Andrew wrote:I think Bender is being evaulated for next season when the Knicks may have to fill more than a couple roster spots with guys who are willing to accept the minimum. That and his skill set is what the coach is looking for. Not that Hill doesn't have similar skills, but the Knicks know he will be part of the team next year. Still would like to see Hill get some more minutes.

Pretty much made the same exact post yesterday. I absolutely agree with you.

Ira wrote:I'd like to see Hill get Bender's minutes right now. I'd like to see him get some of Jeffries minutes if we don't move him by the trading deadline.

i would be totally fine with that situation too... just wanna see this kid getting regular burn, not this sporadic game in between several DNP's he's getting now... how can any player get into a groove playing that way?

TMS wrote:

nixluva wrote:

TMS wrote:lol... who says i have a monopoly on wanting to see J Hill play? rofl... like i just said i think most Knick fans would like to see Jordan Hill play because they're all curious to see how good he can be... the fact that he's NOT seeing playing time bothers me especially when i know he's a better player than guys like Bender who shouldn't even be in the rotation.

enough with the MDA resume recitations & tell me if based on what you've seen do u think J Bender should be getting minutes ahead of Jordan Hill... use your own observations & formulate an opinion... don't wait for Jordan Hill to start putting up big numbers & then tell me how MDA so skillfully developed this kid by giving him DNP-CD's for half the season

Playing in games isn't always the best thing for developing kids that are so low in BB IQ as Hill was coming into this season. This isn't a case where a big like Hill can just come in and give energy and that would make up for his lack of knowledge of where to be and how to read the action. He simply needed more teaching to be effective in this system his raw skills and talent alone weren't enough.

Perhaps now he's got a better understanding at least enough to really help. I trust that MDA's judgement on his readiness is sound. He's trying to win! If we didn't care about wins at all then playing him lots of minutes would be ok. In our case it wouldn't be fair to the other guys who know what they're doing and want to win. I hope he does great and forces MDA to play him.

low basketball IQ according to what exactly? not being comfortable w/the system due to lack of action does not indicate a low basketball IQ... this is the same Jordan Hill who dramatically improved every season he played in college under 3 different head coaches... no offense but you make absolutely no sense when u say Hill needed more teaching to be effective in this system... the kid ran the P&R just fine at Arizona, i find it hard to believe he doesn't know the system that MDA is running when he's got D Lee running the P&R w/Duhon on every single possession... practice is practice, but there's no substitute for real playing time against real competition... IMO Jordan Hill has looked surprisingly GOOD for what limited & rare opportunities he's received... give him regular burn every night & you'll soon see this kid start to put up numbers, mark my words, certainly better numbers than Bender's been putting up.

& you still haven't answered my question... do u think Bender should be getting minutes ahead of Jordan Hill? don't give me the same canned response that you trust in MDA's judgement... use your own judgement... you watch the games i'm assuming.

TMS come on man, you really think the kid didn't need some work on understanding the intricacies of the game on this level? Adjusting to the speed and decision making? Learning where to be, how hard to work, how to anticipate and make the right decision? He may have played P n R in college but that's not all that's going on in MDA's system nor what he needs to master to be fully effective and not out there bumping into his teammates.
Why are you oversimplifying the adjustment that kid had to make? Do you REALLY think MDA was just holding him out and he was ready to contribute meaningfully from day one? The kid had a very short period of time in organized BB and he made great progress, but that doesn't mean he was fully ready to excel to MDA's standards.

What do you think the staff has been working to fix in his game all this time? Bad tendencies and poor form are part of it, but there were probably a lot of things he had to learn and master.

Do I think Bender should be playing ahead of the kid? I can't say how much better Bender looked in practice not being there. Coaches tend to trust vets a bit more and i'm sure that when MDA said things to Bender he fully understood and responded the correct way. We know that Hill made mistakes cuz MDA said he did. It's not your judgement or mine that matters in this case only MDA's and his coaching staff. The mistake you keep making is that you think cuz the kid looked good TO YOU, that this somehow equates to being ready in everyone else's mind and more importantly in MDA's mind.

TMS wrote:can't even manage to voice your own opinion? how is it a mistake to voice an opinion here? this is a subjective question i'm presenting to you... of course it only matters what MDA thinks, but i'm curious to know what you think, otherwise i wouldn't have asked.

& i never once said i thought Jordan Hill was a finished product... on draft day i was telling u that u shouldn't expect this kid to come in & produce right away but give him playing time & he'd put up numbers off his athleticism & energy alone... i also described the parts of his game that you would come to appreciate including his midrange J, ability to run the floor, shotblocking & his developing low post skills... your point was that Hill had a low basketball IQ... how do u expect anyone to come in as a raw rookie & learn every nuance of the system MDA's running here when they're not seeing regular playing time? what's that got to do with low basketball IQ is my question... seems to me that Hill's a hard working kid who's improved his game dramatically in the short time he's been playing this sport & already has some impressive non-athleticism based basketball skills in his repertoire... that doesn't suggest he's got a low basketball IQ to me.

I'm fully in agreement with you on what kind of kid Hill is. I was one of the ones supporting him back when many were bashing his poor early performances. He made great improvements in his college years and I feel his progress here will also be very good. The point still remains that all we have to go on is the few minutes he's played so far, but MDA and the coaching staff have MANY hours of up close action to see what he does right and what he does wrong. This is why I say let's give them the benefit of the doubt that the kid needed work and tho it might be of interest to us to see him play, it doesn't mean we know better than the guys closely following his development. It doesn't mean that if he played he would've gotten the hang of things faster.