For a veteran doesn't really develop a bond or relationship with the younger guards or players. Sasha and Jose are really tight with KP. Melo clearly takes to Galloway. Lopez is super supportive as well.

For the Knicks to really flourish all 5 guys out there have to want to pass. Affalo rarely looks to move the ball from what I've seen. He strikes me as selfish on the court, even if he may be a nice teammate off it.

WaltLongmire wrote:

SocraticBallin22 wrote:

Finestrg wrote:

crzymdups wrote:

SocraticBallin22 wrote:Until we get a real point guard, and by real, I mean an NBA caliber starting point guard who could reasonably defend his position and be able to penetrate and score a little, we will continue to lose games like this OVER and OVER.

Calderon is the WORST defensive starting point guard in the entire NBA. He is probably in the bottom 2 or 3 overall. If there is no upgrade in this position by the deadline, this team is toast.

There's nothing out there. Not that we can trade for.

We can't get Jennings or Teague with what we have to offer. We just can't.

Hope for Jennings or Conley this summer. That's our only hope.

See, I disagree. Why not take a flier on Russ Smith? I tell you what--Russ Smith would've created something on that play Galloway choked on. No doubt.

Russ Smith can penetrate and create.

Tony Wroten can penetrate and create.

We have no player on the team who could do this except for Jerian who lost his confidence on the roster.

This is killing us.

If Phil and Rambis are serious about the Triangle, I would still want to see Trice used before outside talent is signed.

Just one man's opinion...of course.

No complaint here. If they decided to bring up Trice and actually play him, I would do cartwheels. I've watched him with Westchester. He is a natural pg with decent quickness and handle who has a reliable jump shot. My only worry is his strength on D but he can't be any worse than Jose.

nyknickzingis wrote:Positives are

KP's post game and shot selection looked great.
Galloway's emergence continues. He's a hot/cold player, sort of like Afflalo, but unlike Afflalo, I like that Galloway defends and looks to pass.
The Triangle and drag screen/pnr all looked much better tonight. We constantly ran the same sets and it got better as the game went on.
Melo got good shots and no coincidence shot better.
Lopez/Melo/KP all had strong games like a team with our talent should.
We shot 53 percent as a team and that is good for a team like ours. I think our season average is 44.
Seraphin/Williams/Galloway all looked great off the bench. All had big positive in the +/- ratings

Negatives

We LOST another heart breaker (maybe like the 7th time at home this season?)
Defense stunk most of the game but better in the 2nd half.
Jose was 0-4 and just awful. You can't play a player like him if he doesn't score. He has to be able to knock down 3's.
With our size we pose a big advantage on offense and the boards when we run the offense well but on defense it leaves us vulnerable to 3's.
Sense that with us wanting to go bigger, we'll lose the love we have for Lance. Don't think Rambis loves him as much as Fisher. Nice role player, but I think we're looking to invest in DWill who is both younger and more talented.

My conclusion for tonight is that Rambis is a better coach than Fisher, it's obvious right away. However, Rambis has to solve the defensive problems and won't be able to so long as he plays big lineups without athletic guards. If we play big, we have to play athletic guards like Galloway in the backcourt. I also will say something I think all of us know. If we had a quality point guard we'd be about 7 wins better right now. You could literally flip our record if we had someone much better than Jose, or Grant as our traditional PG's this year. I think Phil knows this, but won't waste quality assets to get one via trade. He's going to wait till the summer.

I also think right now all we can look forward to the rest of the season is hopeful progression from players like Porzingis, Williams and Galloway in the offense. Maybe Seraphin as well. All are 25 and younger, and could be back next year if they close the season strong (obvious KP will be regardless). I'm no longer focused on the wins the rest of the season, even though I would love to win as many games as possible. My focus is to see Porzingis develop his shots closer to the basket and improve his man defense. Galloway to keep showing he can play big minutes. Perhaps Williams and Seraphin show they are worth investing 3 year contracts in the offseason. Calderon and Afflalo should be phased out within a year or two.

I'm not expecting more than 32 wins at this point. Dream of being a winning/.500 caliber team are dead. I'm settling for the guys to show they deserve to be called back next year with a high quality point guard or ballhandling guard added via free agency (and hopefully a sniper that can replace Sasha as well).

Very well said!

My only divergence is I think the knicks have another run in them. I also totally agree w Walts comment about Gallos pecking order pass. He's not a true pg but if he develops confidence in basic playmaking (eg waving melo off or doing a handoff as opposed to whatever it is that he did for the turnover) he could be a good 3d guard

GoNyGoNyGo wrote:

crzymdups wrote:Wow. Guess Afflalo didn't think that was going in, huh?

Tweet was deleted or there was problem with the URL:

https://twitter.com/TommyBeer/status/697262509313622017

that clip shows me that he has to go.

Finestrg wrote:

WaltLongmire wrote:

magicTs wrote:

crzymdups wrote:

magicTs wrote:Galloway is horrendous.

Some folks want him to start at PG over Jose.

That play illustrates why he isn't a starting PG, unfortunately.

Calderon is obviously done but Galooway will never be the answer he's just completely unreliable. We need massive upgrades on both of them.

Galloway is not a lead guard...and never was in college, either.

I hate to get on Galloway here--he's a good dude and he's got guts--feel bad for him in the end there, but I can't agree with you guys more here. On that play where we came up with the steal from Beal--Galloway was clueless and choked. You guys said it all among the few of you--he's no PG. I hate how he looks to give the ball up all the time. A real PG is able to make a play there, not force a pass that wasn't there and cough it up. I agree--he's no answer. He's a decent off-the-ball role player. He's a clutch little shooter when open but he's definitely not a guy you want with the ball in his hands where he has to put it on the floor and go make a play. Big difference. Decent bench player but not a top 2 or 3 guard on a winning team.

Some want to start Galo over Calderon, just to shake things up. Neither player are NBA starters......but as of right now, they are the only guards the coaching staff plays. Gallo is younger and will be more physical on defense than Calderon. There's pros and cons for starting either player......Until we get some upgrades at those positions, that all we have to play with. Why not shake it up and start Gallo......What do we have to lose? Missing the playoffs? We've already done that. I hoping this new coach will push to bring up Jimmer or the other PG prospects for a 10 day contract.

blkexec wrote:

SocraticBallin22 wrote:Until we get a real point guard, and by real, I mean an NBA caliber starting point guard who could reasonably defend his position and be able to penetrate and score a little, we will continue to lose games like this OVER and OVER.

Calderon is the WORST defensive starting point guard in the entire NBA. He is probably in the bottom 2 or 3 overall. If there is no upgrade in this position by the deadline, this team is toast.

Well, if we base this on one game....Calderon's defense is better than Curry. Wall had 40 and 10 against GS.

I agree, Calderon is a solid backup PG. But I disagree if you think there's a lock down PG out there that will drop out of a tree and land on our laps. Beverly is probably a top 3 lock down PG, and Curry scored 19 on him in the first......35 overall.

I posted this yesterday on the previous page, and since you've been a PG, could you tell me if my interpretation was correct? I was referring to that turnover where Gallo made a poor entry pass to Anthony which ended in a turnover and score.

That was a pecking order pass...until guys don't defer to and Anthony or even an AA, that type of thing will happen.

Not Anthony's fault, but he can get into better position than that for a pass, and Gallo should be keeping his dribble and creating some better space or waving Anthony off to re-position himself...Am I wrong about this?

(Experience organized ballers...please help me on this.)

blkexec wrote:

WaltLongmire wrote:

blkexec wrote:

SocraticBallin22 wrote:Until we get a real point guard, and by real, I mean an NBA caliber starting point guard who could reasonably defend his position and be able to penetrate and score a little, we will continue to lose games like this OVER and OVER.

Calderon is the WORST defensive starting point guard in the entire NBA. He is probably in the bottom 2 or 3 overall. If there is no upgrade in this position by the deadline, this team is toast.

Well, if we base this on one game....Calderon's defense is better than Curry. Wall had 40 and 10 against GS.

I agree, Calderon is a solid backup PG. But I disagree if you think there's a lock down PG out there that will drop out of a tree and land on our laps. Beverly is probably a top 3 lock down PG, and Curry scored 19 on him in the first......35 overall.

I posted this yesterday on the previous page, and since you've been a PG, could you tell me if my interpretation was correct? I was referring to that turnover where Gallo made a poor entry pass.

That was a pecking order pass...until guys don't defer to and Anthony or even an AA, that type of thing will happen.

Not Anthony's fault, but he can get into better position than that for a pass, and Gallo should be keeping his dribble and creating some better space or waving Anthony off to re-position himself...Am I wrong about this?

(Experience organized ballers...please help me on this.)

Chaucey Billups (sp?) is a perfect example of this. Him and Kidd had no problem waiving Melo off, and letting him reposition for a better pass. But these guys are extravert leaders, with enough confidence and veteran respect to do this. Currently, we don't have that kind of PG on this team, with enough balls to waive and reposition Melo. So yes you are correct about Gallo.....

This is why I think Phil prefers the triangle system, because you don't need a special type of PG to help manage Melo. Without Phils system, you will see everybody doing what Gallo did, and all we will see is Iso Melo. This is also why it's difficult to build around Melo, because it takes a PG with certain skills and respect. You have to have balls and respect amoungst your peers to waive off Melo. Gallo or Calderon or Grant will never do that....especially in crunch time.

dk7th wrote:

GoNyGoNyGo wrote:

crzymdups wrote:Wow. Guess Afflalo didn't think that was going in, huh?

Tweet was deleted or there was problem with the URL:

https://twitter.com/TommyBeer/status/697262509313622017

that clip shows me that he has to go.

that's a low character bitch move

He's a guy who wants to be involved in a big play but can only stand by helplessly and watch on this one.

Maybe he was just trying to use his mind over matter powers to concentrate the ball into the basket?