StarksEwing1 wrote:I love optimism BUT people should be prepared to see next year be a transition year. despite what happens with melo i we still dont have the money or the picks to get more talent. I mean guys like Amare and Bargnani we dont know when they are healthy and they dont play defense. Tyson, felton and jr have regressed as well. I still think 2015 will be the real starting point in Phil turning the team around

I get the impression that the team will win more than 37 games next season, just on effort alone. A new PG. The subtraction of Tyson. A new coah and system. It looks like enough to pass last season's output.

Derek Fisher probably raised a few eyebrows back in 2006 when, upon joining the Utah Jazz, he predicted he could help the team win 10 more games than it had the previous season.

Listen to the complete Derek Fisher interview:

Fisher proved prescient, though, as the Jazz won 51 games in the 2006-07 season, 10 more than they had the year before.

Now Fisher is predicting similar results in his first season coaching the New York Knicks.

“In my opinion, I believe that success and failure are not as far apart as people think. It’s pretty close. And when you think about [the Knicks] winning 37 games a year ago, there are a number of things that you can isolate with the same exact roster that can provide 8-10 more wins without a change of any kind,” Fisher said last week, in an interview on ESPN NY 98.7 FM’s “The Michael Kay Show.”

“You can make more free throws. You can have a player miss a few [fewer] games due to injury by handling some things smartly due to practice time, recover time, nutrition, etcetera. There are a number of things that are the difference between winning and losing.”

Fisher’s an optimist, but he’s also a realist. In predicting results for a team with “the exact same roster” as a season ago, Fisher is indirectly acknowledging that the Knicks likely won’t have much opportunity to reshape the roster this summer.

New York is projected to be over the salary cap, so it won’t have significant money to offer free agents. The Knicks also don’t have a pick in the 2014 draft, though they are interested in acquiring one.

Fisher’s prediction is also based on the assumption that Carmelo Anthony will re-sign with the team. That’s far from a certainty at this point.

With Anthony in tow, Fisher envisions having a team that can win 45-47 games. A 45-win total would have been good enough for fifth place in the Eastern Conference last season.

“I’m not as down on the roster and the team as some of you in the room are,” Fisher said during his introductory news conference last week. “I think there are some things that we can do with this team that can be special right now, not years from now.

"I believe in a lot of the guys on this roster. Several of our young players -- obviously Iman Shumpert has enjoyed a great career so far. Tim Hardaway Jr. had a phenomenal rookie season last year. Toure' Murry is a guy to me that has a lot of potential and versatility. So there are a number of guys that we feel like as we continue to establish who we are, establish our identity and create a system that we think works best for our team and our players that it will allow our young players, veteran players, however we end up putting together this roster for the '14-15 season, we believe we’re going to give ourselves the best chance to be good."

babyKnicks wrote:I am extremely encouraged by the spurs beating up the heat with team ball...ball movement, hit the open man, team defense...

Definitely the brand of basketball Phil and fish are talking about constantly.

If the spurs pull it out, the league will take notice...beat the "big any number" with ball movement and team play.

No more isolations, no dunk contests, no celebrating wins in the 7th game of the season.

Get to the playoffs, get to the finals, one game at a time.

Knicks win 52 games next year.

Its why, I believe, Melo will leave. He sees the direction its going in NY and he can't win this time. PJax is not MDA. You're either in the circle or you are not. Melo, IMO, cannot play that style of ball, i.e. Ball movement, player off the ball movement.

The Spurs were awesome to watch. Like the Championship Knick teams. Yes, they have some great players but they all bought in and it works! ITs a different guy every night!

If Melo leaves, it means he wont buy in, which means they are better off without him.

Nalod wrote:

GoNyGoNyGo wrote:

babyKnicks wrote:I am extremely encouraged by the spurs beating up the heat with team ball...ball movement, hit the open man, team defense...

Definitely the brand of basketball Phil and fish are talking about constantly.

If the spurs pull it out, the league will take notice...beat the "big any number" with ball movement and team play.

No more isolations, no dunk contests, no celebrating wins in the 7th game of the season.

Get to the playoffs, get to the finals, one game at a time.

Knicks win 52 games next year.

Its why, I believe, Melo will leave. He sees the direction its going in NY and he can't win this time. PJax is not MDA. You're either in the circle or you are not. Melo, IMO, cannot play that style of ball, i.e. Ball movement, player off the ball movement.

The Spurs were awesome to watch. Like the Championship Knick teams. Yes, they have some great players but they all bought in and it works! ITs a different guy every night!

If Melo leaves, it means he wont buy in, which means they are better off without him.

Good take, I really never looked at it in the simplest terms regarding him fitting in to a system. Him leaving might also be about him considering his role in the triangle and its effect on his game.

Best scenario is he stays, we succeed. If that is not possible then he moves on!
Best scenario we get some value in return via sign and trade. If not, we move on.

He said he'd sign for less here He said he'd recruit. He is an NBA player and they say lots of things.

Melo leaving could also be about wanting to play in a more playoff-ready team because of his age. Either way, I still say he leaves or is moved.

No more woodson, thank god