Offense:
1.) Shot Percentage-Not worried about the shooting percentage. That will come with time. Guys are hesitant right now, and that tends to go away as guys play more they will become more comfortable and shots should start to fall.

2.) Shot selection-Don't have to be a rocket scientist to figure out that the shot selection is poor. Lee is taking too many jumpshots. Chandler, Hughes, Duhon, Gallo all settling for long range shots and not putting any pressure on the defense. Obviously this shot selection has effected our shooting percentage as well. Guys will gain confidence by getting in to the lane and creating easay shots for teammates. When that happens the 3's will open up. Forget an inside out offense. It's nice to dream of Blair and Duncan and Howard but those guys are not on this team. When I stop thinking about the "I wish I had" and focus on what is here today our offense will be based on ball movement and penetration. Not on inside out offense. When guys stop settling for jumpers and penetrate things will change. How alarming is this three point trend? Going by past history it's very alarming. We don't have guys that have a history of knowing what a good shot is, so how will they adjust over time? Tough to say. I will say that I think Jared and David are taking advantage of preseason to work on their jumpers and that their shot selection will be different come the season. The rest of the guys I'm not so sure about.

3.) Ball Movement- I played with the same guys for years. The ball used to whip around the perimeter. My shooting percentage was through the roof because every shot I took was in rhythm. I knew when I came off a screen the ball was coming. When the ball was swung around the perimeter if I was the open guy the ball would whip around to me. I felt comfortable. Then one day I began playing with a different group. A group of guys that really wanted to move the ball around the perimeter but none of the guys really knew what that meant. To them it was whip it around, the next guy stops to see if he can go one on one, if not he then passes to the next guy who did the same. By the time I got the ball I was stationary, the defender had recovered and I was no longer in rhythm. This reminds me of the Knicks. If you really pay attention the ball is whipping around better than it did all last year. Problem is that guys don't know what to do with it. They hesitate between shooting a 3, or making things happen off the dribble immediately upon the catch. Instead they catch, hesitate, look at the next guy, and either over pass or shoot a contested 3. A 3 that would have been uncontested had they not hesitated. Gallo and Wilson seem to be the biggest perpetrators at this point.

4.) Gallo-Looks out of place in the offense. He appears to be attempting to play a team game that many times does not exist. He's having a difficult time realizing when he needs to be aggressive and when he needs to be a ball mover. The hope is that this comes in time, but there are no guarantees. I'm not worried about his shot at all, just more about his shot selection. He has to learn that when he has these 6-7, 6-8 types guarding him that he is nearly unstoppable. They don't affect his shot and with his herky jerky moves he appears to be able to get any shot he wants, when he is aggressive. Right now he's just a tease. The talent is right there, just needs to find his niche.

5.) Chandler-Looks completely lost. Like Gallo appears caught in between when to take over and when to be a ball mover. This is a symptom of youth but there needs to be progress as the year goes by. He's no longer a rookie. His shot selection is horrendous and more than anyone he appears lost to me.

6.) Toney Douglas-Are there other guys we could have taken in the draft? Yes. Is he going to be the best out of all the guys taken after him? Probably not. But I don't live in the land of "oh I wish I had". I live in the land of "what do I have now". I really like this guy. He's active, aggressive, a hard worker and always around the ball. How anyone can complain about any of these things is beyond me. I heard he was a good shooter in college but his shot has not been there since he's been with us. Right now he should not be taking jumpers

7.) Duhon-At the beginning of last year he was a true leader. He got us back on track when we fell off but this year he seems to be part of the problem. His shot selection last night was an embarrassment for a point guard and he was not a ball mover.

8.) Hill-One good thing to say about him. He has active feet. As he gets stronger if he continues to work he will be tough around the basket. The rest of his resume is either incomplete or a failure thus far. I do like that he has been more active as of late.

Not enough time to go through everyone

Defense

We actually have a solid defensive unit. That line-up of Nate, Toney, Gallo, Jeffries/Darko and Chandler was smothering. It was actually a good defensive unit. Haven't been able to say that in a long time. That will really make us more versatile

how many guys on the team on the last year of their contract?

Posted by Bippity10:

lots

as long as those guys are playing major minutes, don't expect too much to change...

not directed at you in particular but i think there is a constant over analysis that goes on. especially after 2 games. trying to get into the details at this point is very premature.

i think it's much more basic - coach and players don't mesh - talent needs major upgrade. aka - 2010. this year, sit back and just watch...

this is depressing because it just morre of the same. We just look bad in most facets of the game, and Gallo, Douglas, Hill and Chandler havent given us so much of a flash that says "rotation player on a winning team."

Douglas takes care of the ball and plays excellent D, but thats a role player. He's not creating his own shot (yet) and he's not setting up others (yet).

We just havent had anything good talk about with this group because they arent giving us anything to talk about.

Posted by Bippity10:

Posted by djsunyc:

not directed at you in particular but i think there is a constant over analysis that goes on. especially after 2 games. trying to get into the details at this point is very premature.

i think it's much more basic - coach and players don't mesh - talent needs major upgrade. aka - 2010. this year, sit back and just watch...

Well aware of the situation here. Doesn't mean I can't discuss what is going on so far.

you keep up this back talk and your username will be allanfan21 in the new forums...

Posted by djsunyc:

Posted by Bippity10:

Posted by djsunyc:

not directed at you in particular but i think there is a constant over analysis that goes on. especially after 2 games. trying to get into the details at this point is very premature.

i think it's much more basic - coach and players don't mesh - talent needs major upgrade. aka - 2010. this year, sit back and just watch...

Well aware of the situation here. Doesn't mean I can't discuss what is going on so far.

you keep up this back talk and your username will be allanfan21 in the new forums...

Just try it, and you'll see what happens. I don't play. Belle dat! It's on biotch.

Dam, I haven't been this worked up since the last time I saw Marbs dancing to Barbie Girl

Posted by fishmike:

this is depressing because it just morre of the same. We just look bad in most facets of the game, and Gallo, Douglas, Hill and Chandler havent given us so much of a flash that says "rotation player on a winning team."

Douglas takes care of the ball and plays excellent D, but thats a role player. He's not creating his own shot (yet) and he's not setting up others (yet).

We just havent had anything good talk about with this group because they arent giving us anything to talk about.

We have to keep it in perspective. It's preaseason so adjustments will need to be made, but..........they have worked together for almost a year and should be further along at this point. For me, Wilson is the most disappointing so far. That being said, despite all the gloom, they will improve. How can they not?

Again, I'm aware of the situation here. I'm going in to the season anticipating a 30+ win team left out of the playoffs and my mind hasn't changed. Not sure what people are panicking over, when that is the reality before us. Maybe they actually had too much hope before the season :). My focus is more about watching the guys that have a shot to be here and then watching there personal development. Then try to determine if they can or cannot help us in the future as time goes by.

By the way I forgot about Darko. For one quarter last night he was the best player on our team. Now if only we could shorten the season to one quarter length.

Posted by nixluva:

Good points Bip. I think part of what we see is some guys like Lee and Jared are testing the jumpers while they can to gain confidence. Gallo and Chan we should remember just didn't have an offseason off work to improve their game, just rehab. IMO that has clearly stunted their growth. I'm not overly concerned cuz I believe they have the talent and will eventually figure it out.

Duhon on the other hand is a major disappointment. He should be leading these guys better. This team is rudderless on the floor and that's never going to allow us to get better until that changes. It's probably the toughest thing to find in sports, so bashing MDA and Walsh for not being able to get a leader is bogus. What do you think Walsh was looking at Kidd and Hill for? He knows we lack leadership, but at thus point there's nothing we can do.

I understand your point about Gallo and Chandler but shot selection cannot be improved in offseason workouts. It's improved on the floor. I know these guys need and deserve some time, but Chandler is no longer a rookie. He has to start showing improvement in the shot selection department. Before long you just have to realize that he is what he is. I'm not saying that now, but the progress is not evident at this point and that is disappointing to me. Not worrisome, but disappointing. Gallo has only played 28 games and is trying to find his way so he has some time.

I'm with you on Duhon. As a coach I've always said I'm okay with my PG not being great. I can win in that situation. I'm okay with my PG not being the team leader. I can win with that situation. I can't win, when my PG adds to the problem. Duhon is adding to the problem. We know he's not a great penetrator. We know he's not a consistent shooter. We know he's a backup. Doesn't mean it's okay for him to forget what it means to be a PG. He is horrendous right now and that is part of the reason our shot selection is so poor

One more thing is Nate. He's done some very nice things this pre season and he's working hard on the defense. I have no actual complaints about his play. However, he's been very quiet. That's not necessarily a good thing with Nate. Again, he's made some great plays, including on the defensive end, but lets not forget what his role is. He's a scorer. He can be a distributer when everyone else is playing their role. Yet, when everyone is being stupid, he has to step up and take control and start being aggresive. I don't mind him chucking up a shot or two because he's our best shooters. Maybe even one of the leagues best shooters.

Maybe he was purely focusing on being a defensive presence and wanted to let everyone else work on their offense, but not in the regular season. I want to see Nate be who he is (And see him fulfill his goal of cutting his Ts in half and showing less vibrato) and I want to see the continued defensive improvement.

what I see is very simple. A team thats going to live and die but the 3 and the jumper. They are going to run and chuck with great ferver. They will win some games because there will be nights when Nate, Harrington and Chandler are hitting shots and nights when Lee is cleaning up and laying back easy shots. Then there will be MORE nights when the shots dont fall and guys will just shrug and write it off because "sometimes the shots just dont fall."

If you defend and attack the basket with athletic players you will win more games plain and simple. Duhon, Nate, Douglas, Hughes, Chandler, Harrington, Lee, Darko and JJ are all either long athletic guys or heady veterans and there is ZERO reason the Knicks cant defend better and work off that.