mrKnickShot wrote:

DJMUSIC wrote:

Papabear wrote:Papabear Says

I'm getting a little sick and tired of the Melo Haters knocking every thing this man is doing. If we want a championship we will need Melo no matter how you feel. I do believe that with some it's not about winning a championship because if you had a choice of Melo being gone and not having a chance of a Championship you would just rather loose. Listen I like Lins game but if he makes Melo unhappy you better believe Lin will sit. And the crap about him ignoring Melo on the court is totally wrong. Cut the man some slack. If Melo had to take a piss some of you would find something to complain about that. The Chemistry with the team is good. Let it alone

Well Said!

Couldn't agree with you more 199%
Melo has bad bad poor season. If that wasn't the case highlighting his poor play and some bad court decision
this career ppg/avg 27pt if Melo was playing like 1/2 his career totals we'd not be talking about.
Same goes for Amare 'zilch' Stoudemire season which seems to be coming along positively & finally.

The haters would vanish, NY would be 6-7 over .500 and we may have had this coach finish the yr.
Melo got no credit for facing the fire storms and answer all interviews never running away from the heat.
That's stand up guy to me, as a knick fan

Yes! I remember all the years they KILLED!! Eli Manning. How bad of a trade we made with SD. He just has such bad awwww shucks expressions blah blah blah

He dealt with this crap everyday and never said anything in the media and handled himself with class while the brutal NY fans killed him (as they did Ewing relentlessly).

Lotta haters in NY and there always will be. And, the only way to appease them is to win it all. Just ask Eli Manning. NY fans woulda traded him back for Philip Rivers in a heartbeat. Now? Maybe not. Oh sure - now they'd say "I always loved Eli - I never did not like him I just wanted him to play better and show that he cared more"

Same sh1t different player.

He wanted to come here to "win" and team up with other stars like in Miami, but the first thing that happened was he got a big extension insuring we couldnt get another max player. We got lucky being able to amnesty Billups and sign Chandler. If not for that provision in the new CBA (added after Melo's extension) then Jarred Jeffries is the starting center for the forseeable Melo ara

He created a toxic environment w/ the coach and it killed the team chemisty. Was MDA partly to blame? Of course! All relationships go both ways, but MDA was not supported by ownership so it was up to Melo to make it work. He opted to pout and be smug and magically play much better the day after the coach was fired.

We traded for Melo to compete with the elite team because you need stars to win right? He had like 1 and a half great playoff games vs. Boston and in the end was beat and outplayed in crunch time by Paul Pierce.

Oh.. on the playoffs? He's a combined 16-30. 1-4, 1-4, 1-4, 1-4, 0-4, 10-6, 2-4. But sure... lets keep pretending this the playoff tested horse to ride deep into the playoffs. Funny how MDA's "system" was regarded as not suitable for a playoff run.

I would say most non kool-aid drinking Knick fans have every right to be critical of Melo. He's done nothing for the Knicks thats memorable or for his old team for that matter. When Miami got Lebron he was an MVP and went deep into the playoffs every year. Also Lebron CHANGED his game under new coach to improve his defense among other things.

Im a Knick fan and I root for the Knicks to play well and win games. When Melo is playing well he's an enjoyable player to have on the team. He's the most talented player he have. He's the player we gave up the most to get. He's the player we have built this team around for better or for worse, but to me Melo has EVERYTHING to prove.

Melo has to prove he's a team first player and able to lead a team (even if just play playing well) on a playoff run.

Melo has to prove he can play a SERIES and win against elite NBA players or those here would consider his "peers"

To me its simple, the Knicks need a deep playoff run. If we lose to the Bulls or Heat in 6-7 game in the EConf finals OK.. it happens. If we lose to the Bulls or Heat in the first round 1-4 and Melo has a couple great scoring games in losing efforts I could give two fying craps. We could have done that just fine with Gallo and Will Chandler.

fishmike wrote:On Melo:
We gave up good players to get him. The team's record is well below .500 with him on the floor. So his impact on the floor as a "star" player has been very Marbury like.

He wanted to come here to "win" and team up with other stars like in Miami, but the first thing that happened was he got a big extension insuring we couldnt get another max player. We got lucky being able to amnesty Billups and sign Chandler. If not for that provision in the new CBA (added after Melo's extension) then Jarred Jeffries is the starting center for the forseeable Melo ara

He created a toxic environment w/ the coach and it killed the team chemisty. Was MDA partly to blame? Of course! All relationships go both ways, but MDA was not supported by ownership so it was up to Melo to make it work. He opted to pout and be smug and magically play much better the day after the coach was fired.

We traded for Melo to compete with the elite team because you need stars to win right? He had like 1 and a half great playoff games vs. Boston and in the end was beat and outplayed in crunch time by Paul Pierce.

Oh.. on the playoffs? He's a combined 16-30. 1-4, 1-4, 1-4, 1-4, 0-4, 10-6, 2-4. But sure... lets keep pretending this the playoff tested horse to ride deep into the playoffs. Funny how MDA's "system" was regarded as not suitable for a playoff run.

I would say most non kool-aid drinking Knick fans have every right to be critical of Melo. He's done nothing for the Knicks thats memorable or for his old team for that matter. When Miami got Lebron he was an MVP and went deep into the playoffs every year. Also Lebron CHANGED his game under new coach to improve his defense among other things.

Im a Knick fan and I root for the Knicks to play well and win games. When Melo is playing well he's an enjoyable player to have on the team. He's the most talented player he have. He's the player we gave up the most to get. He's the player we have built this team around for better or for worse, but to me Melo has EVERYTHING to prove.

Melo has to prove he's a team first player and able to lead a team (even if just play playing well) on a playoff run.

Melo has to prove he can play a SERIES and win against elite NBA players or those here would consider his "peers"

To me its simple, the Knicks need a deep playoff run. If we lose to the Bulls or Heat in 6-7 game in the EConf finals OK.. it happens. If we lose to the Bulls or Heat in the first round 1-4 and Melo has a couple great scoring games in losing efforts I could give two fying craps. We could have done that just fine with Gallo and Will Chandler.

SupremeCommander wrote:

Bonn1997 wrote:

fishmike wrote:On Melo:
We gave up good players to get him. The team's record is well below .500 with him on the floor. So his impact on the floor as a "star" player has been very Marbury like.

He wanted to come here to "win" and team up with other stars like in Miami, but the first thing that happened was he got a big extension insuring we couldnt get another max player. We got lucky being able to amnesty Billups and sign Chandler. If not for that provision in the new CBA (added after Melo's extension) then Jarred Jeffries is the starting center for the forseeable Melo ara

He created a toxic environment w/ the coach and it killed the team chemisty. Was MDA partly to blame? Of course! All relationships go both ways, but MDA was not supported by ownership so it was up to Melo to make it work. He opted to pout and be smug and magically play much better the day after the coach was fired.

We traded for Melo to compete with the elite team because you need stars to win right? He had like 1 and a half great playoff games vs. Boston and in the end was beat and outplayed in crunch time by Paul Pierce.

Oh.. on the playoffs? He's a combined 16-30. 1-4, 1-4, 1-4, 1-4, 0-4, 10-6, 2-4. But sure... lets keep pretending this the playoff tested horse to ride deep into the playoffs. Funny how MDA's "system" was regarded as not suitable for a playoff run.

I would say most non kool-aid drinking Knick fans have every right to be critical of Melo. He's done nothing for the Knicks thats memorable or for his old team for that matter. When Miami got Lebron he was an MVP and went deep into the playoffs every year. Also Lebron CHANGED his game under new coach to improve his defense among other things.

Im a Knick fan and I root for the Knicks to play well and win games. When Melo is playing well he's an enjoyable player to have on the team. He's the most talented player he have. He's the player we gave up the most to get. He's the player we have built this team around for better or for worse, but to me Melo has EVERYTHING to prove.

Melo has to prove he's a team first player and able to lead a team (even if just play playing well) on a playoff run.

Melo has to prove he can play a SERIES and win against elite NBA players or those here would consider his "peers"

To me its simple, the Knicks need a deep playoff run. If we lose to the Bulls or Heat in 6-7 game in the EConf finals OK.. it happens. If we lose to the Bulls or Heat in the first round 1-4 and Melo has a couple great scoring games in losing efforts I could give two fying craps. We could have done that just fine with Gallo and Will Chandler.

I can definitely respect your view here. A lot of people who initially defended Melo are so caught up on continuing to defending him and it's puzzling to me. He hasn't done anything to justify the support some here give him.

I think it has to do with the fact that pro-Melo crowd was anti-Pringles, while the anti-Melo crowd tended to be pro-Pringles. While that isn't universal, I'd say there was a lot of irrational support for Pringles too. Definitely gald that era is dead.

But as for the Melo support, there are posters here that blindly support him and there are posters that will never factor what he does well into the analysis. both are equally as puzzling/frustrating

You can undo MDA. You can undo Woodson. Mistakes with talent are tougher to overcome.

I thought the Melo trade was a mistake. Too much talent going out. Too many pieces. Too flawed a player to put all your chips into, with too weak a body of work (playoffs) to show he could hang with the big boys.

Im not hoping for the guy to fail to validate my (usually wrong) opinion. I just call it like I see it. I hope he wins us many titles. You need a go to scorer, you just do. He can certainly fill that roll and this GM has done a great job (luck or otherwise) in building the roster around him.

fishmike wrote:

mrKnickShot wrote:

DJMUSIC wrote:

Papabear wrote:Papabear Says

I'm getting a little sick and tired of the Melo Haters knocking every thing this man is doing. If we want a championship we will need Melo no matter how you feel. I do believe that with some it's not about winning a championship because if you had a choice of Melo being gone and not having a chance of a Championship you would just rather loose. Listen I like Lins game but if he makes Melo unhappy you better believe Lin will sit. And the crap about him ignoring Melo on the court is totally wrong. Cut the man some slack. If Melo had to take a piss some of you would find something to complain about that. The Chemistry with the team is good. Let it alone

Well Said!

Couldn't agree with you more 199%
Melo has bad bad poor season. If that wasn't the case highlighting his poor play and some bad court decision
this career ppg/avg 27pt if Melo was playing like 1/2 his career totals we'd not be talking about.
Same goes for Amare 'zilch' Stoudemire season which seems to be coming along positively & finally.

The haters would vanish, NY would be 6-7 over .500 and we may have had this coach finish the yr.
Melo got no credit for facing the fire storms and answer all interviews never running away from the heat.
That's stand up guy to me, as a knick fan

Yes! I remember all the years they KILLED!! Eli Manning. How bad of a trade we made with SD. He just has such bad awwww shucks expressions blah blah blah

He dealt with this crap everyday and never said anything in the media and handled himself with class while the brutal NY fans killed him (as they did Ewing relentlessly).

Lotta haters in NY and there always will be. And, the only way to appease them is to win it all. Just ask Eli Manning. NY fans woulda traded him back for Philip Rivers in a heartbeat. Now? Maybe not. Oh sure - now they'd say "I always loved Eli - I never did not like him I just wanted him to play better and show that he cared more"

Same sh1t different player.

Did Eli ever quit on a coach? And in doing so quit on his team? Comparing those two is insane, they are nothing alike.

I did not compare them - read again. I compared the way the media treats its players but read and comprehend as you wish. Quit on his team? I don't know - but its good propaganda.

fishmike wrote:

SupremeCommander wrote:

Bonn1997 wrote:

fishmike wrote:On Melo:
We gave up good players to get him. The team's record is well below .500 with him on the floor. So his impact on the floor as a "star" player has been very Marbury like.

He wanted to come here to "win" and team up with other stars like in Miami, but the first thing that happened was he got a big extension insuring we couldnt get another max player. We got lucky being able to amnesty Billups and sign Chandler. If not for that provision in the new CBA (added after Melo's extension) then Jarred Jeffries is the starting center for the forseeable Melo ara

He created a toxic environment w/ the coach and it killed the team chemisty. Was MDA partly to blame? Of course! All relationships go both ways, but MDA was not supported by ownership so it was up to Melo to make it work. He opted to pout and be smug and magically play much better the day after the coach was fired.

We traded for Melo to compete with the elite team because you need stars to win right? He had like 1 and a half great playoff games vs. Boston and in the end was beat and outplayed in crunch time by Paul Pierce.

Oh.. on the playoffs? He's a combined 16-30. 1-4, 1-4, 1-4, 1-4, 0-4, 10-6, 2-4. But sure... lets keep pretending this the playoff tested horse to ride deep into the playoffs. Funny how MDA's "system" was regarded as not suitable for a playoff run.

I would say most non kool-aid drinking Knick fans have every right to be critical of Melo. He's done nothing for the Knicks thats memorable or for his old team for that matter. When Miami got Lebron he was an MVP and went deep into the playoffs every year. Also Lebron CHANGED his game under new coach to improve his defense among other things.

Im a Knick fan and I root for the Knicks to play well and win games. When Melo is playing well he's an enjoyable player to have on the team. He's the most talented player he have. He's the player we gave up the most to get. He's the player we have built this team around for better or for worse, but to me Melo has EVERYTHING to prove.

Melo has to prove he's a team first player and able to lead a team (even if just play playing well) on a playoff run.

Melo has to prove he can play a SERIES and win against elite NBA players or those here would consider his "peers"

To me its simple, the Knicks need a deep playoff run. If we lose to the Bulls or Heat in 6-7 game in the EConf finals OK.. it happens. If we lose to the Bulls or Heat in the first round 1-4 and Melo has a couple great scoring games in losing efforts I could give two fying craps. We could have done that just fine with Gallo and Will Chandler.

I can definitely respect your view here. A lot of people who initially defended Melo are so caught up on continuing to defending him and it's puzzling to me. He hasn't done anything to justify the support some here give him.

I think it has to do with the fact that pro-Melo crowd was anti-Pringles, while the anti-Melo crowd tended to be pro-Pringles. While that isn't universal, I'd say there was a lot of irrational support for Pringles too. Definitely gald that era is dead.

But as for the Melo support, there are posters here that blindly support him and there are posters that will never factor what he does well into the analysis. both are equally as puzzling/frustrating

getting in bed as (or in the truck) with a player is bigger commitment as a team. Coaches are as replaceable as we have seen over recent years. Talent, and the right kind of talent is the hardest thing to get. we gave up a lot of talent to get Melo, and a lot of players a lot of people here were pretty high on in Felton/Gallo/Mosgov/Chandler.

You can undo MDA. You can undo Woodson. Mistakes with talent are tougher to overcome.

I thought the Melo trade was a mistake. Too much talent going out. Too many pieces. Too flawed a player to put all your chips into, with too weak a body of work (playoffs) to show he could hang with the big boys.

Im not hoping for the guy to fail to validate my (usually wrong) opinion. I just call it like I see it. I hope he wins us many titles. You need a go to scorer, you just do. He can certainly fill that roll and this GM has done a great job (luck or otherwise) in building the roster around him.

I agree/empathize with everything that you said except that the trade was a mistake. I think the Knicks paid retail for, when he's hitting his career averages, one of the top 10 players in the league. I wish the Knicks could have paid what the Lakers paid for Gasol or what the Celtics paid for Garnett but this is the Knicks, expect the worst.

I do think the team's ceiling is higher with Melo than without him. The current trend isn't where I'd like it to be, but I don't think Melo has even been here 82 games. I think everyone agreed that Pringles' lesh should be somewhere between two and four full seasons before he was judged. Shouldn't that standard be applied to Melo as well?

SupremeCommander wrote:

fishmike wrote:

SupremeCommander wrote:

Bonn1997 wrote:

fishmike wrote:On Melo:
We gave up good players to get him. The team's record is well below .500 with him on the floor. So his impact on the floor as a "star" player has been very Marbury like.

He wanted to come here to "win" and team up with other stars like in Miami, but the first thing that happened was he got a big extension insuring we couldnt get another max player. We got lucky being able to amnesty Billups and sign Chandler. If not for that provision in the new CBA (added after Melo's extension) then Jarred Jeffries is the starting center for the forseeable Melo ara

He created a toxic environment w/ the coach and it killed the team chemisty. Was MDA partly to blame? Of course! All relationships go both ways, but MDA was not supported by ownership so it was up to Melo to make it work. He opted to pout and be smug and magically play much better the day after the coach was fired.

We traded for Melo to compete with the elite team because you need stars to win right? He had like 1 and a half great playoff games vs. Boston and in the end was beat and outplayed in crunch time by Paul Pierce.

Oh.. on the playoffs? He's a combined 16-30. 1-4, 1-4, 1-4, 1-4, 0-4, 10-6, 2-4. But sure... lets keep pretending this the playoff tested horse to ride deep into the playoffs. Funny how MDA's "system" was regarded as not suitable for a playoff run.

I would say most non kool-aid drinking Knick fans have every right to be critical of Melo. He's done nothing for the Knicks thats memorable or for his old team for that matter. When Miami got Lebron he was an MVP and went deep into the playoffs every year. Also Lebron CHANGED his game under new coach to improve his defense among other things.

Im a Knick fan and I root for the Knicks to play well and win games. When Melo is playing well he's an enjoyable player to have on the team. He's the most talented player he have. He's the player we gave up the most to get. He's the player we have built this team around for better or for worse, but to me Melo has EVERYTHING to prove.

Melo has to prove he's a team first player and able to lead a team (even if just play playing well) on a playoff run.

Melo has to prove he can play a SERIES and win against elite NBA players or those here would consider his "peers"

To me its simple, the Knicks need a deep playoff run. If we lose to the Bulls or Heat in 6-7 game in the EConf finals OK.. it happens. If we lose to the Bulls or Heat in the first round 1-4 and Melo has a couple great scoring games in losing efforts I could give two fying craps. We could have done that just fine with Gallo and Will Chandler.

I can definitely respect your view here. A lot of people who initially defended Melo are so caught up on continuing to defending him and it's puzzling to me. He hasn't done anything to justify the support some here give him.

I think it has to do with the fact that pro-Melo crowd was anti-Pringles, while the anti-Melo crowd tended to be pro-Pringles. While that isn't universal, I'd say there was a lot of irrational support for Pringles too. Definitely gald that era is dead.

But as for the Melo support, there are posters here that blindly support him and there are posters that will never factor what he does well into the analysis. both are equally as puzzling/frustrating

getting in bed as (or in the truck) with a player is bigger commitment as a team. Coaches are as replaceable as we have seen over recent years. Talent, and the right kind of talent is the hardest thing to get. we gave up a lot of talent to get Melo, and a lot of players a lot of people here were pretty high on in Felton/Gallo/Mosgov/Chandler.

You can undo MDA. You can undo Woodson. Mistakes with talent are tougher to overcome.

I thought the Melo trade was a mistake. Too much talent going out. Too many pieces. Too flawed a player to put all your chips into, with too weak a body of work (playoffs) to show he could hang with the big boys.

Im not hoping for the guy to fail to validate my (usually wrong) opinion. I just call it like I see it. I hope he wins us many titles. You need a go to scorer, you just do. He can certainly fill that roll and this GM has done a great job (luck or otherwise) in building the roster around him.

I agree/empathize with everything that you said except that the trade was a mistake. I think the Knicks paid retail for, when he's hitting his career averages, one of the top 10 players in the league. I wish the Knicks could have paid what the Lakers paid for Gasol or what the Celtics paid for Garnett but this is the Knicks, expect the worst.

I do think the team's ceiling is higher with Melo than without him. The current trend isn't where I'd like it to be, but I don't think Melo has even been here 82 games. I think everyone agreed that Pringles' lesh should be somewhere between two and four full seasons before he was judged. Shouldn't that standard be applied to Melo as well?

Heat went to the finals first year of Lebron/Bosh. Boston won a title first year of KG/Allen. Knicks went to finals first year with Spree. No... if the talent is there and the team is playing well the time is now, always now.

If the Knicks lose to the Bulls in first round this year they arent beating them next year because we will have a whole year of Mike Woodson/Melo together to make the team better.

mrKnickShot wrote:

fishmike wrote:did Melo give the same effort to MDA's teams he has under Woodson? The answer is no. Its really not up for debate. Now that doesnt mean Melo quit. He may have been frustrated. He may have been distracted. He may have been thinking of Lala's boobs everytime he saw MDA's stache. It doesnt matter. What matters is Melo didnt play as hard for MDA and in turn didnt play hard for the team.

Not giving max effort is really the ultimate knock on any player. Better players than Melo have run coaches out of town. It happens.

Thats fair. As I have always said, Melo gets alot of blame here and he was a baby. But, he does not got all the blame dumped on him. That is the only thing that I have contention with.

jrodmc wrote:[...]

By the way, martin, I don't know if it's been mentioned already, but we need a Woody icon. Maybe a log with a goatee?

courtesy of eViL

fishmike wrote:

jrodmc wrote:Melo will now get all the displaced MDA hate, as well as the Starbury hate he's inherited.

How about you support him because of the uniform he wears?

Is he a locker room cancer?

Is he pouting and causing back page fodder?

Does he sit on the bench continually with a towel over his head?

Is he having pointlessness displayed with his cornrows?

Can't we all go just go back to hating Miami and Dolan?

Melo is immature. Melo can be selfish. Wow. We. At one point the guy on this team I most enjoyed watching was coming off a suspension for choking his coach.

After getting flamed by the Isiah/Marbury Knick fans are gunshy, but Melo and Marbury are nothing alike. Look at Melo with his teammates. They like him. Like jrod said this guy is no cancer. A baby maybe so who cares. The team is playing well, and its a good team and a likable team.

Wow Fishmike. I did not realize you were one of the ones who is not totally one sided and can actually be fair. I apologize for pre-judging.

fishmike wrote:

SupremeCommander wrote:

Bonn1997 wrote:

fishmike wrote:On Melo:
We gave up good players to get him. The team's record is well below .500 with him on the floor. So his impact on the floor as a "star" player has been very Marbury like.

He wanted to come here to "win" and team up with other stars like in Miami, but the first thing that happened was he got a big extension insuring we couldnt get another max player. We got lucky being able to amnesty Billups and sign Chandler. If not for that provision in the new CBA (added after Melo's extension) then Jarred Jeffries is the starting center for the forseeable Melo ara

He created a toxic environment w/ the coach and it killed the team chemisty. Was MDA partly to blame? Of course! All relationships go both ways, but MDA was not supported by ownership so it was up to Melo to make it work. He opted to pout and be smug and magically play much better the day after the coach was fired.

We traded for Melo to compete with the elite team because you need stars to win right? He had like 1 and a half great playoff games vs. Boston and in the end was beat and outplayed in crunch time by Paul Pierce.

Oh.. on the playoffs? He's a combined 16-30. 1-4, 1-4, 1-4, 1-4, 0-4, 10-6, 2-4. But sure... lets keep pretending this the playoff tested horse to ride deep into the playoffs. Funny how MDA's "system" was regarded as not suitable for a playoff run.

I would say most non kool-aid drinking Knick fans have every right to be critical of Melo. He's done nothing for the Knicks thats memorable or for his old team for that matter. When Miami got Lebron he was an MVP and went deep into the playoffs every year. Also Lebron CHANGED his game under new coach to improve his defense among other things.

Im a Knick fan and I root for the Knicks to play well and win games. When Melo is playing well he's an enjoyable player to have on the team. He's the most talented player he have. He's the player we gave up the most to get. He's the player we have built this team around for better or for worse, but to me Melo has EVERYTHING to prove.

Melo has to prove he's a team first player and able to lead a team (even if just play playing well) on a playoff run.

Melo has to prove he can play a SERIES and win against elite NBA players or those here would consider his "peers"

To me its simple, the Knicks need a deep playoff run. If we lose to the Bulls or Heat in 6-7 game in the EConf finals OK.. it happens. If we lose to the Bulls or Heat in the first round 1-4 and Melo has a couple great scoring games in losing efforts I could give two fying craps. We could have done that just fine with Gallo and Will Chandler.

I can definitely respect your view here. A lot of people who initially defended Melo are so caught up on continuing to defending him and it's puzzling to me. He hasn't done anything to justify the support some here give him.

I think it has to do with the fact that pro-Melo crowd was anti-Pringles, while the anti-Melo crowd tended to be pro-Pringles. While that isn't universal, I'd say there was a lot of irrational support for Pringles too. Definitely gald that era is dead.

But as for the Melo support, there are posters here that blindly support him and there are posters that will never factor what he does well into the analysis. both are equally as puzzling/frustrating

getting in bed as (or in the truck) with a player is bigger commitment as a team. Coaches are as replaceable as we have seen over recent years. Talent, and the right kind of talent is the hardest thing to get. we gave up a lot of talent to get Melo, and a lot of players a lot of people here were pretty high on in Felton/Gallo/Mosgov/Chandler.

You can undo MDA. You can undo Woodson. Mistakes with talent are tougher to overcome.

I thought the Melo trade was a mistake. Too much talent going out. Too many pieces. Too flawed a player to put all your chips into, with too weak a body of work (playoffs) to show he could hang with the big boys.

Im not hoping for the guy to fail to validate my (usually wrong) opinion. I just call it like I see it. I hope he wins us many titles. You need a go to scorer, you just do. He can certainly fill that roll and this GM has done a great job (luck or otherwise) in building the roster around him.

good posts, fish.

i've gone back and forth on the trade a number of times. i think it essentially boils down to melo for gallo and wilson, honestly. which i think you have to do.

the playoffs do come down to winning in crunch time. with melo, the knicks have one of the best one on one players in the league at late game situations. the guy is clutch. he doesn't fear late game situations, he relishes them. that's huge. the problem is getting him to play defense in the middle of the third quarter in milwaukee in the middle of february. the great ones bring it every day. melo has to prove he can bring the effort every day.

he has to prove he can lead a team or pick a team up in the playoffs. he has some serious help in Lin and Tyson and the rest of the team, but particularly Lin and Tyson are guys who can make his life easier and help make his game better.

i think the knicks HAVE to win a round of the playoffs this year. they HAVE to get to the second round. that's just all there is to it.