nixluva wrote:It's true that Mike isn't going to push the envelope to the extreme on D, but I think once we fix some of the holes we have on the roster, things should improve defensively. We know that we don't have rebounding or the size we need and overall there needs to be some upgrades on the bench. This isn't the finished product. After the big trade Donnie and Mike ended up with less then they wanted to still have. It wasn't a great defensive roster to begin with but after the trade we got smaller and with less chemistry. I'd like to give them more time to see just how good this team can get. I don't believe we've seen the best of this team after 11 games together.

This team was built to be strong offensively. You add Melo and take away your core and some size and you're basically only improving the offense. So if they aren't scoring then you don't really have a strong D to rely on. More often than not, this team is going to score big. You just need your defense to be solid. That's the philosophy and Donnie and Dolan knew that when they hired Mike.

i don't think there are that many holes to fix to tell u the truth, we have a solid supporting cast all that's really missing is a shotblocking C that can enforce the paint, Turiaf is inconsistent & not very durable & Fishlips is not an intimidator or physical presence in the paint at all... other than that i don't see how guys like Landry, TD, AC, Shelden, Shawne, Mason & Walker are inferior talent that aren't suitable as supporting cast players for a contending roster when we have the big 3 already in place... all those guys have to be able to do is knock down an open J from time to time & make plays defensively, it's not that much to ask... when TD is going 1 for 12 off the bench & no one is playing any defense at all, it's a problem when the coach isn't making any adjustments to address it.

TMS wrote:

nixluva wrote:It's true that Mike isn't going to push the envelope to the extreme on D, but I think once we fix some of the holes we have on the roster, things should improve defensively. We know that we don't have rebounding or the size we need and overall there needs to be some upgrades on the bench. This isn't the finished product. After the big trade Donnie and Mike ended up with less then they wanted to still have. It wasn't a great defensive roster to begin with but after the trade we got smaller and with less chemistry. I'd like to give them more time to see just how good this team can get. I don't believe we've seen the best of this team after 11 games together.

This team was built to be strong offensively. You add Melo and take away your core and some size and you're basically only improving the offense. So if they aren't scoring then you don't really have a strong D to rely on. More often than not, this team is going to score big. You just need your defense to be solid. That's the philosophy and Donnie and Dolan knew that when they hired Mike.

i don't think there are that many holes to fix to tell u the truth, we have a solid supporting cast all that's really missing is a shotblocking C that can enforce the paint, Turiaf is inconsistent & not very durable & Fishlips is not an intimidator or physical presence in the paint at all... other than that i don't see how guys like Landry, TD, AC, Shelden, Shawne, Mason & Walker are inferior talent that aren't suitable as supporting cast players for a contending roster when we have the big 3 already in place... all those guys have to be able to do is knock down an open J from time to time & make plays defensively, it's not that much to ask... when TD is going 1 for 12 off the bench & no one is playing any defense at all, it's a problem when the coach isn't making any adjustments to address it.

I didn't see this game so I can't speak on whether or not Mike tried to make any adjustments or not. As for the roster, I think Donnie and Mike would disagree about there not being holes at more than the C spot. I can pretty much bet that Donnie is gonna be looking to improve the roster at more than just the C spot. I don't hate the role players we have they're not bad, but you know that if he could Donnie would've wanted to keep a couple of the guys he sent away.

I think they'd like a more consistent 6th man off the bench, possibly at SG or SF. Someone a little more dynamic at PF than Shelden would also be nice. But that's for next year. Right now this team has to deal with it's sense of urgency and intensity in these games with lesser teams.

nixluva wrote:

TMS wrote:

nixluva wrote:It's true that Mike isn't going to push the envelope to the extreme on D, but I think once we fix some of the holes we have on the roster, things should improve defensively. We know that we don't have rebounding or the size we need and overall there needs to be some upgrades on the bench. This isn't the finished product. After the big trade Donnie and Mike ended up with less then they wanted to still have. It wasn't a great defensive roster to begin with but after the trade we got smaller and with less chemistry. I'd like to give them more time to see just how good this team can get. I don't believe we've seen the best of this team after 11 games together.

This team was built to be strong offensively. You add Melo and take away your core and some size and you're basically only improving the offense. So if they aren't scoring then you don't really have a strong D to rely on. More often than not, this team is going to score big. You just need your defense to be solid. That's the philosophy and Donnie and Dolan knew that when they hired Mike.

i don't think there are that many holes to fix to tell u the truth, we have a solid supporting cast all that's really missing is a shotblocking C that can enforce the paint, Turiaf is inconsistent & not very durable & Fishlips is not an intimidator or physical presence in the paint at all... other than that i don't see how guys like Landry, TD, AC, Shelden, Shawne, Mason & Walker are inferior talent that aren't suitable as supporting cast players for a contending roster when we have the big 3 already in place... all those guys have to be able to do is knock down an open J from time to time & make plays defensively, it's not that much to ask... when TD is going 1 for 12 off the bench & no one is playing any defense at all, it's a problem when the coach isn't making any adjustments to address it.

I didn't see this game so I can't speak on whether or not Mike tried to make any adjustments or not. As for the roster, I think Donnie and Mike would disagree about there not being holes at more than the C spot. I can pretty much bet that Donnie is gonna be looking to improve the roster at more than just the C spot. I don't hate the role players we have they're not bad, but you know that if he could Donnie would've wanted to keep a couple of the guys he sent away.

I think they'd like a more consistent 6th man off the bench, possibly at SG or SF. Someone a little more dynamic at PF than Shelden would also be nice. But that's for next year. Right now this team has to deal with it's sense of urgency and intensity in these games with lesser teams.

just to give u an idea Toney Douglas was shooting up bricks all night & Billups was clearly rusty & not on his game, but not once did MDA go to AC as an option... Jeffries once again was pretty much a complete non-factor but was never pulled in favor of Shelden Williams to maybe provide some muscle down low to try & guard Hibbert, who was dunking all over our guys in the paint... instead MDA was once again playing Shawne Williams out of position at the 5 trying to guard Hibbert at some points in this game & Tyler Hansbrough was having his way against our interior D all game long... u really should consider urself lucky that u missed this one it was definitely not 1 for MDA's highlight reel that's for certain.

Allanfan20 wrote:I missed the game today. My question is, who on our team do you expect to be able to guard consistently no matter who the coach is? and...

Do you really expect a bad defensive team to become a good defensive team with a new coach? Did we not learn our lesson from Larry Brown?

Briggs was 100% right. We have not a bad team, but certainly not a very good team. Who are we beating in the playoffs? Our frontcourt is weak and how is it going to improve? How are we trading? Is Melo or Amar'e going to be on the market? I don't see any other way to improve it, because I see nothing but role players besides POSSIBLY DeAndre Jordan on the market this year, and a long shot at Dwight Howard next year (And if we spend so much as a cent on Chris Paul, I'll end my account here.)

Yet our defensive defficiencies is because of the coach. Right. I still don't buy it. We are a bad defensive team because we are a bad defensive team. Not because of the coach.

Then how do you explain how we get up for the good teams and go to sleep on the bad teams. That is a very bad sign!

If we steamrolled the crap and struggled against the better teams, your argument would hold more water. But, to have no-shows, at home, against the bottom-feeders is reprehensible and a sign of bad coaching!

His pnr defense makes no sense! His funneling players to the baseline makes no sense at all! Especially that we know that no one is waiting there to intimidate or no one is there at all.

His live and die by the three is a recipe for failure and I hate his fake teeth!!

mreinman wrote:

Allanfan20 wrote:I missed the game today. My question is, who on our team do you expect to be able to guard consistently no matter who the coach is? and...

Do you really expect a bad defensive team to become a good defensive team with a new coach? Did we not learn our lesson from Larry Brown?

Briggs was 100% right. We have not a bad team, but certainly not a very good team. Who are we beating in the playoffs? Our frontcourt is weak and how is it going to improve? How are we trading? Is Melo or Amar'e going to be on the market? I don't see any other way to improve it, because I see nothing but role players besides POSSIBLY DeAndre Jordan on the market this year, and a long shot at Dwight Howard next year (And if we spend so much as a cent on Chris Paul, I'll end my account here.)

Yet our defensive defficiencies is because of the coach. Right. I still don't buy it. We are a bad defensive team because we are a bad defensive team. Not because of the coach.

Then how do you explain how we get up for the good teams and go to sleep on the bad teams. That is a very bad sign!

If we steamrolled the crap and struggled against the better teams, your argument would hold more water. But, to have no-shows, at home, against the bottom-feeders is reprehensible and a sign of bad coaching!

His pnr defense makes no sense! His funneling players to the baseline makes no sense at all! Especially that we know that no one is waiting there to intimidate or no one is there at all.

His live and die by the three is a recipe for failure and I hate his fake teeth!!

These are pro athletes, not college or high school athletes. They have all the resources in the world they could possibly need to get themselves ready for the game, particularly when it comes to game film and scouting reports. They should know these guys strengths and weaknesses. If they can get up for the good teams, besides the Mavs, but can't against bad teams, have you figured it's possible they don't have the right focus? Again, this is a coaching thing? No, it's not. It's a player problem.

And you just proved my own arguement by saying we have a weak frontcourt, defensively. It doesn't matter what strategy we use. If guys are going to just attack us, especially with a slowed down Billups, then what strategy would you use?

Do you really think we'd be a bad defensive team if we had GOOD defensive players, starting with our stars? I'm on the belief we'd be fine.

Allanfan20 wrote:

mreinman wrote:

Allanfan20 wrote:I missed the game today. My question is, who on our team do you expect to be able to guard consistently no matter who the coach is? and...

Do you really expect a bad defensive team to become a good defensive team with a new coach? Did we not learn our lesson from Larry Brown?

Briggs was 100% right. We have not a bad team, but certainly not a very good team. Who are we beating in the playoffs? Our frontcourt is weak and how is it going to improve? How are we trading? Is Melo or Amar'e going to be on the market? I don't see any other way to improve it, because I see nothing but role players besides POSSIBLY DeAndre Jordan on the market this year, and a long shot at Dwight Howard next year (And if we spend so much as a cent on Chris Paul, I'll end my account here.)

Yet our defensive defficiencies is because of the coach. Right. I still don't buy it. We are a bad defensive team because we are a bad defensive team. Not because of the coach.

Then how do you explain how we get up for the good teams and go to sleep on the bad teams. That is a very bad sign!

If we steamrolled the crap and struggled against the better teams, your argument would hold more water. But, to have no-shows, at home, against the bottom-feeders is reprehensible and a sign of bad coaching!

His pnr defense makes no sense! His funneling players to the baseline makes no sense at all! Especially that we know that no one is waiting there to intimidate or no one is there at all.

His live and die by the three is a recipe for failure and I hate his fake teeth!!

These are pro athletes, not college or high school athletes. They have all the resources in the world they could possibly need to get themselves ready for the game, particularly when it comes to game film and scouting reports. They should know these guys strengths and weaknesses. If they can get up for the good teams, besides the Mavs, but can't against bad teams, have you figured it's possible they don't have the right focus? Again, this is a coaching thing? No, it's not. It's a player problem.

And you just proved my own arguement by saying we have a weak frontcourt, defensively. It doesn't matter what strategy we use. If guys are going to just attack us, especially with a slowed down Billups, then what strategy would you use?

Do you really think we'd be a bad defensive team if we had GOOD defensive players, starting with our stars? I'm on the belief we'd be fine.

I agree that player self motivation plays a large part in team success. However, fundamentally, they are aweful! You have to coach with what you have and over acheive. I watch them box out - they are small but also clueless! They are all just hopping around for rebounds like drunk frogs. They don't box out, they should not even leave the ground if they are undersized ala Oakley. That CAN be coached. If you know that your help defense is weak, why funnel to the baseline? Insane! If you are having issues keeping up defensively then slow down the game. Why is their rotation to the 3pt shooter so aweful?

Bad Coaching! There is no defensive system in place and that is needed all the more with weaker defenders. All he cares about is push the ball push the ball push the ball, we gotta get shots more shots lets get those 3's more 3's. They are not going in tonight? So what! That is who we are.

Very Frustrating. I've been playing basketball 3 times a week for 30 years and I wanna break my TV when I watch this teams fundamentals.

Bad team-Fundamentals=Bad Coach.

Allanfan20 wrote:mrreinman, NBA coaches don't coach fundamentals. If they spent time working on fundamentals, they wouldn't have time focusing on the game plan.

If you want players to fix their fundamentals, then you should join my boat, which is, the belief that the NBA age limit should increase even MORE. 3 years of college experience. That and high school is where these guys should learn their fundamentals. Heck, even Amar'e admitted he knows nothing about defense because he didn't even learn it in HS. How's he going to do that in the NBA? What coach is going to teach him fundamentals? NONE. They'd get fired if they worked on fundamentals.

Haha - how sad! I agree to what you are saying in principal to a certain extent but coaches have a motto. They are offensive minded, defensive minded or sometimes a bit of both. Part of the gameplan is partly fundamental. Who tells these players to funnel baseline? They all (the knicks) do it. In can't be by their own accord. Do they not have a philosophy? Do they not practice and still (gasp) teach? Can you honestly say that a Pat Riley, Phil Jax, Jerry Sloan, Pop or many rookie coaches would let their teams regardless of personel play this way (defensively)?

It is much harder to teach offense than defense. But there needs to be a want, a need, a desperation instilled.

I don't see it.

Though I will say the offense has looked smoother with Toney Douglas running it than it has with Billups.

Only 11 assists last night after, what, 32? against memphis. ball movement sucked.

For this team, I think better offense leads to better performance on D. Just the way it works.

The Knicks are a work in progress. Everyone wants to talk about the Knicks winning a championship and defense yet the fact of the matter is that we have 2 studs who have played together for a total of 10 games. Our starting PG just missed 5 games. MDA is a good coach, highly respected by other coaches and players yet there are people hear who simply don't like the guy. His Suns teams were pretty damn close to winning it all. The year they lost in the Western Finals they did so without one of their best players.

The guy hasn't had a solid roster since he's gotten here. When he took the job he and all of us fans knew that 2 years were being thrown out the window. He got the Knicks to an abobe .500 team and had the roster changed on him again overnight. The Knicks were supposed to be a good team in year 3. They are a good team at this point in time and I am all for giving him another year or two with a solid team in tact before I can make a judgement as to whether or not he can lead the Knicks to a championship.