Posted by Panos:

Did you not say that shot blocking was not important for a championship team?
Is that not your point?

Posted by Panos:

And this relates to our Knicks how?
Are we otherwise a championship level team?

Posted by COSSUCKS:

I dont even think that our defensive FG% allowed was that bad last season

[Edited by - COSSUCKS on 08-07-2007 5:02 PM]

Posted by newyorknewyork:

Strong frontcourt defense is a key for a championship. Shotblocking is a great skill that aids strong frontcourt defense. Adding a shotblocker could put us in the direction of hopfully building a strong frontcourt defense. Having 4 players that play no defense and having one player who can block shots isn't going to make a good defense. But having a dominating defensive anchor in the middle could definatly make it easier for the other 4 players to play defense as long as they put the effort in.

We definatly need shotblocking though. We need an intimidator to allow our guards to push up on there opponents. Make guards heisitate a little bit from coming into the paint.

Posted by Vmart:

Posted by newyorknewyork:

Strong frontcourt defense is a key for a championship. Shotblocking is a great skill that aids strong frontcourt defense. Adding a shotblocker could put us in the direction of hopfully building a strong frontcourt defense. Having 4 players that play no defense and having one player who can block shots isn't going to make a good defense. But having a dominating defensive anchor in the middle could definatly make it easier for the other 4 players to play defense as long as they put the effort in.

We definatly need shotblocking though. We need an intimidator to allow our guards to push up on there opponents. Make guards heisitate a little bit from coming into the paint.

See this is the kind of stuff that drives everyone here crazy. The Knicks problem doesn't stem from Curry he is the least of your problems. The real problem with the Knicks is their perimeter defense. They ranked 4th worst in three point field goals allowed at close to 38%. Now where is Curry's problem in this equation he doesn't guard the perimeter he is a low box player and guards the opposing centers. SHot blocking is vastly overrated, here is a stat that all you Camby lovers will like a lot because if you are going to blame Curry for the teams perimeter woes then Camby has to take a hit too. Because Denver allowed a whopping 105 points per game to their opponents as opposed to 100 points per game by the KNicks. Sometimes a player could be a solid position defender but people here get enamoured with the athletic play such as a block shot. But Curry is very capable of doing that too. You guys remember the first game of last year vs Grizzlies where Curry came out of nowhere to block a shot he has that capability too but you must realize that as Curry gets better and better the refs will swallow the wistle and allow Curry to be more aggressive defensively. Lack of perimeter defense is a reason the Knicks need a guy like Artest who gives a crap if he is loony the KNicks need wins and they need them fast and the perimeter defense needs to be improved.

You make some good points, but let me play devils advocate. Usually when you have a defensive anchor/shotblocker/shot changer in the paint, it allows the perimeter D to press up on thier man with no fear of getting beat off the dribble because they know they have help behind them. So in other words, defensive help in the paint can make you a little stronger out front. Without a shotblocker/shot changer the already shaky perimeter D might lay off a little, because they dont want to get beat.




[Edited by - bigbeast on 07-08-2007 10:18 PM]

Posted by bigbeast:

Posted by Vmart:

Posted by newyorknewyork:

Strong frontcourt defense is a key for a championship. Shotblocking is a great skill that aids strong frontcourt defense. Adding a shotblocker could put us in the direction of hopfully building a strong frontcourt defense. Having 4 players that play no defense and having one player who can block shots isn't going to make a good defense. But having a dominating defensive anchor in the middle could definatly make it easier for the other 4 players to play defense as long as they put the effort in.

We definatly need shotblocking though. We need an intimidator to allow our guards to push up on there opponents. Make guards heisitate a little bit from coming into the paint.

See this is the kind of stuff that drives everyone here crazy. The Knicks problem doesn't stem from Curry he is the least of your problems. The real problem with the Knicks is their perimeter defense. They ranked 4th worst in three point field goals allowed at close to 38%. Now where is Curry's problem in this equation he doesn't guard the perimeter he is a low box player and guards the opposing centers. SHot blocking is vastly overrated, here is a stat that all you Camby lovers will like a lot because if you are going to blame Curry for the teams perimeter woes then Camby has to take a hit too. Because Denver allowed a whopping 105 points per game to their opponents as opposed to 100 points per game by the KNicks. Sometimes a player could be a solid position defender but people here get enamoured with the athletic play such as a block shot. But Curry is very capable of doing that too. You guys remember the first game of last year vs Grizzlies where Curry came out of nowhere to block a shot he has that capability too but you must realize that as Curry gets better and better the refs will swallow the wistle and allow Curry to be more aggressive defensively. Lack of perimeter defense is a reason the Knicks need a guy like Artest who gives a crap if he is loony the KNicks need wins and they need them fast and the perimeter defense needs to be improved.

You make some good points, but let me play devils advocate. Usually when you have a defensive anchor/shotblocker/shot changer in the paint, it allows the perimeter D to press up on thier man with no fear of getting beat off the dribble because they know they have help behind them. So in other words, defensive help in the paint can make you a little stronger out front. Without a shotblocker/shot changer the already shaky perimeter D might lay off a little, because they dont want to get beat.




[Edited by - bigbeast on 07-08-2007 10:18 PM]

Look you know and I know that the Knicks guards were very weak on the perimeter it had nothing to do with them slacking back to help Curry or Lee for that matter they were just bad at defense. Isn't that our complaint most of the time here Jamal plays very little to no defense on his man, Marbury finally started to attempt to play defense after years of taking it off. I thought Curry played defense pretty decently last year he altered shots on many occasions. But teams were lights out with the Knicks guards they abused them every which way. Opponent guards got by them at will putting pressure more on Curry and Lee who I think did a decent job. The Knicks guards play slack defense because they know they can't stop anyone from getting close to the basket so they opt to give up the open shot and in the NBA if you allow someone to be open enough they will start to make their shots.

Posted by Vmart:

Posted by bigbeast:

Posted by Vmart:

Posted by newyorknewyork:

Strong frontcourt defense is a key for a championship. Shotblocking is a great skill that aids strong frontcourt defense. Adding a shotblocker could put us in the direction of hopfully building a strong frontcourt defense. Having 4 players that play no defense and having one player who can block shots isn't going to make a good defense. But having a dominating defensive anchor in the middle could definatly make it easier for the other 4 players to play defense as long as they put the effort in.

We definatly need shotblocking though. We need an intimidator to allow our guards to push up on there opponents. Make guards heisitate a little bit from coming into the paint.

See this is the kind of stuff that drives everyone here crazy. The Knicks problem doesn't stem from Curry he is the least of your problems. The real problem with the Knicks is their perimeter defense. They ranked 4th worst in three point field goals allowed at close to 38%. Now where is Curry's problem in this equation he doesn't guard the perimeter he is a low box player and guards the opposing centers. SHot blocking is vastly overrated, here is a stat that all you Camby lovers will like a lot because if you are going to blame Curry for the teams perimeter woes then Camby has to take a hit too. Because Denver allowed a whopping 105 points per game to their opponents as opposed to 100 points per game by the KNicks. Sometimes a player could be a solid position defender but people here get enamoured with the athletic play such as a block shot. But Curry is very capable of doing that too. You guys remember the first game of last year vs Grizzlies where Curry came out of nowhere to block a shot he has that capability too but you must realize that as Curry gets better and better the refs will swallow the wistle and allow Curry to be more aggressive defensively. Lack of perimeter defense is a reason the Knicks need a guy like Artest who gives a crap if he is loony the KNicks need wins and they need them fast and the perimeter defense needs to be improved.

You make some good points, but let me play devils advocate. Usually when you have a defensive anchor/shotblocker/shot changer in the paint, it allows the perimeter D to press up on thier man with no fear of getting beat off the dribble because they know they have help behind them. So in other words, defensive help in the paint can make you a little stronger out front. Without a shotblocker/shot changer the already shaky perimeter D might lay off a little, because they dont want to get beat.




[Edited by - bigbeast on 07-08-2007 10:18 PM]

Look you know and I know that the Knicks guards were very weak on the perimeter it had nothing to do with them slacking back to help Curry or Lee for that matter they were just bad at defense. Isn't that our complaint most of the time here Jamal plays very little to no defense on his man, Marbury finally started to attempt to play defense after years of taking it off. I thought Curry played defense pretty decently last year he altered shots on many occasions. But teams were lights out with the Knicks guards they abused them every which way. Opponent guards got by them at will putting pressure more on Curry and Lee who I think did a decent job. The Knicks guards play slack defense because they know they can't stop anyone from getting close to the basket so they opt to give up the open shot and in the NBA if you allow someone to be open enough they will start to make their shots.

There is no denying our perimeter D was horrendous. But as far as Curry is concerend, he needs to stop playing with a fear of fouling. I notice from time to time that when a player darts into the lane, Curry pulls up a little, seeming to fear making body contact because he's used to getting ticky-tack fouls called on him. Curry will throw his arm up, but he sometimes pulls his body away making him smaller and his length shorter if that makes any sense.

This is something that Curry can easily overcome. As I said, Curry is a player that has been getting in foul trouble since he entered the league. Because of that, I think it makes him cautious at times on the D because he doesn't want to foul out. Curry's low-post improvement last season (far less offensive fouls) shows that he can and is willing to learn and can improve. But he has to want it. You can tell he wanted to be a dominant offensive player the way he played last year.

But Isiah needs to let him know that we have enough fire power now (with Zach here) that it is okay to take a few chances on the Defensive end, depending on the game situation (clock, points we are ahead or down, fouls he already has, momentum, etc). Once Eddy understands the game better, he will know when he can jump out of his shoes going for a block to save a key basket, or when to let up because he has 4 fouls, or we are up double figures etc....The way Eddy improved last year, I have doubt that he can improve on the other side of the ball.

[Edited by - bigbeast on 07-08-2007 10:42 PM]

Posted by Bippity10:

If we go by stats, nothing with our team is that bad. But if you pay attention the games and see the amount of uncontested lay-ups, dunks and three pointers we give up during crucial runs and stops you would realize that we have a long way to go on the defensive end.