SUNS             KNICKS
Amare      --    Amare
Barbosa    --    Shumpert
Nash       --    Lin
Marion     --    Melo
Bell       --    Fields
Diaw       --    Tyson
J.Jones    --    Novak
K.Thomas   --    Jeffries

obviously, Lin has to stay at his current level and the Melo has to fit. however, i don't think that's out of the realm of possibility.

newyorknewyork wrote:Lin isn't as good as Nash that goes without saying of course. But the Suns never won a Ship cuz they lacked defense from the PG and Center position. This squad doesn't have that flaw. We aren't even counting the possibility of when Baron Davis starts to play giving Lin needed rest and vise versa. That's a PG tandem that opponents will have major trouble having to defend for 48mins.

Add in a shooter like JR Smith to team up with Melo to knock down 3s on the perimeter.

Lin/Davis
Smith/Shump
Melo/Fields
Amare/Jeffries-Novak depending on need
Chandler/Harrelson

Some people were ready to give up on BD after the way Lin played last week, but as you point out, we really need the both of them. Both Chris Duhon and Raymond Felton faded after a few months, because this system is very demanding of a PG- we really need to keep his minutes down.

If he continues to play like this and if BD returns as an able player, then I'd like to see one of them get around 30mins and the other around 20mins- on back to backs just switch the minutes around to try and keep them both as fresh as possible. (Latest from Alan Hahn's twitter said BD did some individual workouts on his core, and did a few pick and role plays with Amar'e- Hahn said BD looked very lean and moved well at a controlled pace.)

Since the Billups injury, JRSmith seems to have increased the hints that he's going to the Clippers, and decreased the Knick hints, so I wouldn't count on him coming here- I'm pretty certain he's going to the Clippers.

Bonn1997 wrote:

eViL wrote:i think this current Knicks team compares very favorably to the Suns that should have beat the Spurs 5 years ago.

SUNS             KNICKS
Amare      --    Amare HUGE ADVANTAGE SUNS DUE TO AGE
Barbosa    --    Shumpert HUGE ADVANTAGE SUNS
Nash       --    Lin HUGE ADVANTAGE SUNS
Marion     --    Melo I'VE SAID ENOUGH ON MELO ALREADY
Bell       --    Fields TIE
Diaw       --    Tyson HUGE ADVANTAGE KNICKS
J.Jones    --    Novak 
K.Thomas   --    Jeffries A

obviously, Lin has to stay at his current level and the Melo has to fit. however, i don't think that's out of the realm of possibility.

Amare -- Amare HUGE ADVANTAGE SUNS DUE TO AGE
Barbosa -- Shumpert HUGE ADVANTAGE SUNS
Nash -- Lin HUGE ADVANTAGE SUNS
Marion -- Melo I'VE SAID ENOUGH ON MELO ALREADY
Bell -- Fields TIE
Diaw -- Tyson HUGE ADVANTAGE KNICKS

I don't think it's close

I wouldn't say Sun's Amare has a huge advantage. Last year Amare was playing just fine, and with an expanded repetoire over his younger days with a reliable jump shot.

Barbosa - Shumpert, again, I wouldn't say huge advantage Sun's. Shumpert is a rookie, but he's a terrific defender, and when not asked to run the offense, he's a great fit for this team. I'd say this is a push, but I'm fine if you want to give the edge to Barbosa for polish.

Nash - Lin, yes. As awesome as Lin has been lately, you still have to give a huge advantage to 2007 Nash. There's really no discussion there. Lin would have to keep up this insane production for the rest of the year to make it a conversation. I welcome that.

Melo and Marion are COMPLETELY different players. You cannot even compare them. Melo is a scorer, and Marion excelled as a rebounder/defender/garbage man.

Bell - Fields, yes.

Diaw - Tyson, yes.

Basically, I think it really comes down to the two key matchups: Nash/Lin and Diaw/Chandler. And sprinkle in intangible: chemistry. If Knicks can continue with the chemistry they've had as late, I think nothing is impossible for them.

newyorknewyork wrote:Lin isn't as good as Nash that goes without saying of course. But the Suns never won a Ship cuz they lacked defense from the PG and Center position. This squad doesn't have that flaw. We aren't even counting the possibility of when Baron Davis starts to play giving Lin needed rest and vise versa. That's a PG tandem that opponents will have major trouble having to defend for 48mins.

Add in a shooter like JR Smith to team up with Melo to knock down 3s on the perimeter.

Lin/Davis
Smith/Shump
Melo/Fields
Amare/Jeffries-Novak depending on need
Chandler/Harrelson

man, if this all plays out in our favor, we got very lucky.

like you said, our squad is much better on D. Nash obviously beats Lin right now. but we pretty much win or tie every other head-to-head matchup.

i'm super happy for MDA. dude has been patient and positive throughout all the turmoil. he never threw his players under the bus. he never lamented any of the trades that clearly damaged what he was trying to accomplish. some guys would have snapped publicly long ago. he's been getting the rug pulled out from under him every half a season, but finally, his patience may have paid off. now he has a chance to go to war with the pieces he needs. super exciting times to be a Knicks fan.

It's pretty close, once Barom comes back it's probably a tie or advantage Knicks.

loweyecue wrote:Nash never played defense. So not sure how he was Huge advantage.
Melo better than anybody on that Denver team.

It's pretty close, once Barom comes back it's probably a tie or advantage Knicks.

Nash is a maestro running an offense. Elite abilities. One of the top three point guards of the last 20 years. A little early to be putting JLin anywhere closer than Huge advantage Suns. Not saying impossible, but let's talk again in 20 games.

Panos wrote:

eViL wrote:i'm super happy for MDA. dude has been patient and positive throughout all the turmoil. he never threw his players under the bus. he never lamented any of the trades that clearly damaged what he was trying to accomplish. some guys would have snapped publicly long ago. he's been getting the rug pulled out from under him every half a season, but finally, his patience may have paid off. now he has a chance to go to war with the pieces he needs. super exciting times to be a Knicks fan.

Except for poor Jordan Hill (lol!)

hahaha!!

Panos wrote:

loweyecue wrote:Nash never played defense. So not sure how he was Huge advantage.
Melo better than anybody on that Denver team.

It's pretty close, once Barom comes back it's probably a tie or advantage Knicks.

Nash is a maestro running an offense. Elite abilities. One of the top three point guards of the last 20 years. A little early to be putting JLin anywhere closer than Huge advantage Suns. Not saying impossible, but let's talk again in 20 games.

No argument about Nash' ability to run the offense. That said he is a one way player of the most extreme kind. Lin can be three notches down on offense but also 4 notches higher on defense. He is not elite anything yet, not even close but his impact on the game may be just as great. The easiest offense comes from scrappy defense. A defensive point guard can generate more offense than an elitist maestro who can't defend anything.

loweyecue wrote:

Panos wrote:

loweyecue wrote:Nash never played defense. So not sure how he was Huge advantage.
Melo better than anybody on that Denver team.

It's pretty close, once Barom comes back it's probably a tie or advantage Knicks.

Nash is a maestro running an offense. Elite abilities. One of the top three point guards of the last 20 years. A little early to be putting JLin anywhere closer than Huge advantage Suns. Not saying impossible, but let's talk again in 20 games.

No argument about Nash' ability to run the offense. That said he is a one way player of the most extreme kind. Lin can be three notches down on offense but also 4 notches higher on defense. He is not elite anything yet, not even close but his impact on the game may be just as great. The easiest offense comes from scrappy defense. A defensive point guard can generate more offense than an elitist maestro who can't defend anything.

Lin's defense is the most underrated part of his game. I was led to believe he was slow which is strange, but that was the scouting report. Lin wasn't supposed to be able to have the lateral quickness to defend. What you see with him actually playing meaningful minutes is that he's smart and is learning the nuances of the NBA game. I think his future is very bright.

I can actually see him getting close to the Nash level because I see him being smart enough to avoid areas where he's not as strong and really he doesn't have a lot of weaknesses. The more he spends time with MDA the more he'll learn about how to attack defenses and get his teammates shots. This kid has only begun his NBA education.

newyorknewyork wrote:

loweyecue wrote:

newyorknewyork wrote:

smackeddog wrote:

newyorknewyork wrote:Lin isn't as good as Nash that goes without saying of course. But the Suns never won a Ship cuz they lacked defense from the PG and Center position. This squad doesn't have that flaw. We aren't even counting the possibility of when Baron Davis starts to play giving Lin needed rest and vise versa. That's a PG tandem that opponents will have major trouble having to defend for 48mins.

Add in a shooter like JR Smith to team up with Melo to knock down 3s on the perimeter.

Lin/Davis
Smith/Shump
Melo/Fields
Amare/Jeffries-Novak depending on need
Chandler/Harrelson

Some people were ready to give up on BD after the way Lin played last week, but as you point out, we really need the both of them. Both Chris Duhon and Raymond Felton faded after a few months, because this system is very demanding of a PG- we really need to keep his minutes down.

If he continues to play like this and if BD returns as an able player, then I'd like to see one of them get around 30mins and the other around 20mins- on back to backs just switch the minutes around to try and keep them both as fresh as possible. (Latest from Alan Hahn's twitter said BD did some individual workouts on his core, and did a few pick and role plays with Amar'e- Hahn said BD looked very lean and moved well at a controlled pace.)

Since the Billups injury, JRSmith seems to have increased the hints that he's going to the Clippers, and decreased the Knick hints, so I wouldn't count on him coming here- I'm pretty certain he's going to the Clippers.

I would say 28mins Lin, 20mins Davis at the PG position.

If Smith don't sign that's fine, We def need a 3pt specialist at SG so Shump, Fields,, Bibby or Douglas need to step up and start knocking down open 3s.

We already have Novak

We need it at SG though as Novak coming in means Melo, Amare, or Chandler have to come out.

If you are saying we need a three point shooter to play with Melo then I agree we need one other than Novak. Who is the best 3PT shooter in the D-League? I wonder..