Was Jermaine O'Neal a rookie after 5 years?

arkrud wrote:Hopefully you are right.
But if Lin will dig them out of the basement and iso-Melo offense will struggle... it wil be a lot of sad and very angry faces around MSG.

arkrud - Jeremy Lin would need to be the second coming of Micheal Jordan to rescue the Houston Rockets by himself, and even if he was MJ, he would need help.

no matter what happens, there will ALWAYS be sad and angry faces around MSG. The tickets are expensive and the pretzels ain't cheap.

The Answer Man will guarantee that the moment:

- Pablo Prigioni fires his first no-look pass in heavy traffic to Tyson Chandler...

- Ronnie Brewer starts a fast break with an acrobatic shot block...

- Ray Felton turns to the crowd and "pimps out" his Knicks jersey after diving into the first row for a loose ball...

- Marcus Camby hits Steve Novak with a bounce pass in rhythm and the entire lower bowl stands in anticipation...

- Kurt Thomas knocks Chris Bosh sideways with a crisp elbow to the ribs

- and Jason Kidd drains a three from the top of the key to win a game.

those frowns will be turned upside down and "you know who" will be a distant memory.

Want some evidence to get excited about?

http://www.nba.com/knicks/

"Team USA Cruises Past France"

Note how chiseled Carmelo's jawbone is in the feature photograph. Not an ounce of baby fat under his chin. Compare it with the posed inset photo (with Tyson Chandler) underneath. It would appear that the comments of the USA coaching staff (Coach K and Jim Boeheim) about his conditioning might be the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth.

Starting November 13 the Knicks play 7 of 10 games on the road to close the first mont of the season.

Bonding moments anyone?

djsunyc wrote:"good morning ray felton" - said by the krispy kreme cashier at 730am.
"good morning jason kidd" - said by officer jones at 8am as bail has been posted.
"good morning kurt, marcus and pablo" - said by my 86 year old grandmother at 430am as everyone in that age group wakes up at that time for some tai chi in the park

djsunyc wrote:"good morning ray felton" - said by the krispy kreme cashier at 730am.
"good morning jason kidd" - said by officer jones at 8am as bail has been posted.
"good morning kurt, marcus and pablo" - said by my 86 year old grandmother at 430am as everyone in that age group wakes up at that time for some tai chi in the park

Your grandmother may be more flexible than Kurt!

DJ,

A raptor fan for life are you?

djsunyc wrote:crush - championships are for the extremely lucky. expecting them or thinking you deserve them take away from the entire fan experience.

nalod - the great white north has been my team since 06. i've changed as a fan and i'm rolling with the raptors. hope we challenge for the playoffs this year. they play bk the 2nd game of the season in the barclays - i'll be there. we don't face y'all until feb/mar...

By Ian Begley | ESPNNewYork.com Recommend0Tweet0Comments274EmailPrint

There were plenty of question marks surrounding the Knicks heading into the offseason. They didn't have a coach, didn't have a lot of money to spend and had some significant roster issues to address.

The one sure thing, supposedly, was that Jeremy Lin would be back.

We all know how that turned out.

Lin's gone, but GM Glen Grunwald added several major pieces over the summer.

How did he do? Does he deserve an "A" in his second summer as the Knicks' GM? Or something less flattering?

Let's take a quick look at his moves:

BRINGING BACK WOODY: The Knicks brought interim coach Mike Woodson back on a three-year deal. The organization didn't conduct much of a coaching search. The Knicks never reached out to Phil Jackson or formally interviewed any candidates other than Woodson.

THE BIG QUESTION: Was the Knicks' 18-6 record under Woodson in the regular season an anomaly or the norm? Can he guide a team past the second round of the playoffs, something he couldn't accomplish in Atlanta?

SIGNING JAMES WHITE: High-flyer and European standout hopes to make an impact off the bench.

THE BIG QUESTION: Can White do more than just dunk?

SmithRE-SIGNED J.R. SMITH: The Knicks brought Smith back on a cheap two-year deal (player option in the second year). The contract gives New York Smith's early Bird Rights if they choose to re-sign him next season.

THE BIG QUESTION: Can Smith score with enough consistency to be a valuable weapon off the bench? Or does he start in front of Ronnie Brewer?

KiddSIGNING JASON KIDD: The 39-year-old point guard made waves when he chose to sign with New York over Mark Cuban's Mavs. Kidd signed for the tax-payer's exception ($3.09 million over three years) and is expected to back up Raymond Felton. Shortly after his introductory news conference, Kidd was charged with DWI after a one-car accident in the Hamptons.

THE BIG QUESTION: Does Kidd have enough left in the tank to give the Knicks quality minutes behind Felton? Can he still guard anyone? Does he have the gravitas to get Carmelo Anthony and Amare Stoudemire on the same page?

NovakBRINGING BACK NOVAK: Grunwald gave Novak a four-year $15 million deal, rewarding him for an unbelievable run last season.

THE BIG QUESTION: Can Novak re-create the magic of last year, when he led the NBA in 3-point field goal percentage? Has he improved his catch-and-shoot game and his ability to get his shot off the dribble?

CambyTRADING FOR CAMBY: Grunwald acquired the veteran big man and former Knick from Houston for Toney Douglas, Josh Harrellson, Jerome Jordan and two future second-round draft picks.

THE BIG QUESTION: Did the Knicks overpay for Camby or will he prove to be a valuable piece off the bench behind Tyson Chandler and Stoudemire?

SIGNING PRIGIONI: The Knicks inked Pablo Prigioni, a 35-year-old veteran of European hoops, to fill in as the third-string point guard.

THE BIG QUESTION: How does Prigioni's pass-first game translate to the NBA? At 35, can he provide quality minutes if called upon?

FeltonTRADING FOR FELTON: Grunwald acquired Felton and Kurt Thomas from Portland in a sign-and-trade for Jared Jeffries, Dan Gadzuric, the draft rights to Kostas Papanikolaou and Giorgos Printezis, and a protected future second-round draft pick.

THE BIG QUESTION: Will the Knicks get the Felton they had in 2010-11 (17 ppg, 9 assists) or the overweight Felton who struggled in Portland for much of last season?

LinLETTING LIN WALK: The Knicks opted not to match the Rockets' three-year, $25 million offer to Lin. They ultimately deemed that Lin wasn't worth the money, particularly $14.8 million in the third season. This wasn't necessarily Grunwald's call though, as owner James Dolan likely made the final decision on Lin. Either way, Linsanity is over in New York.

THE BIG QUESTION: Will it continue in Houston? Can Lin duplicate last season's remarkable run with the Rockets? If he does, and Felton struggles, will the Knicks regret their decision to let Lin go?

BrewerBRINGING IN BREWER: Grunwald brought in former Bull Ronnie Brewer Jr. for the veteran's minimum. The 6-6 guard brings a strong defensive presence to New York, particularly on the perimeter.

THE BIG QUESTION: Will Brewer start or do the Knicks give the starting nod to Smith and bring Brewer off the bench?

• • •

Grunwald will likely add one more player before training camp, but in looking at what he's done so far, we give Grunwald a B-minus. Solid moves given the circumstances, but still plenty of question marks heading into the season.

What do you think? What grade would you give Grunwald?

You can follow Ian Begley on Twitter.

A+++++++++++

crzymdups wrote:

CashMoney wrote:

crzymdups wrote:

CashMoney wrote:

crzymdups wrote:Earl, how many points did Novak score in the playoffs without Lin setting him up?

How many did Novak score in Minnesota on the last possession with Lin setting him up.

I'm not really in the mood to dissect the rest point for point. I'm content to disagree with you.

Well, one last thing: hit the open man is your mantra and you tell me building around Melo is better than building around Melo AND Lin?

This team couldn't hit the open man to save it's life before Lin or after Lin.

It's funny to preach hit the open man... and demonize Lin's turnovers... which came from trying to find the open man (and more often than not succeeding)

Harping on his turnovers is a sad republican-like talking point. He had a lower turnover rate than Rondo and Nash.

De Nile ain't just a river in Egypt, but if it were a river apparently it'd run orange and blue.

Most of Lin's to's were not a result of bad passes but trying to drive towards the hoop and getting caught with no where to go. How many of Lin's 8 to's against Miaimi were due to bad passes? If you look at the highlights he was getting his pocket picked.

Lin's ast/to ratio was 1 to 1. Compre that to Nash and Rondo? Please.

Um, where did you learn to read turnover ratios?

AST/TO Ratio
Rondo 3.21
Nash 2.90
Lin 1.71 Tied for 51st in the league with Evan Turner

My bad I screwed your boy out of .71.

Turnover rate per game is almost identical between the 3 but Lin also averaged only 26.9 minutes per game and played 27 less games than Nash and 18 less than Rondo.

Assists per 48 minutes Lin #13 in the league at 11 right ahead of BARON DAVIS who was 14th at 10.9

Felton AST/TO RATIO 2.29
Turovers PG - 2.8 compared to Lin's 3.61
Assister per 48 M - 9.8

Lin has a better handle? The above says differently.

Since when do turnovers = handle? and I'm sorry, 1.71 is not the same as 1. that's about 71% off. but hey, close enough to make your point, i guess?

and Lin has a better turnover rate than Rondo and Nash, that's turnovers per 100 possessions. nash and rondo get more assists.

and, yes, lin was a rookie and nash a 15yr veteran and rondo yr veteran, so i'm not making a direct comparison.

you want to talk direct comparison, how about another rookie? kyrie irving had 1.74 assist to turnover ratio. does felton have a better handle than him too?

WOW CHECK OUT THE HANDLE!!!!!!!! PISTOL PETE IN THE MAKING!

EnySpree wrote:those videos are just as horrible as lins highlights are spectacular.....

I wonder how long Kevin McHale will tolerate stupid turnovers in Houston....how long would Lin get benched before McHale got fired?

Nah, Lin won't turn the ball over in Houston. He's only 24 and he will get better. He also has a better handle than Nash and Rondo.

CashMoney wrote:

I love how every turnover highlighted in this reel comes in the midst of games Lin was the best player on the court for the Knicks. And all games in which the Knicks won.

Yeah, he had a turnover against the Lakers. Also 38pts and 7asts and beat the Lakers at the Garden for the first time in like ten years. But yeah. He had a turnover (that was probably a foul on Fisher).

The only legit talking point the Lin haters have is one game against Miami where Wade and Lebron focused all their energy to make him look bad. Guess what? Lebron can make anyone he wants look bad. He's pretty good.