i don't know why, but to me, it's obvious that this team is not executing the way D'Antoni wants them to. to others, it must be D'Antoni's gameplan for the offense to grind to a screeching halt as the game progresses and gets tighter.
i dug up an old thread from last year where this team was having the exact same problems. instead of Melo and Amare not meshing, it was Amare and Felton.
it's gonna come, people. Melo has to break out of his bad habits of being a ball stopper. i bet that if there were a statistic for how many of a player's FG's were unassisted, Melo would lead the league. he just doesn't get his points in the flow.
i've played with guys like that. it's usually the most skilled guy who, for whatever reason, call it ego or pride, can't bring himself to let others help him score. it's like every score is a message to the world: "i can do this on my own."
the beauty of this rough start is: Melo and Amare can both see that if they don't let the offense help them score points, they won't win. what we are seeing now is not what the coach wants. it's what the players are doing habitually.
i expect these guys to eventually succumb to the offense. put their pride aside. and accept that the offense can help you score.
it will be a brilliant revelation. and when it happens, we will commit less turnovers, and hit more shots. and in turn, our defense will improve even more because there will be less transition baskets against us.
if this team is still playing like this halfway through the season, then yeah, maybe we have a major problem.
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1/19/2012 6:09 AM