BRIGGS wrote:If they let D Howard play no one is beating Orlando--the only team that has a chance is LA and they are wounded. Just like Duke--the overwhelming emphasis on D and rebounding with a guy who can dominate by himself in the lane is and will always be the ticket to win in sport. It is rare when the offense wins it. It happened in the SB this year but for the most part--when you can stop your opponent and limit his second chance opportunities--you can win any game or series.I acknowledge this is not how we are doing it but I think a little more emphasis on guys who can help defensively both on the interior and perimeter should be employed.
I'm somewhere in the middle. I think to be successful you need to address both. I think the perfectly engineered team was the Pistons teams that went to 2b2 finals and smoked that loaded Lakers team in 5 games. That team had 3 exceptional defenders on the court at all time. That team had size and length at every position. That team had skill and shooting at every position with only one poor offensive player in Ben Wallace. They pushed the ball and played uptempo, they defended the perimeter with LENGTH, they rebounded and they took care of the ball.
Dwight Howard is a total anomaly. Just like Ewing, Hakeem and Robinson and Shaq were or are. They have never really been more than 8-9 great centers in the league at one time.
You cannot win if you cant defend the post. You cannot win getting pushed around on the glass either. It doesnt mean you have to have a plodding bigman either though to win.
The Knicks have a couple of really good pieces. Douglas, Chandler, Gallo and Lee are players with good size and skill. Only Lee is a weak defender and I think most would agree there is a capacity to improve there, and he does rebound.
Call me crazy but I think the key to accelerating the improvement of our team is Toney Douglas.
He's already an impact player on defense, and is dedicated to improving there.
He was the fastest player in the draft. In fact, if you search the draft express database Toney Douglas is one of the fastest players to ever test of >1000
He can really score and really shoot.
What he cant do is run this offense. At least not yet. Which is why I am really high on signing a guy who can facilitate the offense from the 2 or the 3. Mike Miller is the perfect guy IMO. He could start at SG and allow Douglas to play PG full time. With Gallo's dedication to defense and Chandler solid there also you start with good perimeter defense.
God forbid we get Lebron... obviously he accomplishes the same.
After that we need a strong body who can be an impact on post defense. Tyrus Thomas is a wildcard but has a lot of Marion similarities. Clean the glass, alter shots. He's the same length as Al Horford, a guy most around here covet.
"winning is more fun... then fun is fun" -Thibs
