Whose fault? Not sure. Not important.

The team has no soul, no rhythm, no groove in it.

Tuesday nite it had some.

Was worse listening to Austin Carr on the Cav's League Pass feed made in tolerable.

With 5 min to go I just fast forwarded to the end. The result was long determined.

Name me one team in the NBA that doesn't have the ability to take their guy of the dribble
probably Lakers is the closest, but Kobe's shot is so deadly that the guy guarding him is going to always be on his toes

Don't even talk about SSOL, ANY SYSTEM, requires at least one player that take their guy of the dribble
Look at the lineup Cleveland had yesterday, now let me ask you, are they running SSOL?

Vereajo - dirty work player, set screens and force mismatch, post position
Jamsion - can do a little of everything, including the 3 which would allow him to beat his man of the dribble, post player, mid range, he can handle the ball a bit
Cassipi - shooter that is pretty big, good cuts, can take his man of the dribble, crash the boards
Parker - lethal shooter that cannot be allowed to get squared for shot, not great handle but enough to get TO, can create enough room to get his own shot at times
Irving - PG, mainly uses speed/quickness to penetrate especially with picks with Vereajo, can hit the 3 if left unguarded

the starting lineup, consist of 4 players that shoot the 3point basketball
one player that is speed and quickness, able to beat his man off the dribble
4 shooters, will mean good spacing, and open the rim for cutters, room to post up players

Sessions G
Gibson G
Gee G/F

2 big men
Samuels
Hollins

Okay not look at their bench, Sessions/Gibson/Irving usually 2 players that can beat their guy of the dribble play together
Sessions is not much of a 3point shooter but can hit it occasionally if left open
Gee is a G/F that is an athlete, mainly for defense, and a tweener with athleticism

Hollins and Samuels are both big men that can hit the 15 footer but bang as well

=================================================================================================================

Compare this back to our own team

Tyson Chandler
Amare
Melo
Fields
Iman

only player that can beat his own man of the dribble is Melo while he is the only post player as well
do we even have 3 shooters that spread the floor?
Iman cannot penetrate, he doesn't have the speed and quickness, but it doesn't help having Tyson Chandler and Amare in the paint drawing help DEF

Fields is not a SG, he is a great hustle player, but he cannot break his man of the dribble consistently
He also has a problem guarding players that can penetrate because he doesn't have the speed/quickness

Melo, he is so confused as to what to do, he doesn't want to chuck the ball as much now, but he doesn't have the room to operate most of the time.
Amare, is showing flashes of his old self, but he Tyson Chandler's man was ready to always help once he touches the ball, Veraejo, or whoever
know's he will try to dunk and will not leave his man till the last second so Tyson Chandler wouldn't get a easy pass...

Bench
---------------

TD
JJ
Walker
Bibby

Okay, so we have possibly 4 players now, with JJ *thinking he can shoot a 3pointer*
no one here can penetrate again, TD is the best one, but he doesn't have IQ and forces himself in a bad situation 90% of time
no one here can post up, TD, Bibby, Walker are HORRIBLE defenders, especially when Walker has to play the SG

JJ does have pretty good defense but he doesn't have the size and enough offensive threat to be playing ALL the time, I am not saying he shouldn't play but with
specific lineups, and limited minutes. He should also NEVER play the Center with a legit big man in there, that is where Jordan should be playing instead
JJ should only be playing the PF but again, we would not have a shooter to spread the floor

We cannot play TD, Bibby, together *cause they both cannot defend or penetrate* this is a no brainer, you honestly want them to guard Sessions or Gibson?
Now since they cannot penetrate, create good shots for themselves or others, what happens when JJ and Chandler are in here

Walker should be demoted, Novak deserves a shot when his 3point shot was very much needed. If Walker is playing well 1 game then fine leave him in but if he isn't
why does Dantoni put in the same lineups that aren't working?

----------------------
The DEF kept us in the game all the way till the 4th quarter, but our offense was horrible, this is just bad coaching
Our 3point shooters are not good at it, but without the ability to penetrate, that is the shot they will often have to take
How many times did we see Melo and Amare take a HORRIBLE shot at the last seconds, because our PG's and team were unable to facilitate, get a good looks, while trying to move the ball, and of course with NO PENETRATION

I have been patient, there is 0 excuse for not playing Lin, our PG's were not bringing it as they haven't for majority of our losses.
TD missed a couple of good looks, but he could not create for anyone, horrible penetration to the paint while getting TO or blocked.
So after chucking bad shots and throwing it up after he leaves his feet with no option, Dantoni continues to put this garbage "PG" in so he can repeat his mistakes
or inability to run the team. So TD doesn't think he is doing anything wrong, Dantoni is promoting his garbage play, and I don't know what makes him think
he can play Bibby and TD together, that is a *DING* for the offense to attack them
How many times did TD give a stupid foul for no reason? then he argues or gives a puzzled face as to why he got a foul...

Lin
Jordan
Novak

all 3 deserved to play yesterday, this is just bad coaching, after a night in which these 3rd unit players looked more cohesive than majority of our starters did for the season, you would expect Dantoni to give them a shot when the 1st and 2nd unit were showing weakness and inability to get good looks
Even Balkman should have played over Walker when he was playing horrible in the 2nd half...

You know all these years that people defend Dantoni and his dog house with whoever, these players above are not bad chemistry players and take bad shots
but they get no shot to play for no reason, Dantoni fails to give them a shot even though they showed they can play a role yesterday which totally kills any confidence
they may have gained....Dantoni plays the same players that makes the same mistakes and shows the same inabilities needed to compliment each other

franco12 wrote:It might have holes, but I think the team has underachieved.

I just think they need a different coach.

Vecsey had a good article the other day and I think he was basically saying MDA has kinda given up- that he probably never wanted Melo.

http://www.nypost.com/p/sports/knicks/passed_tense_U6LuAxe8WaNIL2O30Orh9M

The fact is we have three really solid starters that should most nights dominate their opponent.

Do they have their flaws & warts? Yes, but I think its up to the coach to devise a game plan that lets them shine and helps cover up those warts best as possible.

I like what MDA tried to do with having Melo be the point forward- but I don't think MDA has the balls to get in his players faces, and I think that is what we need.

When Melo was on his 10 for 100 streak, and going ISO every time - MDA should have benched him.

There are folks here that defend MDA when he doesn't play rookies, cause, they're rookies, they have to earn it.

Doubly so I say the burden is on stars to shine and perform and carry the flag.

Vecsey? Good article?

Good God, what's happening here...

Lin, Jordan and Novak??? Come on guys! If they happen to play well it's not like they've done it before and it was to be expected. In fact it would be a surprise. There is no NBA track record to suggest that any of those 3 would be able to help lift this team out of it's problems. They haven't been as good as the guys we have playing now carrier wise. Novak can shoot but he's never been a major part of a rotation on a consistent basis. Novak is a career 10 mpg 4pts and 1 reb! I'm not saying he can't do well, just that there's no evidence to support your idea that he should play. We'll see if he gets a shot from MDA.

nixluva wrote:I think you have to look at it from MDA's eyes. The guys he's playing are most likely to be in the rotation in the end and they MUST learn how to play the right way consistently. We see it for maybe a quarter here or there, but not all game and sometimes they never do it in a game at all. The blowout the other night was the only time they did it throughout an entire game.

Lin, Jordan and Novak??? Come on guys! If they happen to play well it's not like they've done it before and it was to be expected. In fact it would be a surprise. There is no NBA track record to suggest that any of those 3 would be able to help lift this team out of it's problems. They haven't been as good as the guys we have playing now carrier wise. Novak can shoot but he's never been a major part of a rotation on a consistent basis. Novak is a career 10 mpg 4pts and 1 reb! I'm not saying he can't do well, just that there's no evidence to support your idea that he should play. We'll see if he gets a shot from MDA.

but we have seen the inability 90% of the lineups that he continues to put in. What success are you talking about? at the very least

Lin > TD, Bibby

Jerome Jordan > JJ at Center

Novak > Walker at SF

these "3rd string" players should at least get a shot when these 2nd unit player are constantly not able to perform...
Just like how Darko instantly became a rotation player when he went to the Wolves, when we clearly could have used Darko, to get stops/reb/block shots, and change the tempo. I am not saying he should play 30-40minutes. I am saying he could have at least played 10-15minutes.
You are telling me Darko instantly became a different player when he was traded, when he NEVER got a shot, to do his job, instead JJ was playing the center with Lee,
in which neither showed the ability to defend at that position. The reason he went with JJ and especially Lee, was because they were able to penetrate
on the offense and hit the 15 footer. But JJ should never get any minute at the Center, especially when our DEF is weak at the PF.

You are defending Dantoni's dog house by things we cannot see with practice, but, we can see what the players he puts in cannot achieve and are put in a situation to fail to constantly get back those minutes and continue those mistakes/inability...

I've seen Lin play every game but Charlotte(still have it taped and will watch). Maybe the Charlotte game is an indication he's getting better and ready to play soon. Mabye it's just a product of a 30 point blow it. Tough to tell. Considering he hasn't played more then 6 minutes in a game, how are all of you guys making these definitive assessments that he is better than Bibby or TD? What are you seeing? The saem thing we saw in Anthony Randolph youtube videos? Give it time, if he's good he will play.

Bippity10 wrote:I know you guys hate this, but I don't care.......I coached for a long time adn never once put a player in to "try things out". People keep assumign that he is killing TD and Bibby in practice. Not once have we considered the possibility that he is getting killed in practice.

I've seen Lin play every game but Charlotte(still have it taped and will watch). Maybe the Charlotte game is an indication he's getting better and ready to play soon. Mabye it's just a product of a 30 point blow it. Tough to tell. Considering he hasn't played more then 6 minutes in a game, how are all of you guys making these definitive assessments that he is better than Bibby or TD? What are you seeing? The saem thing we saw in Anthony Randolph youtube videos? Give it time, if he's good he will play.

AR was taking bad shots, while he had the athleticism, foot speed, length, and size while lacking the IQ that could have taken some of JJ's minutes.

But Lin is currently our fastest/quickest PG, with the best IQ, and being the true PG at 6'3.

He is much more comparable to Darko, where he instantly, was part of a rotation after 5-8 games, on the T-Wolves, finding minutes, part of the rotation, and a role in which could have helped us. Because Darko cannot hit a 3pointer or 17footer and does not have the ability to drive his man off the dribble in which Lee did, that is why he never got minutes. But as a center, he shouldn't have that ability, he could have easily played 10-15minutes for us. That is what I am saying...

While Lin has shown more speed and quickness, with the ability to penetrate and create good shots, while TD and Bibby cannot.
They constantly are given a chance to produce when they fail 8/10 times.

Lin has shown he is the best option, even over Iman. But Iman's defense is keeping him in the game which I understand but not over TD and especially Bibby.
Playing Iman at the SG and Lin at the PG, would allow 2 players that can penetrate, where Field's is closer to a SF than SG.
Lin deserves a shot after all is said and done, there is no reason why he should not play over at least Bibby, especially when TD and Bibby are playing together.