PF IMO.

Hmm... I think we're mostly agreeing and you're nitpicking on individual words. I think for the most part we agree. The main point is that talent-wise the Knicks are one of the worst in the league. If you agree, then we agree. :)