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Coaching
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Ray15
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5/9/2004  3:28 PM
First off, I don't like Lenny Wilkens at all. He added a little more movement on offense than Chaney but the defense still is not where it should be. I think Isiah hired him because he thought the team would do much better in the playoffs, Sheed would come with the MLE, and Lenny was the only guy who would be willing to step down and retire in order to let Isiah take over. That obviously didn't happen so where do we go from here?

It is clear Isiah cannot take over yet as all other guys who have tried have basically failed. Riley is one of the alltime great coaches and he couldn't do it. Nelson is doing a decent job but Cuban is basically that team's GM as well as owner. There is too much to be done as both a coach and GM that nobody can do a great job unless a championship caliber team is already in place.

I think we need to bring in a young guy that loves to coach, gets on his players if they're not producing, and is creative on offense but puts defense first. Stan Van Gundy, Jeff Bezdelik, Jeff Van Gundy, Lawerence Frank, and Rick Carlile all are examples off the top of my head.

It will take 2 more seasons to get a championship team together so I hope Isiah realizes this and hires an up and coming coach. If Bezdelick gets canned, we need to go after him hard. I would look at solid assistant coaches that are young and hungry as well. I would also give Mark Aguire a hard look as that was rumored a few weeks ago. At least he'll yell and get the most out of our players.

Who would you guys want? Lenny Wilens, Isiah, Bezdelik, Aguire?
If somebody else, give us a little bio as to what his strengths and weaknesses are.

[Edited by - ray15 on 05/09/2004 15:31:02]
Defense and Toughness
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EnySpree
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5/9/2004  7:04 PM
Lenny....

Knicks need to just play ball.

I feel Lenny is giving them the plan to sucseed.....especially after only about 2 months.

I expect the Knicks to be more crisp next year especially with the possibility of some upgrades to the roster.

Besides Aguirre is a hands on coach. He's been working well with the big guys and he's always in the ear of some player. You see him on the sidelines all the time teaching in the game.

Isiah Thomas is actively involved in their practices. He has been working with Marbury on the side....and cursing them out in the locker room.

I like things the way they are. Lenny is the guy making the in game changes with the subbing and situational plays. Aguirre is individually picking everyones brains, and Isiah is doing alot behind the scenes. Marbury controls the tempo and flow of the game. Marbury is the floor general.

Things are fine.....everyone has a place on the coaching staff and do their role well. Don't forget Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. He's a scout but I'm sure he'll be in the gym this summer working with someone on the Knicks.

Let next season play out then lets see what we got.

[Edited by - enyspree on 05/09/2004 19:06:15]
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BRIGGS
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5/9/2004  7:15 PM
coaching is the least of our worries! we need TTSA talent toughness size and athletiscm then ill worry about the coaching part.

by the way the team isah coached last year that underacheived won 61 games with many less techs and smarter play! lets have isah concentrate on the TTSA part! I know he was not dealt the best hand but it sure wasnt a pair of deuces either with the way we throw cash around! i believe isiah had the chance to really break this thing down and give us some very intruiging options going forward- but that didnt happen
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nykdunk
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5/10/2004  10:36 AM
Anyone but Lenny would work for me. Unless the plan is to keep losing...

What we really need is a coach who preaches defense like a broken record. Doc Rivers would have been great, but Byron Scott would work just as well. I could care less if we lose as long as the defense is doing everything they can. That was simply not the case with Lenny this season and the Knicks will NEVER play good defense under Lenny. If Lawrence Frank is axed, Isiah really should get him too. Not that I think it will happen. Of course, if there is one guy out there that can handle both coach and GM, it may well be Isiah, but I doubt he will fire Lenny. The Knicks have a history of illogical thinkers in the front office. This offseason will be a golden opportunity to get a real coach who is up to date with the NBA these days. So of course, the Knicks will pass it up.
djsunyc
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5/10/2004  11:01 AM
Posted by NYKDUNK:

Anyone but Lenny would work for me. Unless the plan is to keep losing...

What we really need is a coach who preaches defense like a broken record. Doc Rivers would have been great, but Byron Scott would work just as well. I could care less if we lose as long as the defense is doing everything they can. That was simply not the case with Lenny this season and the Knicks will NEVER play good defense under Lenny. If Lawrence Frank is axed, Isiah really should get him too. Not that I think it will happen. Of course, if there is one guy out there that can handle both coach and GM, it may well be Isiah, but I doubt he will fire Lenny. The Knicks have a history of illogical thinkers in the front office. This offseason will be a golden opportunity to get a real coach who is up to date with the NBA these days. So of course, the Knicks will pass it up.

why would doc rivers be so great?
he got his team to .500 one year. then they completely were hit with the injury bug combined with POOR player personnel decisions (which he had a hand in) that resulted in a poor season where he lost his star player and got fired.

hell, don chaney got last year's team to overachieve (like doc did) and had to coach a team that was patched together by layden earlier this season before layden got canned.

that's what i don't get, why do you want to already get rid of lenny to bring in a coach that hasn't really done much? doc rivers is not a coach that's ready to make a team an nba title contender (not yet at least) so why not let lenny stay on (while the team is in flux) and then when we're ready to make that last push, we bring in a coach then.

a coach can preach defense all he wants but if the players he have don't play defense or are not familiar with each other yet to play team defense, then it's not his fault.
fishmike
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5/10/2004  11:14 AM
you probably get your wish because everything I have heard suggest Mark Aguire will be next, and he's a maniac for guys to play D.
"winning is more fun... then fun is fun" -Thibs
djsunyc
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5/10/2004  11:23 AM
Posted by fishmike:

you probably get your wish because everything I have heard suggest Mark Aguire will be next, and he's a maniac for guys to play D.

if aguirre is really going to be the coach of the team, then maybe he should start as soon as next season. it would be tough to build up a team to a point where they're ready to compete (in 2 years) and then hand it over to a rookie coach, no?
nykdunk
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5/10/2004  11:25 AM
Isiah is NOT going to fire Lenny, even though it is so obviously the right thing to do. If he fires Lenny, he will take another big hit from fans and the media, so he has to watch his back. It must be frustrating for him. He probably wants to fire Lenny, but can't.
fishmike
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5/10/2004  11:52 AM
fire Lenny for what? You cant squeeze blood from a stone here. Lets see this group get healthy and learn to play together. Relax.. be patient.
"winning is more fun... then fun is fun" -Thibs
Allanfan20
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5/10/2004  12:34 PM
Yeah, I can't find the logic in firing Lenny, unless if Rudy TomJanovic suddenly comes in the picture, but I doubt that. Give Lenny a healthy team, decent frontcourt and a full training camp and pre season. Lets see what happen then.
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Nalod
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5/10/2004  12:47 PM

Kareem, Isiah, Aguire and lenny all have won rings before!

It will take time for a culture to set in with those guys around.

Game time screeming is not that big a deal, real coaching is done in practice and preparation.

Give it time. And no more Star Phuching.
nykdunk
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5/10/2004  1:59 PM
Posted by fishmike:

fire Lenny for what? You cant squeeze blood from a stone here. Lets see this group get healthy and learn to play together. Relax.. be patient.

I'm in no real mood to watch 82 games worth of defensive blunders and unmotivational basketball. We had enough of that this season.

[Edited by - nykdunk on 05/10/2004 14:01:10]
fishmike
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5/10/2004  3:24 PM
then your a typical NY fan that doesnt understand teams and systems are created over time and not bought overnight.
"winning is more fun... then fun is fun" -Thibs
nykdunk
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5/10/2004  8:47 PM
Posted by fishmike:

then your a typical NY fan that doesnt understand teams and systems are created over time and not bought overnight.

systems can be created immediately. It takes time to actually carry out the system. But I didn't see any hint of a "system." Unless those blunders are in fact part of his "system". (Keep sticking with what isn't working, make sure you keep your distance from the person you're guarding, etc.)
martin
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5/10/2004  9:05 PM
Lest everyone forgets, Lenny was brought into NY for 1 thing. To coach Marbury. That's it. Point guard to point guard. Teach him how to win. Teach him how to lead. Teach him to play the game. Playoff games would be a bonus, but showing Marb how to grow up is first priority.

Isiah got his seat filler for sure, and Dolan is happy. I can guarentee you that Zeke has a 3-4 year plan that started with getting a potential franchise player and growing the team from there. Championship team. We are going to have to wait for the rest to fall in line cause Isiah is going to cut the fat any way he can and go from there. Game will be lost over the next years at the sacrifice of growing Marbs. Dolan/Isiah could have found a better overall team coach – the Czar? - but that may have been to the detriment to player development (Marbs, FWill, Sweets, DerMarr, Nazr). Look at the situation in Nuggets land and see what kind of GM respect they are having for their coach who may have won too many games at the expense of player development.
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nykdunk
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5/10/2004  9:11 PM
Posted by martin:

Lest everyone forgets, Lenny was brought into NY for 1 thing. To coach Marbury. That's it. Point guard to point guard. Teach him how to win. Teach him how to lead. Teach him to play the game. Playoff games would be a bonus, but showing Marb how to grow up is first priority.

In that case, it failed. Marbury did not improve after coming to New York. His defense, shot selection, and decision making on the floor continued to get worse as the season went on.
martin
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5/10/2004  9:19 PM
Posted by NYKDUNK:
Posted by martin:

Lest everyone forgets, Lenny was brought into NY for 1 thing. To coach Marbury. That's it. Point guard to point guard. Teach him how to win. Teach him how to lead. Teach him to play the game. Playoff games would be a bonus, but showing Marb how to grow up is first priority.

In that case, it failed. Marbury did not improve after coming to New York. His defense, shot selection, and decision making on the floor continued to get worse as the season went on.

patience my young grasshopper. You have to take a step backwards before you take more forward.
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Ray15
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5/10/2004  11:13 PM
Posted by NYKDUNK:
Posted by martin:

Lest everyone forgets, Lenny was brought into NY for 1 thing. To coach Marbury. That's it. Point guard to point guard. Teach him how to win. Teach him how to lead. Teach him to play the game. Playoff games would be a bonus, but showing Marb how to grow up is first priority.

In that case, it failed. Marbury did not improve after coming to New York. His defense, shot selection, and decision making on the floor continued to get worse as the season went on.


I don't think Lenny is the best man to teach Marbury. If you want a point guard Avery Johnson will probably be available. I think Isiah can teach Marbury and we need somebody to really make defense and the little things important again.

Every fan on this board would have loved to seen a no layup rule inserted into the NJ series. They were killing us every time and we just let them have their clean layups and dunks. I recall onetime when Kittles had a layup in the open floor and KT was behind him. If JVG or Riley coached this team he would've gone up, tried to block the shot but would've put Kittles' on the floor and sent a message to the entire Nets team.

They put us to the floor hard every time we went to the rim and it rattled us. Marbury got knocked down then he went to the rim twice and missed two easy layups because he was bracing himself for contact. Get a guy that rewards a guy like Sweetney who works his butt off and is hungry to get his hands on the ball. Get a guy who is willing to put Frank Williams in the starting lineup rather than Shandon Anderson and put Dermarr ahead of Shandon in the rotation. Lenny has done a better job of expanding the bench as Don Chaney didn't allow more than 9 guys to see the floor.

I wouldn't mind Eric Mussleman. He did an unbelievable job developing Gilbert Areanas so he would definitley be a good influence on Marbury. He also did a great job with that Golden St team until Mullin made some horrible moves.
Defense and Toughness
Coaching

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