Rotation:
Lopez/Porzingis/Melo/Vujcaic/Calderon
Quin/Melo/Thomas/Afflalo/Galloway
Porzingis/Thomas/Afflalo/Galloway/Grant
Porzingis/Melo/SF/SG/Calderon (Either Galloway or Sasha close here at SG depending on who is having a better game, at SF either Thomas or Afflalo)

Got to reduce the guys who touch the ball and hold on to it for too long. This stagnantes the O and makes it the worst. Melo will always be like that a bit because he's an ISO heavy player. The rest can't. Anyone who does that, needs to be benched immediately. TAKE the shot or MOVE the ball. What we're running isn't the Triangle. Tex Winter would slap anyone who said this was the Triangle.

But like I said, we are playing 4 on 5 with Rolo in the game.

To beat the knicks, just leave him open all game and let him be the facilatator. It's an easy strategy. The reason why this wasn't a problem in Portland, is because Rolo had better scorers around him at 4 positions.

Leonard
Mathews
Batum
LA

These guys would run circles around us....We don't have that kind of talent. So Rolo is more exposed now. He can thank those 4 guys for his current salary.

ChuckBuck wrote:

blkexec wrote:BTW....Rolo started out hitting that mid range jumper.

But like I said, we are playing 4 on 5 with Rolo in the game.

To beat the knicks, just leave him open all game and let him be the facilatator. It's an easy strategy. The reason why this wasn't a problem in Portland, is because Rolo had better scorers around him at 4 positions.

Leonard
Mathews
Batum
LA

These guys would run circles around us....We don't have that kind of talent. So Rolo is more exposed now. He can thank those 4 guys for his current salary.

Yup. RoLo is most effective as 5th banana....literally. Rebounding and putting back Lilliard's and Aldridges misses are easy because they shoot alot of closer shots. I've never seen a team shoot so many midrange to long 2's and 3's as this Knicks team have. Alot of that is Calderon is 90 years old and can't penetrate for easy looks for himself and the team.

Who in the starting 5 can break their man down and get to the rim? Portland had 4 players around Rolo who can do that.

Jose - No
AA - No
Melo - Not anymore
KP - No
Rolo - Hell No

Leonard - Hell yes
Mathews - B4 his injury, yes
Batum - yes
LA - yes
Rolo - Hell No

So there really shouldn't be any surprises with Rolo's performance or the knicks performance. Portland was loaded and they got bounced out of the playoffs quick.

The issue is not Rolo....It's Rolo's evaluators! Is it his fault that Phil assumed Rolo would be better than what he's done his entire career? This isn't a job interview where you can lie about your past experiences. Every game is on tape. Sometimes I think our talent evaluators are really the ones we should be hating.

blkexec wrote:

ChuckBuck wrote:

blkexec wrote:BTW....Rolo started out hitting that mid range jumper.

But like I said, we are playing 4 on 5 with Rolo in the game.

To beat the knicks, just leave him open all game and let him be the facilatator. It's an easy strategy. The reason why this wasn't a problem in Portland, is because Rolo had better scorers around him at 4 positions.

Leonard
Mathews
Batum
LA

These guys would run circles around us....We don't have that kind of talent. So Rolo is more exposed now. He can thank those 4 guys for his current salary.

Yup. RoLo is most effective as 5th banana....literally. Rebounding and putting back Lilliard's and Aldridges misses are easy because they shoot alot of closer shots. I've never seen a team shoot so many midrange to long 2's and 3's as this Knicks team have. Alot of that is Calderon is 90 years old and can't penetrate for easy looks for himself and the team.

Who in the starting 5 can break their man down and get to the rim? Portland had 4 players around Rolo who can do that.

Jose - No
AA - No
Melo - Not anymore
KP - No
Rolo - Hell No

Leonard - Hell yes
Mathews - B4 his injury, yes
Batum - yes
LA - yes
Rolo - Hell No

So there really shouldn't be any surprises with Rolo's performance or the knicks performance. Portland was loaded and they got bounced out of the playoffs quick.

The issue is not Rolo....It's Rolo's evaluators! Is it his fault that Phil assumed Rolo would be better than what he's done his entire career? This isn't a job interview where you can lie about your past experiences. Every game is on tape. Sometimes I think our talent evaluators are really the ones we should be hating.

Correct. Phil gets egg on his face for this blatant misevaluation of talent.

Half Fish Half Phil. Half system, half personnel. Can't run triangle if you don't have skilled bigs with posting and passing ability. Can't run triangle if you don't have quick agile wings that could create for themselves and others, backdoor cut aggressively, and hit the open J.

Right now, Knicks got nothing in the tank. Roster sucks, coaching sucks, energy sucks. Could be a lost season, when it should've been a building block season. I personally projected 30-35 wins which would've been a coup at this point. Doubling your win total is amazing progress. Right now it's starting to look like a 20-25 win season the way the negative energy and locker room is turning...

Mathews is not a breakdown guard
Aldridge settles for a billion 20 footers
Lillard is really good of course

Rolo is certainly a lunch pail guy but is also a very good player in the PnR with a real guard.

How about his defense? Was that always bull shyt? He was the best defender on that team. He made them good more than vice versa.

In NY, the way that we are using him is beyond retarded and the fact that he is getting exposed by our guards on defense, he is not doing any worse than our DPOY who got owned on defense because of our guards.

Folks can't ignore what rolo has done for years and just say things that are not true.

Was he a bad fit here? HORRIBLE FIT! If we improve the team and the offensive sets, then we may see a different rolo. I do agree that with the whole NBA moving towards small ball, Rolo's will become less useful and more exposed. Rolo's are meant to guard Al Jeffersons. Al Jeffersons don't really play anymore because slow methodical post games are as extinct as the triangle.

Now here we are again, with a new starting PG who cant drive, make a layup, or shoot enough to make a difference, and some of you want to bench Lopez. Getting to the point soon where we should throw Grant in there and let him learn. Melo isnt happy, and behaving badly, our bigs look bad becuase no one is getting them the ball in the paint consistently, and where they like it. That's the first order of business.

martin wrote:

mreinman wrote:so how did rolo get all his points the last few years and at such a highly efficient rate? Not put backs ... how?

Mathews is not a breakdown guard
Aldridge settles for a billion 20 footers
Lillard is really good of course

Rolo is certainly a lunch pail guy but is also a very good player in the PnR with a real guard.

How about his defense? Was that always bull shyt? He was the best defender on that team. He made them good more than vice versa.

In NY, the way that we are using him is beyond retarded and the fact that he is getting exposed by our guards on defense, he is not doing any worse than our DPOY who got owned on defense because of our guards.

Folks can't ignore what rolo has done for years and just say things that are not true.

Was he a bad fit here? HORRIBLE FIT! If we improve the team and the offensive sets, then we may see a different rolo. I do agree that with the whole NBA moving towards small ball, Rolo's will become less useful and more exposed. Rolo's are meant to guard Al Jeffersons. Al Jeffersons don't really play anymore because slow methodical post games are as extinct as the triangle.

I think your assessment of POR of past years is off. Lillard, Matthews, Batum all can put the ball on the floor and space out to 3. Aldridge is a big who needs double teaming and can also hit from outside. And there you go.

They were a very good team and I forgot Batum but Aldridge is a much worse passer than melo and melo also gets doubled but as far as their over team, they got good penetration especially from Lillard. Wathews was more of a spot up.

The point was that Rolo was always efficient so there is obviously an issue here. Is he still good but we don't have the players to play with him or does he suck like the new party line here?

mreinman wrote:

martin wrote:

mreinman wrote:so how did rolo get all his points the last few years and at such a highly efficient rate? Not put backs ... how?

Mathews is not a breakdown guard
Aldridge settles for a billion 20 footers
Lillard is really good of course

Rolo is certainly a lunch pail guy but is also a very good player in the PnR with a real guard.

How about his defense? Was that always bull shyt? He was the best defender on that team. He made them good more than vice versa.

In NY, the way that we are using him is beyond retarded and the fact that he is getting exposed by our guards on defense, he is not doing any worse than our DPOY who got owned on defense because of our guards.

Folks can't ignore what rolo has done for years and just say things that are not true.

Was he a bad fit here? HORRIBLE FIT! If we improve the team and the offensive sets, then we may see a different rolo. I do agree that with the whole NBA moving towards small ball, Rolo's will become less useful and more exposed. Rolo's are meant to guard Al Jeffersons. Al Jeffersons don't really play anymore because slow methodical post games are as extinct as the triangle.

I think your assessment of POR of past years is off. Lillard, Matthews, Batum all can put the ball on the floor and space out to 3. Aldridge is a big who needs double teaming and can also hit from outside. And there you go.

They were a very good team and I forgot Batum but Aldridge is a much worse passer than melo and melo also gets doubled but as far as their over team, they got good penetration especially from Lillard. Wathews was more of a spot up.

The point was that Rolo was always efficient so there is obviously an issue here. Is he still good but we don't have the players to play with him or does he suck like the new party line here?

Different system, different players. I also think that Rolo is hurt right now, no explosion off his knee, not that he was a high leaper, but he has shown better.

It takes time for teams to gel, and you throw 10 new guys together, **** gonna take even longer. Rolo is feeling the brunt of it and he is under-performing.

SocraticBallin22 wrote:ROLO was horrible last night. He couldn't handle any passes thrown to him and was getting beat it seemed on every rebound. There is a reason why Portland started him last year but never closed with him. He is very limited offensively and clogs up the middle on offense. Not athletic enough either to make a huge difference on the glass or finishing around the basket. That's problematic.

Disagree with almost everything you said. Those were two bad passes that were thrown to him, and Lopez has been one of the best offensive rebounders in the league. He's made a living off of put backs. Unfortunately its hard to get putbacks when almost no one is taking it to the rim. Havent seen Lopez close a game since the begining of the season. Without him we have given up leads, unable to make stops. Lopez is in a slump but I woudnt say this is the player right now that he has always been.

SocraticBallin22 wrote:

GustavBahler wrote:

SocraticBallin22 wrote:ROLO was horrible last night. He couldn't handle any passes thrown to him and was getting beat it seemed on every rebound. There is a reason why Portland started him last year but never closed with him. He is very limited offensively and clogs up the middle on offense. Not athletic enough either to make a huge difference on the glass or finishing around the basket. That's problematic.

Disagree with almost everything you said. Those were two bad passes that were thrown to him, and Lopez has been one of the best offensive rebounders in the league. He's made a living off of put backs. Unfortunately its hard to get putbacks when almost no one is taking it to the rim. Havent seen Lopez close a game since the beginning of the season. Without him we have given up leads, unable to make stops. Lopez is in a slump but I wouldn't say this is the player right now that he has always been.

I think you'd agree that ROLO has been a huge disappointment so far this year. I thought his rebounding would be much better per minute. Lately, it seems like he fights for boards and just gets beat to the ball by other, more athletic bigs. And he's really not a good finisher around the basket for his size. All he really has is that mechanical sweeping hook. He's been underwhelming so far to say the least. I do agree that he would be much better with a penetrating pg.

However, he gets the ball way too much on the high post in the triangle. We should not be running offense through ROLO like we shouldn't have been running offense last year through dalembert or cole aldrich. It's stupidity.

No, I wouldnt say a huge disappointment. Until the last few games KP/Rolo were one of the best defensive tandems in the league. Both KP and Lopez have taken a step back defensively, ROLO more so. Lopez is good at finishing around the basket, but not when he gets the ball too far away from the rim.

I agree that he should not be intitating the offense very often, but I wouldnt stop him altogether, as he has shown that he can hit that ugly baby hook of his. Also has shown that he can hit a mid range jumper as he hit his first 2 last night.

Rolo isnt the only big going through a slump, replacing our geriatric PG is a better option, and a faster way to a turnaround than benching Lopez. If they bench Lopez, they should give him the opportunity to close games, Im guessing we will finish better than we have lately, if this isnt a health issue.

Lopez played some games where he was playing great D, grabbing boards on both ends and would get pulled early after two fouls and wouldn't play again. Didn't matter how well he was playing, two fouls and he was history. Makes no sense. I believe part of the problem is Lopez knows that more often than not he fouls out with 2 and might be trying to avoid getting pulled. Dont like the way Fisher has handled him.

martin wrote:

mreinman wrote:

martin wrote:

mreinman wrote:so how did rolo get all his points the last few years and at such a highly efficient rate? Not put backs ... how?

Mathews is not a breakdown guard
Aldridge settles for a billion 20 footers
Lillard is really good of course

Rolo is certainly a lunch pail guy but is also a very good player in the PnR with a real guard.

How about his defense? Was that always bull shyt? He was the best defender on that team. He made them good more than vice versa.

In NY, the way that we are using him is beyond retarded and the fact that he is getting exposed by our guards on defense, he is not doing any worse than our DPOY who got owned on defense because of our guards.

Folks can't ignore what rolo has done for years and just say things that are not true.

Was he a bad fit here? HORRIBLE FIT! If we improve the team and the offensive sets, then we may see a different rolo. I do agree that with the whole NBA moving towards small ball, Rolo's will become less useful and more exposed. Rolo's are meant to guard Al Jeffersons. Al Jeffersons don't really play anymore because slow methodical post games are as extinct as the triangle.

I think your assessment of POR of past years is off. Lillard, Matthews, Batum all can put the ball on the floor and space out to 3. Aldridge is a big who needs double teaming and can also hit from outside. And there you go.

They were a very good team and I forgot Batum but Aldridge is a much worse passer than melo and melo also gets doubled but as far as their over team, they got good penetration especially from Lillard. Wathews was more of a spot up.

The point was that Rolo was always efficient so there is obviously an issue here. Is he still good but we don't have the players to play with him or does he suck like the new party line here?

Different system, different players. I also think that Rolo is hurt right now, no explosion off his knee, not that he was a high leaper, but he has shown better.

It takes time for teams to gel, and you throw 10 new guys together, **** gonna take even longer. Rolo is feeling the brunt of it and he is under-performing.

To me the big difference is that in this system, Rolo is given the ball in the high post and asked to make plays MANY times per game. He turns the ball over a lot here. In Portland he was more of a straight garbage man. Lillard and LMA controlled most of the offense, with Matthews and Batum doing a lot, too. Lillard got into the paint off the dribble! Something our guards probably have dreams about doing some times. That set Rolo up for easy baskets. And Portland rarely put him in the position of having to create offense as a frickin' passer. It's just not his game.