gunsnewing wrote:

dk7th wrote:

gunsnewing wrote:Artest is trigger happy and like Melo over dribbles instead of getting the ball to the PG. Once he goes cold from 3 we will want to strangle him. Same way kidd went from hot to cold and Kidd is historically better 3pt shooter than Artest and that is not saying much.

Hey if we want to go back to dumping the ball to Melo and moving out the way we might win 50games again beating up on the lower echelon teams. But we learned from last year that you can't sacrifice playoff indentity for regular season wins

THIS^^^^^^^

Yea me and you seem to be 2 of the few fans and media who actually see the importance of setting the team up for playoffs success. The coach making millions didnt even figure it out last year. But I think he has this year. I'm surprised fans and media haven't caught on yet. Every one seems to be content with featuring Melo or playing Melo at the 4 and somehow expect things to be magically different in this years playoffs. 50wins is nothing if you are going to force feed Melo in the regular season and get exposed in the playoffs. A 2 man game has to develop between Melo and Bargnani or they might as well pack it up. Someone needs to step up when tough playoff defenses key in on stopping Melo. Instead of shooting over the quadruple team someone has to step up. Shumpert is not there yet. Who knows if jr will contribute or be serving another suspension. Bargain is the only hope. He is a bust and takes Novaks spot on the end of the bench minus the 3ball pack it up

Playing Melo at the 4 isn't why we lost in the 2nd round. Playing Melo at the 4 is the only reason we had the no.2 seed and made the 2nd round. He is our best player and you have to put your best player in the best situation to succeed, which is at the 4. I do agree that we need another player for him to develop a two man game with. Unfortunately, that person isn't on this team and I don't k know if we'll be able to acquire him (I.e. Rajon Rondo).

gunsnewing wrote:

dk7th wrote:

gunsnewing wrote:Artest is trigger happy and like Melo over dribbles instead of getting the ball to the PG. Once he goes cold from 3 we will want to strangle him. Same way kidd went from hot to cold and Kidd is historically better 3pt shooter than Artest and that is not saying much.

Hey if we want to go back to dumping the ball to Melo and moving out the way we might win 50games again beating up on the lower echelon teams. But we learned from last year that you can't sacrifice playoff indentity for regular season wins

THIS^^^^^^^

Yea me and you seem to be 2 of the few fans and media who actually see the importance of setting the team up for playoffs success. The coach making millions didnt even figure it out last year. But I think he has this year. I'm surprised fans and media haven't caught on yet. Every one seems to be content with featuring Melo or playing Melo at the 4 and somehow expect things to be magically different in this years playoffs. 50wins is nothing if you are going to force feed Melo in the regular season and get exposed in the playoffs. A 2 man game has to develop between Melo and Bargnani or they might as well pack it up. Someone needs to step up when tough playoff defenses key in on stopping Melo. Instead of shooting over the quadruple team someone has to step up. Shumpert is not there yet. Who knows if jr will contribute or be serving another suspension. Bargain is the only hope. He is a bust and takes Novaks spot on the end of the bench minus the 3ball pack it up

Playing Melo at the 4 isn't why we lost in the 2nd round. Playing Melo at the 4 is the only reason we had the no.2 seed and made the 2nd round. He is our best player and you have to put your best player in the best situation to succeed, which is at the 4. I do agree that we need another player for him to develop a two man game with. Unfortunately, that person isn't on this team and I don't k know if we'll be able to acquire him (I.e. Rajon Rondo).

NardDogNation wrote:

playa2 wrote:At the end of close games we aren't gonna stop anybody with our lack of defensive post play.

That being said in the last 5 min of a close games I'm putting Melo, Shumpert, JR, Tyson & Martin on the court

Not only is that team going to stop other teams from scoring but it is going to stop itself as well. I agree that we need to be able to stop teams during the last 5 minutes of a game but we also need to be able to score on the other end.

playa2 wrote:

NardDogNation wrote:

playa2 wrote:At the end of close games we aren't gonna stop anybody with our lack of defensive post play.

That being said in the last 5 min of a close games I'm putting Melo, Shumpert, JR, Tyson & Martin on the court

Not only is that team going to stop other teams from scoring but it is going to stop itself as well. I agree that we need to be able to stop teams during the last 5 minutes of a game but we also need to be able to score on the other end.

What do you mean ? Three guys (Melo JR and Shump) shoot the rock (they were the only guys who played in playoffs) and the other two get alley oops when teams focus on the other 3 or put back on offensive boards.

I think that that lineup would have zero ball movement and piss poor floor spacing. We'd need a true PG and only one big man in order for any of our lineups to work.

gunsnewing wrote:Melo Artest up front won't work either. Especially with Melo shooting under 40%

Thinking like a typical offensive minded fan.....Melo and Artest would be perfect. Frees up Melo from guarding the top forwards in the NBA.

CrushAlot wrote:

dk7th wrote:

gunsnewing wrote:

dk7th wrote:

gunsnewing wrote:Artest is trigger happy and like Melo over dribbles instead of getting the ball to the PG. Once he goes cold from 3 we will want to strangle him. Same way kidd went from hot to cold and Kidd is historically better 3pt shooter than Artest and that is not saying much.

Hey if we want to go back to dumping the ball to Melo and moving out the way we might win 50games again beating up on the lower echelon teams. But we learned from last year that you can't sacrifice playoff indentity for regular season wins

THIS^^^^^^^

Yea me and you seem to be 2 of the few fans and media who actually see the importance of setting the team up for playoffs success. The coach making millions didnt even figure it out last year. But I think he has this year. I'm surprised fans and media haven't caught on yet. Every one seems to be content with featuring Melo or playing Melo at the 4 and somehow expect things to be magically different in this years playoffs. 50wins is nothing if you are going to force feed Melo in the regular season and get exposed in the playoffs. A 2 man game has to develop between Melo and Bargnani or they might as well pack it up. Someone needs to step up when tough playoff defenses key in on stopping Melo. Instead of shooting over the quadruple team someone has to step up. Shumpert is not there yet. Who knows if jr will contribute or be serving another suspension. Bargain is the only hope. He is a bust and takes Novaks spot on the end of the bench minus the 3ball pack it up

every time i have said it's not THAT you win but HOW you win that matters it seemed to be dismissed. if you are not viewing the games with the question "does this look like a legitimate playoff team?" in mind then you will be easily fooled by the glitter.

a team needs to look cohesive, focussed, adaptable, resilient and it is up to the coach to figure out which lineup can win the war of attrition and stifling that the playoffs are. woodson does not appear to get that and it does not help that the roster remains clumsy.

felton and melo are a problem. both are tweeners.

one needs help orchestrating and the other is incapable of developing an overall game and is far from what walt frazier call "the complete player."

Here is the problem with the its how you win that matters philosophy. The Knicks couldn't sniff .500 for ten years. Then they were just over .500 the year that they got Amare and Melo. Winning 54 games, the Atlantic, and making the second round of the playoffs are things that hadn't happened to this franchise in over a decade. Also, the Knicks beat a lot of quality teams including the Spurs and the Heat. Age,injuries and either injuries or something else with JR caused their demise in the playoffs in my opinion. Oh and they should have played Cope more.

i am not satisfied with anything i have seen the last 2.5 seasons. the team was moving in an encouraging direction before being yanked off course. melo's heat check, premature ejaculation threes are symbolic of dolan's rash decisions and interference.

the franchise is tone deaf and peaked last season. if you build patiently, stick to a plan, and screen for character, you will have success. dolan is rash, has no plan, and lacks character... all these traits are writ large on the team. it has been this way since the marbury era with one 4-month period of newness and something germinal, then a 10-game miracle that was quickly snuffed out as well.

i have been saying these things for years now... maybe some of our fellow knick fans are catching on.

yes luck and health are huge factors but at the end of the day you can't look past the clumsiness of the roster and the coach's inability to figure things out.