Hollinger Stats - Defensive Efficiency
RK	TEAM	PACE	AST	TO	ORR	DRR	REBR	EFF FG%	TS%	OFF EFF	DEF EFF
1	Philly	92.0	16.1	19.0	24.3	74.7	49.7	48.3	51.4	102.5	94.6
2	Chicago	92.3	16.2	23.4	32.7	73.9	53.8	49.7	53.2	106.0	95.9
3	Boston	92.5	16.7	26.3	20.8	71.7	46.9	49.1	53.1	98.2	96.9
4	Miami	94.3	14.8	25.0	26.3	73.1	51.2	51.9	56.3	106.8	97.0
5	Atlanta	92.5	15.5	24.2	24.4	74.6	49.3	48.9	52.2	99.8	97.5
6	Dallas	94.2	15.3	24.2	24.6	74.7	49.9	48.5	52.3	100.3	97.7
7	Memphis	94.3	13.9	24.3	28.7	72.9	50.5	47.1	51.3	99.7	98.1
8	NYK	96.9	13.8	26.3	26.3	73.7	49.7	48.4	52.9	100.1	98.5
9       Lakers	92.8	15.1	25.5	27.6	74.3	52.3	48.6	53.0	101.5	98.5

ATLANTIC	W	L	PCT	GB	HOME	ROAD	DIV	CONF	PF	PA	DIFF	
PHI (4)	      26	20	.565	-	16-9	10-11	3-2	19-10	94.4	87.7	+6.7	
BOS (7)	      24	21	.533	1 ½	16-8	8-13	6-3	19-11	91.1	90.6	+0.5	
NYK (8)	      21	24	.467	4 ½	13-10	8-14	4-5	14-14	97.8	96.0	+1.8	
Raptors	      15	30	.333	10 ½	7-14	8-16	3-6	8-21	91.0	94.8	-3.8	
Nets	      15	32	.319	11 ½	5-17	10-15	4-4	11-23	92.7	98.9	-6.2

The Knicks have a chance of being 3 games back of Philly and owning the tiebreaker if they win the next two games. And the improved defense has vaulted them from 10th to 8th in the defensive efficiency standings very quickly.

I think winning the division and continuing to improve up to 5th in the league in defensive efficiency are attainable team goals that would mean a home court playoff series in round one and an increased focus on defense (that Woodson is already bringing, but this puts a number on it.).

Also, looking at the defensive efficiency standings, you can see why focusing on defense is so important here. Every team the knicks are chasing and will have to deal with in the playoffs is ahead of them in defensive efficiency.

The East is a defensive conference. It always has been, for whatever reason that's what succeeds out here. The West is a more run and gun conference - I read an article one time that said that teams out there tend to run and gun more in order to attract a fan base that hasn't historically followed basketball and there may be something to that. I know one thing: under MDA we never seemed to get big wins against the Eastern teams, most of the big wins seemed to come against other run and gun squads from the West. That needs to change if we're ever to have playoffs success. It seems to be changing under Woodson - he's had success in the East before and seems to know what it takes.

If the Knicks can attain these two goals, they can be an extremely dangerous playoffs team.

crzymdups wrote:

MSG3 wrote:Their biggest attainable goal should go without saying. Continue to play hard and continue to focus. I really like where Amar'e's game is at the last several games. His FG% has climbed, but I think more importantly he's really letting it all out on defense and that's leading to better play on offense. He really looks like his focus on the defensive side and I hope that lasts.

Amar'e still has some work to do on defense. He's actually killing the team a lot, though sadly his effort has actually been better lately. That said, this is from his last game:

markvmc wrote:They actually were fifth in def efficiency prior to the most recent losing streak, so that shouldn't be too hard a goal to obtain.

It's funny how fast people forget that even under MDA the team was playing some good D. They act like this is something new, but the key defensive players have been doing it all year. The difference now is that STAT and Melo finally joined in. If they had done it all year this team would be in better shape. Now they have to keep it up and that is the big question.

I think they can do it, if Woody recognizes any slippage and acts fast. He has shown that he will pull guys that are not giving it all on D or just don't have their head in the game. That's the one reason I have hope that this will continue.

Before, it was just wishful thinking for alot of people around here.

MarburyAnd1Crossover wrote:

JrZyHuStLa wrote:Now that Mike D'antoni has been removed, the possibility of becoming a good defensive team has opened up.

Before, it was just wishful thinking for alot of people around here.

There is a lot of fun stuff floating around the debris here, but you really take it beyond all bounds.

Out of touch.

Yeah especially considering that the team was higher in rank defensively under MDA. Look Woodson and MDA run the same damn D. People don't want to admit it but it's true. Also This team came together and won with great D and sharing on O minus STAT and Melo!!! So clearly at that time MDA didn't have any issues getting players to buy in.

Melo is a target only in that it's clear he's been at the heart of the team losing more games than it's won since he's come on board. STAT also has a huge share of Blame. If you're a truly transformational NBA star, then your team should win more games than lose when you are there.

Right now it's in the teams hands how they end this season. We've got games against the teams ahead of us and with the Bucks who we are fighting for the last spot with right now. We've got a chance to really do something special, so let's hope all of this drama is behind us. It's all about the effort on D.

markvmc wrote:They actually were fifth in def efficiency prior to the most recent losing streak, so that shouldn't be too hard a goal to obtain.

really? i don't remember them climbing that high. though i believe it. the team is a good defensive squad with a core of tyson, jeffries and shumpert. if the other guys are also defending, they're in good shape.

Uptown wrote:From your lips to the BB gods ears. Philly has to cooperate if we are the catch them. Problem is, Philly doesn't lose to teams they are supposed to beat. Outside of that, we need to continue to play with the same agression and passion as we've showed over the last 3....

philly plays 12 of their last 19 on the road. if the knicks beat them in philly, they'll be three games back and own the tiebreaker. it is possible. i guess we'll see though.

nixluva wrote:

MarburyAnd1Crossover wrote:

crzymdups wrote:

markvmc wrote:They actually were fifth in def efficiency prior to the most recent losing streak, so that shouldn't be too hard a goal to obtain.

really? i don't remember them climbing that high. though i believe it. the team is a good defensive squad with a core of tyson, jeffries and shumpert. if the other guys are also defending, they're in good shape.

Yea, they were that high. It came up in some discussions here.

The takeaway from the wins during Linsanity was that it was some kind of offensive burst, but the truth was that the team played better defensively minus STAT and Melo, who both were the culprits in the teams poor 1st and 3rd qtr defense all year. Stats just flat out point to those two as the biggest problem. Now that they're giving more effort and the team is deeper you should be seeing even better D than during Linsanity.

Thing is that Woody was here and helping on D all year. MDA let him pretty much go solo on that in practice, except for the rotations during games. Woody and MDA basically run the same defensive system. That was MDA who put the defensive unit out there in key moments of the games to close out. When he had Lin, Shump, Fields, Jared and Tyson out there it was a serious lock down unit, but the team lacked depth. Now Woody has even more tools cuz we added depth and if someone isn't working he can go to the bench and get another player. Like he did with Fields and JR. So long as this team stays locked in on D, they can definitely go on a run.

We need this win tonight against the Raps, then Sixers, Raps again, Detroit and the Bucks. 5 more solid wins and that would be perfect.

yeah, i've said many times and others have too, it pretty much was as simple as melo not playing hard on defense and being unsure what to do on offense. and a couple of other guys seem to be a little more relaxed now.

the idea that amar'e is playing better on defense is kind of funny. he was horrible w/MDA and still is now. he's just not defensively aware.

this thread isn't about coaching, it's about what this team can build to by the end of this season.

JrZyHuStLa wrote:I'm so glad we have a real coach now.

Whatever! Way to ignore what crzymdups just wrote:

this thread isn't about coaching, it's about what this team can build to by the end of this season.

This team isn't out of the woods yet. They haven't locked up anything or really changed their precarious situation. They still need to win a lot of games to lock up their playoff spot. You saying that they have a "real coach now" misses the point. Due to poor play and leadership from our two top players this team is still in a hole. Perhaps you haven't noticed that despite winning 4 we still have the Bucks on our heels.

Knicks must keep playing like this and can't relax. They've wasted all their chances losing to bad teams.