misterearl wrote:Excellent Pointnixluva wrote:We really didn't see a lot of STAT, Melo & Lin when they were all healthy. It could be really good, but we don't know, cuz it was all disconnected from the start.
nixluva - you are indeed Jedi. You understand that any basketball equation is composed of moving parts that can shift by addition or subtraction. If Amar'e and Carmelo have problems passin he ball what should we do... wail at he moon, or compliment them with guys who can move the rock at warp speed in their sleep?
The Knicks problem started in the backcourt with the indecision of Toney Douglas and finished with the futile wait for the great pumpkin.. I mean... Baron Davis. Jeremy Lin injected the team with a shot of adrenaline that was better than the best high in college. Once his legs healed, Iman Shumpert flashed more athletic ability and intensity than any Knicks yoot in recent memory.
Guards. The point being, it all starts in the backcourt and the backcourt will be fixed. Lin is a great place to start but there is more work to be done to develop two backcourt shift lines that can be trusted under pressure. Shump may not be ready until next May. The backcourt is wide open. We desperately need adroit ball handlers.
Forwards? Yes, Jared Jeffries is lovable but he is only an average (at best) passer. Josh Harrellson is s work in progress. Novak moves the crowd, but he is one-dimensional and would be wise to move better without the ball and work on his handle. Add a talented point forward like Lamar Odom and suddenly the floor becomes a playground of creativity and serendipity.
Let the auditions begin!
This is looking like truth to me misterearl.
Most of ball handling is physical, being able to hold onto the ball, dribble it, hand-eye coordination, all that.
But a lot of it, especially in the NBA, is knowing where your teammates will be, knowing what play is being run, watching a guy slip into a pick and roll and anticipating the play in progress, getting into good position. When that's happening good passes can happen. Of course, we don't have Lebron throwing one-touch, one-hand, cross court strikes, but no one else does either.
The Knicks had a tumultuous season, ups, downs, injuries, emergences, hopes, fears, inspirations, let-downs. It was very hard for the team and the organization to find traction. This was, of course, partly their own doing through previous trades and roster moves. But someone deserves some credit, because we want to KEEP 2 guys more than anyone else that were picked up off WAIVERS. Guys so used to sitting on the bench even they looked amazed on television to hit the big shots (Lin, Novak). Who knows how the team as a whole felt about this emergence. Add to the mix JR Smith, big persona, crazy game, questionable character, spotty performance. The whole game plan needed to be changed, or at least greatly adjusted. And then..
D'antoni quits and takes some others with him. Most of us are probably happy about this, but that's a lot of shaking up to do. We get an interim coach, an interim GM, and a whole of press/accusations/expectations. Now more changes to the rotations, more changes to practice, shifting egos on the team, new guys sharing the spot light and walking into practice having just had a conversation with their agent about the millions they will be making next year AND the year after that.
I say all this to add that a lot of the ability to make good decisions on the court come with preparation, reading the defense, and trusting your teammates. And that is going to come with time.
GIVE THIS CLUB TIME.
