EnySpree wrote:Since we talking about Jamal too...how bout the Knicks look to bring him back? They actually have a need for his skills now. New group of guys...Craw can create his own offense.

We've got a lot of new pieces, but no on Jamal. How much is he making now?

Paladin55 wrote:

BRIGGS wrote:
I believe playing AR @ 5 with Gallo Amare Chandler and Felton is our best 5. No 7 footer we have has the talent that AR possess or even close. You go with your best 5. I see many similarities to the phoenix team--and if somehow the bench comes together--maybe even better. That is why I predict 52+ wins and a very solid playoff run(I think better than 95% of people's expectations) IF HEALTHY

I don't see him starting at the 5 or even playing there as much as we (includes me) think he will. You have to have the feeling after listening to ARs interviews that the Knicks' coaching staff has told him that they are going to be using Randolph at almost every position on the court at some point, whether it be on D or O at those positions. I believe MDA sees him as the Swiss Army Knife of this team, and all of his talents are going to be put to use.

He will guard 1s and 2s at times
He will be used to exploit centers who don't have the post game and bulk to push him around
We can put out a lineup with AR at the 5, Gallo or Chandler at the 3/4, with Douglas and Felton at the guard
positions to go up tempo on offense, but also have a defensive presence
You can go with Turiaf at 5, AR at 4, Gallo at 3, and Chandler at the 2 for a pretty good defensive lineup,
especially in terms of shot blocking
If you have Douglas and Azubuike in the lineup with Turiaf/Mosguv, Amare, and AR at the 3 you can even let him do
the kind of ball handling Hedu did 2 years ago when Orlando made the finals.

You can think many other optional lineups, I'm sure, and I think MDA and staff are toying with variations as we write.

Pretty exciting to have a team with guys who can play so many positions and do so many things. If everyone is healthy, this is an extremely athletic roster at this moment, and I expect to see our coaches make full use of it.

I find it amazing that those who limited the hopes of landing Anthony Randolph with our pick in 2007 , now paint him almost as the most valuable knicks with him being able to play Center, PF,SF and even pg duties bringing the ball upcourt.

Tell me know, what other current knick have this much versatility ? Magic Johnson LOL

With Randolph's many talents, why would you tell this "really thin" player that loved showing off his athleticism and creativity to go bang the boards to the exclusion of everything else. If you factor in the increased minutes per game that Randolph played in his second year over his first, it seems he actually got slightly less rebounds per minute in year 2 over year 1. (22.7 minutes and 6.5 rebounds in year 2, 19.6 minutes overall and 6 rebounds a game for his career.

Beidrins at center got 7.8 rebounds in 23 minutes, and Gadzuric also a center only averaged 2.9 rebounds in 9.8 minutes. Also their power forward, Brandan Wright averaging 17.6 minutes a game only averaged 4 rebounds a game. So the 2009 Warriors definitely had a team weakness at rebounding and desperately needed someone to fix that problem. Clearly that's why Golden's State was so aggressive in going after David Lee who definitely knows how to grab more boards.

Nelson seems to have been telling Randolph to sacrifice developing the rest of his game, to try and fix a weakness of the team. Because Randolph had so many other talents, why wouldn't Nelson want Randolph to develop those other talents thereby increasing his value to the team over time? Does anyone think that telling Randolph to concentrate strictly on rebounding was a valid idea for a talented developing player? Making him do what he wasn't good at, and denying his ability to do what he was good at, seems a recipe for causing Anthony Randolph to rebel, which apparently is what he did.

Paladin55 wrote:

Panos wrote:What is this infatuation with putting big men on point guards?
Why not let a faster player like Douglas do that duty?

Talk to MDA.

I think he believes that if they are quick enough to stay in front of their a PG, their wingspans really disrupt the flow of the opposition's offense.

For me it only works when the big man is not a key offensive player, because you are going to wear him down at some point. I never felt that it was good for Gallinari when he was doing it, because it can wear you down, but I assume that he told MDA he saw it as a challenge and would do it.

AR is a freak athlete, and I guarantee that he was asked by the Knicks' coaches about what he can being to a game and how he thinks he can contribute to the team.

There will be games where he is used like Jeffries was last year, but our PG tandem is now Felton and Douglas, both of whom can play good perimeter D, so I expect that we'll not need to be as creative as we were last year to cover up the defensive deficiencies of Duhon or Sergio.

I thought we got cured of the Jared Jefferies syndrome...