TMS wrote:guys expected this team to gel right off the bat they couldn't wait to pull out their I Told You So lifetime membership cards if the Knicks didn't start balling straight out the gate with an overhauled roster.

Yeah it really is amazing how impatient NY fans can be. Impatient with the trade. Impatient with the coach. Impatient with Donnie. Impatient with the Players. I felt this roster had a ton of upside in terms of just how good they could be if and when things started to click. Now perhaps some understand why some of us felt this trade was worth it, even tho we gave up a ton to get him and Chauncey.

Also maybe now some of Mike's detractors can start to understand that he is a good coach and he's not some rigid, stubborn guy that can't adjust what he does to fit his players. We aren't a running team anymore, but like I said, most of Mike's offense is actually in the halfcourt. They call him an offensive genius, not just cuz he loves SSOL. When the team actually runs the offense, moving the ball and themselves, it's a thing of beauty.

Also they said Melo couldn't adjust to fit into Mike's style, but since he's been here, he's learned to pass more and to make use of the catch and shoot within the offense. He's made adjustments and a lot faster than even I expected. He's working hard on D too. Having him on the floor has opened things up for everyone and the team is sharing the ball. Look how many assists we had tonight. 31!!!

The question is can they play defense consistently. So far that hasn't been the case.

Hopefully the return of Billups ups the defensive intensity.

Let's not start celebrating yet, but I am hopeful because I am a Knick fan.

nixluva wrote:

knickstorrents wrote:I am one of those people. I am pleasantly surprised by Carmelo's willingness to pass. Hopefully it is not a flash in the pan. His 7 year career assist average is 3. His assists for the past 3 games has been 7, 5, and 6.

Let's not start celebrating yet, but I am hopeful because I am a Knick fan.

I think this is something that is sustainable. For one thing it's the system that we run. It's designed to create open shots by moving the ball and the players. So he's going to get assists as long as he's playing within the offense and not looking to force shots. This offense is about taking great shots and not just looking to use only a players individual skills in order to score.

Mike loves to spread the floor and that makes it hard for the other team to give help without leaving a shooter open. So STAT and Melo only need to look to make a pass if doubled. So long as they stick to the offense there's no reason they can't keep getting assists. The only thing that would stop that from happening is selfishness. The thing is that usually once players see how much fun it is to make a good pass that leads to an open shot, it's contagious. That's what D'Antoni has built his reputation on. That's what we've been doing since he got here and now Melo is doing it too.

The guys that didn't buy in were idiots like Al Harrington. Selfish players won't last long under D'Antoni. Melo has had a great attitude since coming here. I think he realizes that he has a great chance to win big here and we had great chemistry before he came and he wants to fit in and prove people wrong.

And on top of that Melo is a great friend of Stat - Stat is a great scorer and will get his. I wonder how many of Melo's assists have been to Stat? I'm just going to guess around half. They run the P&R together as well. I think we can't get too pulled into stats right now as there are two all stars out there in Melo and Stat. That alone is going to make things easier on them, not to mention we have a great PG, very good scoring backup pg and some pretty good shooters too boot.

I really only see things getting better for us (chemistry wise). If we get a good center we are contenders. I am not even sure we need a super athletic one since we are going more half court. My how things have changed quickly and I have to start to admit, I didn't think it would be this good this quickly (I was split on the Melo trade).