Paladin55 wrote:Forget about just sacrificing his game for the team, what about sacrificing some of his free-time for the team.

In the days after the Knicks were eliminated, Anthony was asked about coming into next year in better shape, and he basically dismissed the entire concept of him not being in the best shape he could have been in at the start of this season.

That tells me he is not going to change his off-season training, and therefore he is not going to take the extra steps needed to be the superstar some people on UK mistakenly believe he is.

When you look at him in college, you see a much more trim player, with some definition in his arms. He was no Charles Oakley, but he had some cuts and a body that you would have expected to fill out with some muscle as he matured and took advantage of a team's training facilities. Instead you have a guy, supposedly in his prime, in one of the most demanding physical sports there is, who seems to have a double chin, and is clearly not in the kind of shape that guys like Bryant, James, and Wade are in.

Yeah, I understand that just being in great shape with a low body-fat % does not make you a great player, but if you look at dominant players, especially those who are not 6'10" and above, very few, if any, of them are carrying extra weight.

Anthony has as much natural talent as anyone in the league but natural talent can only get you so far at this level. In order for him to gain an edge, he has to put in the effort in the off-season.

The Knicks seem to be hamstrung as far as the nature of the moves they can make in this off-season to add significant new bodies to next year's roster, but there is nothing stopping Anthony, but himself, from coming into the next season with a transformed physique, and, in essence, give the Knicks a "new" body. This, as much as anything, will give me hope that he is ready to lead the Knicks to the next level.

Unfortunately, I don't thing Anthony has the drive in him to do this. I would love to be proven wrong... but I don't think the Knicks will ever win a title with Anthony as the star the team is built around.

ShellTopAdidas wrote:If Karl couldn't get him to play team ball, and Dantoni either, what makes us think Woody gonna get it done? Melo is an ISO playing, ball stopping SOB and as long as he's here, we will never win a championship. We'll make the playoff no problem, but no 'ship.

Paladin55 wrote:Forget about just sacrificing his game for the team, what about sacrificing some of his free-time for the team.

In the days after the Knicks were eliminated, Anthony was asked about coming into next year in better shape, and he basically dismissed the entire concept of him not being in the best shape he could have been in at the start of this season.

That tells me he is not going to change his off-season training, and therefore he is not going to take the extra steps needed to be the superstar some people on UK mistakenly believe he is.

When you look at him in college, you see a much more trim player, with some definition in his arms. He was no Charles Oakley, but he had some cuts and a body that you would have expected to fill out with some muscle as he matured and took advantage of a team's training facilities. Instead you have a guy, supposedly in his prime, in one of the most demanding physical sports there is, who seems to have a double chin, and is clearly not in the kind of shape that guys like Bryant, James, and Wade are in.

Yeah, I understand that just being in great shape with a low body-fat % does not make you a great player, but if you look at dominant players, especially those who are not 6'10" and above, very few, if any, of them are carrying extra weight.

Anthony has as much natural talent as anyone in the league but natural talent can only get you so far at this level. In order for him to gain an edge, he has to put in the effort in the off-season.

The Knicks seem to be hamstrung as far as the nature of the moves they can make in this off-season to add significant new bodies to next year's roster, but there is nothing stopping Anthony, but himself, from coming into the next season with a transformed physique, and, in essence, give the Knicks a "new" body. This, as much as anything, will give me hope that he is ready to lead the Knicks to the next level.

Unfortunately, I don't thing Anthony has the drive in him to do this. I would love to be proven wrong... but I don't think the Knicks will ever win a title with Anthony as the star the team is built around.

I was saying the same thing about Melo during the year, but a good friend of mine made a good comparison when I was bringing up the athleticism he lacks. PAUL PIERCE. Here's a guy who looks like he could be someone's grandpa, not in great shape by any stretch, but gets it done. Melo has the natural knack for hitting tough shots and getting at the rim against some of the best. I don't think that aspect will change. What Pierce has on Melo is his ability to defend some of the leagues best, at multiple positions. It doesn't show as much now due to his age and health concerns in the playoffs, but he's still out there competing and still hustles out every game. I think Melo doesn't necessarily need to worry too much about body structure, as much as his durability and endurance. At times he looks extra winded and spent too many days on the bench because of silly injuries. A groin strain that lasts that long is evidence of weak recovery.
Again, a full offseason work regiment and full training camp might show some major improvements. MIGHT.

Knicksfan wrote:We need Tyson and we need Melo. Our biggest questions are if Lin is who we need at PG and if we need Stat at all.

Thats really the question to answer.

And I don't think we need two scorers (Melo and Stat) who can't or doesn't play defense. But we are stuck with them, unless a trade offer comes up!

Melo and Stat have the foot speed of a PF and Center. But they play SF and PF.

Melo will try to change his game and improve his defense, which he did.....But when you haven't done that your entire career, it will wear on you and take away from your offense....Which is what we've seen happen to both stars. If Melo scores 40, his man scores 35....We need Melo to score 40 and his man scores 19 or less....otherwise, scoring 40 does nothing when you let your man score 40....who probably has more assist and less turnovers.

Hopefully, both players will trim the fat, develop some foot speed, lateral quickness, and strength.....STAT really needs to improve his defensive IQ! Boxing out is something you learn in HS.....

blackisblack wrote:This is why I am all for keeping what we have right now so we can see what they can do together in the next full season. Personally, I am willing to give them a chance, all of them to work together. Let's see if they are willing and can. Even Grunwald said "We are happy with what we have right now." Hey, he's the GM. He knows this better than I do.

At the end of the season, maybe they will win the championship, maybe they won't but hey, it never breaks my heart because I enjoy watching basketball. I will be happy if they can get their act together because that feat alone is tough because of clashing egos and interests in this era where players can cause coaches to get fired.

+1 - adding to this new era you speak of the 9 years of sub .500 ball Knicks fans had to endure, counting the first round exit in 04.
Add Amare Stoudemire - we get about the .500 mark in almost a decade. Add Melo and Lin and we stay there. Give the next few years a chance. If we jump ship now we go back to the drawing board... again.

JamesKPolk wrote:We were 18-24 with Carmelo clearly not willing to sacrifice. 18-6 after he got his way.

Long-term, his style of iso ball is not a capable title-winning solution.

Everyone agrees on this point. I think it's time we stop blasting it. It's obvious that there needs to be some changes in the style of ball the club plays for us to have legitimate success. And I'm sure Woody and Co. understands this. Whether or not it goes into practice is another story, one that hasn't been written yet.