Bonn1997 wrote:

holfresh wrote:Sorry, I can't and don't put much stock in regular season victories...The Bulls out worked us at every turn...They won't win that way in the playoffs ...

But six hours later, you went ecstatic over 24 regular season victories with Felton.

holfresh wrote:dk7..That was me who said he "fits perfectly with the team's objectives"...U get it yet or is it still foggy??...Are u still LOL-ing???..24-9 with Felton...6-6 without....24-9 with...6-6 without....24-9 with...6-6 without...24-9 with...6-6 without...4-1 since the return...Get it??

Well let me break it down for u brother..My many postings could have gotten lost in the noise and constant barrage of hate that goes on here, present company not included of course...I have stated many times that what is important is how we play as a team..Not individual victories against individual teams...Trying to achieve the synergy of team basketball, if you will, the very thing that is required to compete against the likes of Miami and OKC...I submit, that the number of victories with Felton leading our back court is testament to the synergy or the process of growth as a team, that otherwise does not exist when he not present...The ease of flow of the basketball from one player to another is a direct result of his initiation and orchestration, which has led to what was perceived earlier in the year and is now currently being reexamined, as the foundations of a good basketball team...Ball movement is now evident again...The constant exploration and examination to find that open man is a once again a constant, some say too much so in certain instances, and has resulted in many wide open jumpers from beyond the arc...The tallied enumerated results of this sudden resurgence of ball movement is back and are often associated with good basketball teams..Some refer to this as team assist...The singular outburst of offense needed nightly to get us across the finish line by one Carmelo Anthony, is no longer needed(note his points totals the last two games)...The joy of the results can be seen on the sidelines as starters cheer on players who are otherwise relegated to the bench at the end of games, continue this infectious mood of ball sharing that leads to the knocking down of wide open jumpers, taking the fight out of the opponent, resulting in victory upon wonderful victory...So you see, yes the number of victories matters and yes, it doesn't matter...

I think this season there are many more dangerous teams for the playoffs than last season, with many of them having built their teams to beat the top dog of its conference. The way I see it, that's exactly the case with NY and LAC, which clearly have MIA and OKC in their aims.

I know we as Knicks fans have to always take our success with a grain of salt, but at the same time, we have to admit that even with the great record we have, this is a team that healthy has been built for playoff sucess, not regular season success. Will they? We'll see, but truth is this team was built for a championship run and to have thebest chance at taking out the champs.

In a way, the Clippers are in the same boat against the Thunder and I expect them to have a successful playoff run even if they are considered by many inexperienced.

smackeddog wrote: Exactly! Absolutely ridiculous- if we were going to do exactly the same as last years team in the playoffs, then shouldn't we have exactly the same record as that team did 45 games into the season?

Exactly. Our Knicks are currently 30-15 here in 2012-2013 when compared to being only 21-24 last season (45 games into the regular season). When certain fans try comparing last years Knicks team to our current squad, it only goes to show how clueless some of these guys truly are.

smackeddog wrote: Because we have a good record this season and are playing well, critics seem to be having to really scrape the bottom of the barrel to find "evidence" that we are terrible and are going to fail- now we stink because of the playoff performance of an injury depleted Knicks squad that were a different team than we are now. Oh and also because the year before that the injury depleted team (of which only 2 players remain) didn't make it out of the first round of the playoffs.

You may as well base it on tarot cards!

Good points. Would anyone like to see how our Knicks have performed/competed against opposing NBA teams?

Teams we have winning record against:
Orlando: 3-0.
Miami: 2-0.
San Antonio: 2-0.
Phoenix: 2-0.
Milwaukee: 2-0.
Detroit: 2-0.
New Orleans: 2-0.
Denver: 1-0.
Minnesota: 1-0.
Cleveland: 1-0.
Washington: 1-0.
Charlotte: 1-0.
Atlanta: 1-0.

Philly: 2-1.

Teams we've split against:
Brooklyn: 2-2.
Boston: 1-1.
Pacers: 1-1.
Dallas: 1-1.
Sacramento: 1-1.
Lakers: 1-1.

Teams we've yet to beat:
Chicago: 0-3.
Houston: 0-2.

Memphis: 0-1.
Portland: 0-1.

If the Knicks aren't considered to be true NBA contenders as of right now, well, then; I'm not sure which NBA team you can consider an NBA contender...

but we do know something about defense. therefore we should look at who are the top 10 teams at that. i say top 10 even though there are really only 8 teams even worth talking about in a bloated league, but i will exclude washington and boston. washington is a statistical anomaly and boston without rondo is just not going to make it.

indiana
chicago
memphis
spurs
clippers
okc
atlanta
miami
warriors
milwaukee

then i will look at the collective TS% for teams. i have much less faith in the OFF efficiency metric because it's not that you score but how you score that matters most, and the TS% takes into account not only good 3-point shooting but also how often teams get to the line:

okc
miami
spurs
rockets
knicks
lakers
clippers
warriors
nuggets
atlanta

so who is on both lists?

okc-- no surprise here
clippers-- not really surprised
spurs-- no surprise here
atlanta-- surprised!
miami-- no surprise here
warriors-- eye-opening

some thoughts:

1)memphis did not make the list of offensive teams vis a vis TS%. here i have to think gay is the culprit, even though randolph is a very inefficient scorer. what randolph does have value for is his offensive rebounding which in the playoffs increases in value. so the trade should work in their favor come playoff time. we shall see.
2)the key to the knicks success is going to be how much they improve defensively
3)is atlanta a statistical anomaly or are they a dark horse? either way larry drew gets some credit
4)warriors are getting it done too and i am not sure how but kudos to mark jackson

i see the west like this, above the line they are more likely of making the conference finals, below they are more likely second round fodder

okc
spurs
clippers
-------------
grizzlies
warriors
nuggets

i see the east like this

miami
indiana
chicago
-------------
atlanta
knicks
milwaukee

gunsnewing wrote:Celtics taking the Clippers to school. You see how overrated the Clippers are without Paul!

Celtics don't have Rondo
Chicago no Rose
We didn't have Amare, Felton, Shump, Sheed and Camby

None of these teams have looked as bad as the Clippers without Paul lately. They bout to lose 2 straight to the Raptors and Celtics

"About to"?

The Clippers are down 13 points but it's only the 2nd quarter. Still another entire half to go...

I personally hope Boston loses, for the simple fact I enjoy Celtic loses.

dk7th wrote:drawing fouls is a skill but i guess what you are implying is that superstars get the borderline calls especially in crunch time which tips the scales a bit. which means melo is in trouble since he doesn't get those calls. must be the under-armor. also problematic is that smith goes to line all too rarely as does felton. and of course you're right about woodson. very sketchy post-season history getting annihilated in the second round the way he has.

BUZACTLY!

His A-Roid Barry Bonds Predator Exoskeleton Gear and Elbow Flaring Off Arm Slapping, provides no sympathy for him getting to the line.

He certainly won't trump players like Lebron and Rose(he's also guilty of excessive gear too especially on his legs but at least he has a injury history there). Melo also may have to face too many lock down defenders in the post-season to advance, which would wear on him. There are many elite level defenders in the East....Battier/Granger/George/Wallace/Lebron/Deng/Butler....

Don't let me get started and chronicle Woody's post-season failure again, he's been an absolute nightmare if you're considering CONTENTION!

FUGGEDDABOUDIT!!!!!

gunsnewing wrote:WOW

Tommy Beer ‏@TommyBeer
Since Christmas Day, the HEAT have a total of 2 wins against teams with winning records (Nets & Warriors).

Clippers eye Kevin Garnett trade with Celtics, according to report
BOSTON CELTICS, CHRIS PAUL, ERIC BLEDSOE, KEVIN GARNETT, LOS ANGELES CLIPPERS, NBA | COMMENTS

The Clippers are interested in a trade for Kevin Garnett, according to a report.

The Los Angeles Clippers have contacted the Boston Celtics about a possible trade for forward Kevin Garnett, The Sporting News’ Sean Deveney reported on Sunday. Citing multiple sources, Deveney reported that the Clippers’ offer would center on second-year guard Eric Bledsoe and veteran forward Caron Butler.

The report came as the Celtics beat the Clippers 106-104 in Boston on Sunday, the Celtics’ fourth straight victory since losing star point guard Rajon Rondo for the rest of the season. The Clippers also played without their star point guard in the loss — Chris Paul missed his seventh straight game with a bruised right knee cap.

Any deal would have to be completed by the Feb. 21 trade deadline. It would represent a major push by the Clippers to contend at the top of the Western Conference, while the Celtics would signal that they are ready to rebuild away from a long-time core that includes both Garnett and Paul Pierce.

Aside from Paul, the Clippers have also been hampered by injuries to guard Chauncey Billups and forward Jamal Crawford. Still, they sit third in the Western Conference even after Sunday’s loss, four games behind the San Antonio Spurs.

The Celtics remain comfortably in the No. 8 spot in the Eastern Conference at 24-23 after their four-game winning streak. In addition to Rondo, they also lost rookie big man Jared Sullinger for the season last week.