he gives constructive criticism, rather than just plain bashing that some posters do here
I think there are some truth to his opinions but they are too harsh for some to swallow, especially being Knick fans
He gave credit to JR and Felton when they played well for us in the season
However in the playoffs, JR and Melo reverted back to the be the players with their bad habits, inefficient ways, and poor decision making for us
Felton generally played well for us but he is not a starting PG material vs teams that are contenders, especially when he cannot defend the PG or SG position with consistency
I think they (JR/MELO) both deserve some blame along with Chandler's inability to defend Hibbert, but more importantly, Woodson deserves the most blame
He enables both JR and Melo instead of correcting their bad habits, poor shot selections, and 1v1 style of plays
That style of play, makes 4 other players stand around to do NOTHING and unable to get in rhythm or anticipate when to cut in for layup or for an offensive board, because they could draw an extra defender over to limit JR/MELO's moves
The team doesn't know if JR or Melo will try to score with a 3pt shot, midrange shot, go in to to finish, draw a foul, or/and or drive in to kick out
But our opponents DEFENSE have the ability to anticipate the offensive rebound and initiate a fast break before our defense is set for easy shots, especially when they shoot 30% on 60 shots each
Unlike DK, I think JR had improved much last year but Woodson was putting line ups that did not allow him to penetrate and dish back out when Hibbert is protecting the paint
With Hibbert protecting the paint in addition to the good 1v1 DEFENSE the Pacer's have with the combination of size/athleticism/speed, Lance Stephenson was a big part of that with Paul George
Playing Copeland and now Bargnani at PF/C allows JR to do so, with shooters to space the floor, and Hibbert cheating like he did
However, Copeland showed much improvement on REB's, DEF effort, and putting a body on his man during our late stretch to finish the season, in addition to his ability to score efficiently and a high FG % and 3pt %
Yes, Copeland had a bad 10minutes of TOTAL TIME when he started 1 game vs the Celtics, but he also was missing the piece that plays well with him, PABLO
If anyone including Melo/JR had a bad 10minutes TOTAL time in a entire game, would they quickly be demoted to the 10th-11th man while they showed the ability to be consistent for many games prior to 1 game?
I don't understand Woodson's continued usage is using FAKE starters that play for 4-5 minutes stretches in quarters 1 and 3, while we need OFFENSE and JR and Copeland were on the bench not being utilized, and while either 1 player could be used as the 6th type role for offense
Before the playoffs even started, I said, that we must keep Copeland's confidence high and build off it, because we need his ability to advance in the play offs
However, I said, I had a feeling Woodson would demote him back to the bench like he has done all year, even though he was great for us in the 10 games or so to close to season to get the 54 wins
DK is similar to the complete OPPOSITE of NixLuva, who is very optimistic of every Knick player and looks at the best scenario for each player and the team as a whole as the likely hood
DK is extremely negative on the certain players, Woodson, and the franchise, but some of which he has reason to doubt
As a Knick's fan, I still see the flaws that we have as a team, and individual's
I hope they could corrected and most of the problems start with Woodson, his philosophies on DEF and OFF, and then Melo/JR's negative attributes
I think JR's contract is an asset unlike DK, considering we could not use his salary for another player instead, and that JR outplays players on BOTH ends that make more than him, sometimes even players that make more than double and more than what he makes that got contracts this summer (not even including Amare)
Yes JR and Melo take bad shots but as head coach, he has the ability to do something about it
He doesn't have to bench them, but simply let them know we don't need that, EVIL STARE, and not even YELL at them ALL the time to treat them like children
Treat them like adults and when it all doesn't work, BENCH them to set a statement in a regular season game to correct their habits in time for the play offs, then talk to them after the game without attacking them with the media
The truth is, we need both Melo's and JR's talents to possibly be contenders but they must make some changes and sacrifices for the better of the team
The thing is, does Woodson even have this "ability" as head coach or does Melo/JR do anything they please and Woodson has no control over it?
Freedom given to low IQ basketball players, with bad habits, poor decision making, and sometimes "selfish" is not a good thing, RUN PLAYS!
Again, I hope Melo can use Hakeem's training to be a better leader, complete basketball player, efficient scorer, and be able to create for his team in a consistent/efficient rate
But I do agree with DK that it is unlikely from what I see of Melo's foot work and given, Melo's history, that Melo will likely look to boost his "STAT's" so he can command a max 5 year extension or 4 year with another team, next summer
If you actually watch the video's on youtube, you can see that Hakeem is trying to teach Melo the foot work/philosophy behind the moves so there can be counters or/and enable him create for his team mates, by drawing help defenders for easy high % shots
Instead, Melo revert's to "try to do it his way" by using strength or quickness rather than using footwork and the moves itself
I hope Melo is ready this year to admit he has to make changes/sacrifices to his game and is able to learn from Hakeem to be the complete, efficient player, and creator that Hakeem's training would allow him to be IF HE WORK's on it *IT WILL TAKE TIME AND EFFORT TO MASTER, NOT JUST 2 WEEKS*
7/26/2013 8:39 AM