CrushAlot wrote:

nyk4ever wrote:lol fire d'antoni. god, the extremism by a few on this site is relentless.

I really don't think its that extreme. The guy is 51-82 as the Knick coach. He is extremely rigid, doesn't develop players, only wants to coach players that fit his character/compliance profile, creates lots of unneeded drama with his inability to communicate, and is the third highest paid coach in the league. What are his strengths?

D'Antoni is able to squeeze big offensive numbers from certain players. That is his major strength.

I agree that letting D'Antoni go is not extreme or crazy.

oohah

oohah wrote:

fishmike wrote:its not because of Lebron. Its because any new GM should be given a chance to execute his play. Layden got his chance when he brought in McDyess. Isiah got his chance when he brought in Marbury, Crawford, Zach and Curry.

But neither Layden nor Isiah got 2 seasons before any moves they made could be judged. They were judged on an ongoing basis.

Walsh certainly can and should be judged before July. In my case I might even pre-judge him!

oohah

oohah wrote:

fishmike wrote:OK. His first year the win total increased. He's drafted at least one very good player in Gallo. He's done something that we have pined for years for, and his team plays young cheap talent while expensive guys sit or are in reserve rolls. You may not love everything that he's done. Its hard to find that in a GM, its the fan's job to bitch and moan.

Okay. So D'Antoni/Walsh improved on a terrible 23 win team to make it into a merely bad 34 win team? Big deal, Isiah did that too. Did you throw a parade for him that year?

Walsh drafted a very good player in Gallinari? I would say the jury is still waaaay out on that. Gallinari is a pretty good 3 point specialist. At this point I see nothing else in his game that makes him "very good".

It is not about "bitching and moaning" or "loving everything he has done", it is about the fact that Walsh certainly can be criticized before 2 seasons are up, to suggest otherwise is absurd. Does it always have to be all or nothing Fishmike??

Watching Jennings and Blair bust ass during the season and in the rookie/Sophomore game while Hill and Douglas rot is something to criticize both Walsh and D'Antoni about before July.

oohah

The one thing I want out of this season is letting Jordan Hill play 35 minutes--thats all I ask for. I want to see what he has with a chance to play through some bad minutes. MDA is walking contradiction. Now he says he cares about player's careers while a month ago Nate was sitting on the pine for 14 games. Three games ago the players are giving everything they have three games later they sck with no effort. I can see where his personality might rub some people the wrong way.

oohah wrote:

fishmike wrote:OK. His first year the win total increased. He's drafted at least one very good player in Gallo. He's done something that we have pined for years for, and his team plays young cheap talent while expensive guys sit or are in reserve rolls. You may not love everything that he's done. Its hard to find that in a GM, its the fan's job to bitch and moan.

Okay. So D'Antoni/Walsh improved on a terrible 23 win team to make it into a merely bad 34 win team? Big deal, Isiah did that too. Did you throw a parade for him that year?

Walsh drafted a very good player in Gallinari? I would say the jury is still waaaay out on that. Gallinari is a pretty good 3 point specialist. At this point I see nothing else in his game that makes him "very good".

It is not about "bitching and moaning" or "loving everything he has done", it is about the fact that Walsh certainly can be criticized before 2 seasons are up, to suggest otherwise is absurd. Does it always have to be all or nothing Fishmike??

Watching Jennings and Blair bust ass during the season and in the rookie/Sophomore game while Hill and Douglas rot is something to criticize both Walsh and D'Antoni about before July.

oohah

Criticize all you want. The jury is waaaaaay out on Gallinari but its ok to pine over a 160 pound PG and a 6'6 powerforward with no cartilege and say woulda coulda shoulda? If thats what makes you happy... by all means.

Walsh has said all along what his plan is. All I am saying is give him time to execute. What were you expecting from a 23 win team? 45 wins and round 2 the first year? 60 the next?

Kyle Korver is a 3 point specialist. Gallo has games where he is getting 8-10 boards, he handles the ball, the can draw fouls, he blocks shots, throws down dunks in guys faces. He's as inconsistant as you would expect from a 20 (21?) year old who is essentially in his rookie year. If you dont see that potential your seeing what you want to see.

The best GM in the world doesnt always draft the best player, or make the best trade, or hire the best coach. This guy has a plan. He's set this team and roster up for major changes. Those are still 6 months away. Time will tell.

MS wrote:You need a defensive presence and a dominant big man to win in this league. Brook Lopez needed to be the selection.

If you watch a Nets game or two you will see that the turtle gets outplayed at center just about every night. He gets outrebounded, out blocked and cant guard anyone. If you want to spare yourself from watching look at the stats. He's out blocked, out rebounded and opponents have a higher FG%. He takes more shots and scores more. Not impressed
http://www.82games.com/0910/09NJN17.HTM

He is soooooo slow its amazing. He's so mechanical and predictable. He cant stop anyone looking to score on him. He's really long and really good at camping in the paint and altering shots of guard driving the basket, which he gets plenty of practice on. He's a 3rd or 4th comlimentary type player.

now, they drafted gallo. so now, you need to ask yourself, how can we get a player to maximize his skill as well? that means getting a pg that can get to anywhere on the court so he can find gallo alot more open shots...which then allows him to shoot or expand his game to pump fake and drive. but they passed on that guy.

that's what makes this current regimes decisions somewhat questionable. they would've been heading into 2010 with a bonafide center/pf in lopez/lee or a bonafide drive and kick attack of jennings/gallo. it makes it easier to figure out who to go after this offseason. but now, the team still has 2 major holes which now requires 2 or more transactions to attempt to fill.