Childs2Dudley wrote:Let me tell ya'll about Dallas if you want to compare the acquisition of Crawford to Terry.Terry is a better shooter than Crawford.
Carlisle is a better coach, at least defensively, than D'Antoni.
Deshawn Stevenson, Jason Kidd, Shawn Marion and Tyson Chandler were all in the lineup for their defensive prowess.
Terry was the sparkplug off the bench.
The difference with that team (and nearly every championship team) is that they have a good balance of defense and scoring. The Knicks right now are top heavy in scoring with little defense. They have Jeffries, unknown Shumpert, Douglas, Fields and Chandler. Only one (maybe two, if Crawford isn't here) will be starting. Chandler cannot mask the defensive deficiencies of everyone of the court. He'll help Amar'e stay out of foul trouble. He'll make us a better defensive team down low. But he will get in foul trouble when Crawford is constantly letting him man beat him off the dribble and right into the paint. Tyson can't fix that. Guys will need to keep their man in front of them if Tyson is to be effective. Stevenson, Marion and Kidd all did a good job with that. Tyson fed off that and helped them tremendously. The Mavericks, like every other NBA champion, had that right mix of offense and defense. We don't have that mix right now. We need more defense. 100% we need more defense.
I don't disagree with what you're saying, which is why I'd really like Shawne Williams back for one thing - he's a very solid defender for the 3/4 positions.
I think the Knicks are putting together a very very good team. But I've always questioned whether they can win it all with Amar'e's and Melo's lack of commitment to defense. Then again, Dirk was NEVER known as a defender and was thought to be a liability in the department. Kidd doesn't have the quickness to cover the many quick PGs in the this league. I agree that certain Mavs played for defense, but I think they had their weak spots defensively, too.
It is about building a balanced team though. And right now I fear the Knicks don't have anyone who can create from the perimeter or penetrate. I think that can lead to a VERY stagnant looking offense, like what we saw against Boston. It broke down to basically Melo isos and then Amare isos. I think Jamal is that third ingredient the offense needs, get penetration, pick and pop to Melo, pick and roll with Amare, drive and dish to Tyson. or just take the open layup when everyone is terrified to leave Amare, Melo, Tyson. Also creates tons of opportunities for Iman or Fields or Shawne Williams.
As for defense, Jamal is a liability. Toney was in his own way, too. He overplayed guys constantly and got beat repeatedly.
But I think the biggest questions/issues on defense are still gonna be - how much effort do Amar'e and Melo put in. IF they put in the effort, this can be a GREAT team. If not, the Knicks are a 4 seed who gets to the second round and gets beat around by Chicago or Miami.