The Knicks’ two most expensive free-agent additions of Lopez (four years, $54 million and shooting guard Arron Afflalo (two years at $16 million) were made to improve the defense. Lopez hasn’t backed down from those expectations.
“This year the focus is on our defense, and I’m the decider of things as the last line of defense,’’ Lopez said, hoping to improve upon a defense that was ranked 27th in opponent field-goal percentage last season, at 46 percent. “Defense is passion. That’s contagious. If you can spread it to teammates, that’s wonderful.”

That kind of attitude is just what the doctor ordered for this team. He had a HUGE impact on the Blazers defense when he got there and i'm hoping for a similar impact here in NY. People are so focused on the team not having offense big names but what is going to really make this team a playoff contender is how they defend. We have a nice influx of defensive players on this roster. It's a bit underrated by the media.

nixluva wrote:

holfresh wrote:The guy who scored 5 pts and 4 reb in the playoffs..He wanted to return to Portland but they didn't want him back and he is the decider for my team?.. Please just stop..

Don't be so reactionary. RoLo wasn't talking about scoring points. He was talking about his defense!!! Pay some F'n attention and you won't embarrass yourself. You may not respect his defensive presence but not everyone is so biased that they can ignore the truth. RoLo can set the tone for this team this year on Defense, like he did for the Blazers who by the way won 50 games both of his seasons there and they were actually in the playoffs.

6. Which "Blue Blood" franchise will have a bigger renaissance: the Celtics, Lakers, Knicks or 76ers?

A lot of smart money says Boston, which came on strong the second half of last season under Brad Stevens to make the playoffs. The Celtics added two solid vets in David Lee and Amir Johnson with still more young talent in guards Terry Rozier and R.J. Hunter, and forward Jordan Mickey. Others might say Philly, which had Jahlil Okafor fall into its lap with the third pick of the Draft, and which looks like it's finally going to keep a core group together for more than five minutes this season and let Brett Brown have some stability on his roster. And Kobe Bryant's return from injury, along with getting a rim protector in Roy Hibbert, can only mean things are looking up in L.A.

But it says here that the Knicks -- the laughingstock, woebegone, why does Spike keep his season tickets Knicks -- will make the biggest jump of the four. It shouldn't be that hard -- New York only won 18 games last season, and they're in the East; it's much easier to find winnable games night in and night out.
Many dismissed the Knicks' major offseason additions -- center Robin Lopez, guard Arron Afflalo, forwards Derrick Williams and Kyle O'Quinn, center Kevin Seraphin, and Draftees Kristaps Porzingis and Jerian Grant. But those vets, particularly Lopez and Afflalo, are solid fits for the triangle offense. Grant has the kind of size Phil Jackson likes in a guard, and he can apprentice Jose Calderon unless and until the Knicks move Calderon by the trade deadline.

If Carmelo Anthony is all the way back from his injuries, he'll carry the offensive load, of course. But Lopez is a legit defensive presence at center, which should begin to improve New York's awful defensive numbers from last season (28th in defensive rating, 22nd in points allowed). O'Quinn and Seraphin should provide depth off the bench. Porzingis may struggle for a while, but he won't struggle forever. Neither will the Knicks. A 15-win jump would only make them a 33-win team next season. Nothing to write home about, to be sure. But it's a start.

http://www.nba.com/2015/news/features/david_aldridge/09/28/morning-tip-early-questions-for-2015-16-ty-lawson-with-rockets-qa-caron-butler/index.html?ls=iref:nbahpt6d

arkrud wrote:It i not about how many wins we will have.
It s about how we will compete in every game.
NBA is tough and a lot of superior talent and well establish teams will come to play.
I will be fine with any number if I will see structured smart bbal and all around effort on both ends.

Noooo..Don't get it twisted, it's about the wins...Hahn said Orientation is over, he knows it's about the wins..

arkrud wrote:

holfresh wrote:

arkrud wrote:It i not about how many wins we will have.
It s about how we will compete in every game.
NBA is tough and a lot of superior talent and well establish teams will come to play.
I will be fine with any number if I will see structured smart bbal and all around effort on both ends.

Noooo..Don't get it twisted, it's about the wins...Hahn said Orientation is over, he knows it's about the wins..

Wins are good. But to me its a bonus.
My expectation are low.
I learned my lessons with this Knicks and not going to get exited about any unfinished product, especially a product so early in development. Baby steps...

knicks1248 wrote:

holfresh wrote:

arkrud wrote:

holfresh wrote:

arkrud wrote:It i not about how many wins we will have.
It s about how we will compete in every game.
NBA is tough and a lot of superior talent and well establish teams will come to play.
I will be fine with any number if I will see structured smart bbal and all around effort on both ends.

Noooo..Don't get it twisted, it's about the wins...Hahn said Orientation is over, he knows it's about the wins..

Wins are good. But to me its a bonus.
My expectation are low.
I learned my lessons with this Knicks and not going to get exited about any unfinished product, especially a product so early in development. Baby steps...

This is NY..It's always about the wins..

it kills me when people talk about it's not about the wins, your not improving if your not winning. A 3 point loss is no difference then a 20 point loss.

When we won 37 games, the coach got fired

Wins are result of proper team building.
We will get wins when team will be ready to win.
As the team is constructed now I do not see much wins coming our way but I like the direction and the steps taken.
Results will come in its due time.
We will have more clue about the time frame when team will start playing.
For now team is a bunch of strangers just assembled to play together.

ChuckBuck wrote:

knicks1248 wrote:

holfresh wrote:

arkrud wrote:

holfresh wrote:

arkrud wrote:It i not about how many wins we will have.
It s about how we will compete in every game.
NBA is tough and a lot of superior talent and well establish teams will come to play.
I will be fine with any number if I will see structured smart bbal and all around effort on both ends.

Noooo..Don't get it twisted, it's about the wins...Hahn said Orientation is over, he knows it's about the wins..

Wins are good. But to me its a bonus.
My expectation are low.
I learned my lessons with this Knicks and not going to get exited about any unfinished product, especially a product so early in development. Baby steps...

This is NY..It's always about the wins..

it kills me when people talk about it's not about the wins, your not improving if your not winning. A 3 point loss is no difference then a 20 point loss.

When we won 37 games, the coach got fired

Coach also lost the team. It's more than wins and losses.

Melo telling Woodson to shut his yap:

What is a meaning of 37 wins or 54 wins?
Where it get this team? Nowhere.
And it not suppose to.
Convergence can last some time but it is inevitable.
Junk turns to garbage and assets turns to gold.
Patience my friends.

holfresh wrote:

arkrud wrote:

knicks1248 wrote:

holfresh wrote:

arkrud wrote:

holfresh wrote:

arkrud wrote:It i not about how many wins we will have.
It s about how we will compete in every game.
NBA is tough and a lot of superior talent and well establish teams will come to play.
I will be fine with any number if I will see structured smart bbal and all around effort on both ends.

Noooo..Don't get it twisted, it's about the wins...Hahn said Orientation is over, he knows it's about the wins..

Wins are good. But to me its a bonus.
My expectation are low.
I learned my lessons with this Knicks and not going to get exited about any unfinished product, especially a product so early in development. Baby steps...

This is NY..It's always about the wins..

it kills me when people talk about it's not about the wins, your not improving if your not winning. A 3 point loss is no difference then a 20 point loss.

When we won 37 games, the coach got fired

Wins are result of proper team building.
We will get wins when team will be ready to win.
As the team is constructed now I do not see much wins coming our way but I like the direction and the steps taken.
Results will come in its due time.
We will have more clue about the time frame when team will start playing.
For now team is a bunch of strangers just assembled to play together.

You win games with talent in the NBA..You win games with how you play in college..We don't have a lot of talent..KP is the only guy here with real potential and that's not enough to win...NY press and fans don't have time for mistakes and time to figure it out...It's usually one and done unless Dolan has seen the light..MSG is publicly traded now and the Knicks are part of that...So when eyeballs stop watching MSGTV, which means lower ad revenues and fans stop showing up at the turnstile, someone will have to answer shareholders...Idealism don't fly on Wall Street..

You win games with chemistry...
You win games with patient fans...

Right now we have neither!

holfresh wrote:

arkrud wrote:

knicks1248 wrote:

holfresh wrote:

arkrud wrote:

holfresh wrote:

arkrud wrote:It i not about how many wins we will have.
It s about how we will compete in every game.
NBA is tough and a lot of superior talent and well establish teams will come to play.
I will be fine with any number if I will see structured smart bbal and all around effort on both ends.

Noooo..Don't get it twisted, it's about the wins...Hahn said Orientation is over, he knows it's about the wins..

Wins are good. But to me its a bonus.
My expectation are low.
I learned my lessons with this Knicks and not going to get exited about any unfinished product, especially a product so early in development. Baby steps...

This is NY..It's always about the wins..

it kills me when people talk about it's not about the wins, your not improving if your not winning. A 3 point loss is no difference then a 20 point loss.

When we won 37 games, the coach got fired

Wins are result of proper team building.
We will get wins when team will be ready to win.
As the team is constructed now I do not see much wins coming our way but I like the direction and the steps taken.
Results will come in its due time.
We will have more clue about the time frame when team will start playing.
For now team is a bunch of strangers just assembled to play together.

You win games with talent in the NBA..You win games with how you play in college..We don't have a lot of talent..KP is the only guy here with real potential and that's not enough to win...NY press and fans don't have time for mistakes and time to figure it out...It's usually one and done unless Dolan has seen the light..MSG is publicly traded now and the Knicks are part of that...So when eyeballs stop watching MSGTV, which means lower ad revenues and fans stop showing up at the turnstile, someone will have to answer shareholders...Idealism don't fly on Wall Street..

What RoLo said about being the "Decider" on defense is a huge point. Here's why. It's clear that any decent Defensive Team with a healthy Melo is usually able to have a winning record. If Melo is healthy and the team improves to at least a middle of the pack defensive team, it's much more likely this team has a winning record than not. This is why it's a big deal what RoLo said and that he intends to be a leader on the Defensive end.

Melo's team records and Defensive Ranking over the years.

Season	                Lg	Team	         W	L	W/L%	Playoffs	        Coaches	                
Def Rank - 28th 2014-15	NBA	New York Knicks	 17	65	.207			        D. Fisher  (17-65)	
Def Rank - 24th 2013-14	NBA	New York Knicks	 37	45	.451			        M. Woodson (37-45)	
Def Rank - 18th 2012-13	NBA	New York Knicks* 54	28	.659	Lost E. Conf. Semis	M. Woodson (54-28)	
Def Rank - 5th  2011-12	NBA	New York Knicks* 36	30	.545	Lost E. Conf. 1st Rnd.	M. D (18-24), M. Woodson (18-6)
Def Rank - 22nd 2010-11	NBA	New York Knicks* 42	40	.512	Lost E. Conf. 1st Rnd.	M. D'Antoni (42-40)	
Def Rank - 16th 2009-10	NBA	Denver Nuggets*	 53	29	.646	Lost W. Conf. 1st Rnd.	G. Karl    (53-29)	
Def Rank - 8th  2008-09	NBA	Denver Nuggets*	 54	28	.659	Lost W. Conf. Finals	G. Karl    (54-28)	
Def Rank - 10th 2007-08	NBA	Denver Nuggets*	 50	32	.610	Lost W. Conf. 1st Rnd.	G. Karl    (50-32)	
Def Rank - 11th 2006-07	NBA	Denver Nuggets*	 45	37	.549	Lost W. Conf. 1st Rnd.	G. Karl    (45-37)	
Def Rank - 13th 2005-06	NBA	Denver Nuggets*	 44	38	.537	Lost W. Conf. 1st Rnd.	G. Karl    (44-38)	
Def Rank - 8th  2004-05	NBA	Denver Nuggets*	 49	33	.598	Lost W. Conf. 1st Rnd.	J. Bzdelik (13-15), M. Cooper (4-10), G. Karl (32-8)
Def Rank - 13th 2003-04	NBA	Denver Nuggets*	 43	39	.524	Lost W. Conf. 1st Rnd.	J. Bzdelik (43-39)	

Phil has done a good job of bringing in players that can help this team become a better defensive team. Phil was focused on the defensive end and there are players on this roster who should be able to help massively improve this team's defense. For the 1st time in a while we have more defensive players than offense only players. This is a big reason why i'm high on this team being better than many think.

holfresh wrote:

arkrud wrote:It i not about how many wins we will have.
It s about how we will compete in every game.
NBA is tough and a lot of superior talent and well establish teams will come to play.
I will be fine with any number if I will see structured smart bbal and all around effort on both ends.

Noooo..Don't get it twisted, it's about the wins...Hahn said Orientation is over, he knows it's about the wins..

hahn represents knick fanbase? gtfo. it's a two-year narrative arc. nobody is making predictions about playoffs. your agenda is tiresome.

holfresh wrote:

dk7th wrote:

holfresh wrote:

arkrud wrote:It i not about how many wins we will have.
It s about how we will compete in every game.
NBA is tough and a lot of superior talent and well establish teams will come to play.
I will be fine with any number if I will see structured smart bbal and all around effort on both ends.

Noooo..Don't get it twisted, it's about the wins...Hahn said Orientation is over, he knows it's about the wins..

hahn represents knick fanbase? gtfo. it's a two-year narrative arc. nobody is making predictions about playoffs. your agenda is tiresome.

Tell that to the fans who have not renewed season tix or the secondary market participants that got hosed holding Knick tickets last year..

This thread isn't about Ticket sales!!! Who gives a FLIP about that? This is about this team having a better defense this year. Just taking a look at the bigs we have now it's a nice group of guys who should be solid defensively for this team. We don't have stats for KP but he should have a presence with his plus length and mobility.

Last year was a down year for RoLo and still he was a good defensive Center.

Robin Lopez
Defense Category	GP	G	DFGM	DFGA	DFG%	FREQ	FG%	Diff%
Overall	                59	59	6.1	13.2	46.0	100%	47.9	-1.8
3 Pointers	        59	31	0.4	0.9	38.2	7.1%	32.5	 5.7
2 Pointers	        59	59	5.7	12.3	46.6	92.9%	49.9	-3.3
Less Than 6 Ft	        59	58	3.5	6.4	54.7	48.1%	59.7	-5.1
Less Than 10 Ft	        59	59	4.4	8.8	49.4	66.9%	54.7	-5.3
Greater Than 15 Ft	59	57	1.3	3.3	38.5	24.6%	37.6	 1.0
Kyle O'Quinn
Defense Category	GP	G	DFGM	DFGA	DFG%	FREQ	FG%	Diff%
Overall	                50	50	2.9	6.3	45.1	100%	47.3	-2.1
3 Pointers	        50	23	0.3	0.9	34.1	13.9%	34.3	-0.2
2 Pointers	        50	49	2.6	5.5	46.9	86.1%	50.0	-3.2
Less Than 6 Ft	        50	43	1.6	2.7	57.8	42.6%	60.6	-2.9
Less Than 10 Ft	        50	47	1.9	3.6	51.9	57.1%	55.3	-3.4
Greater Than 15 Ft	50	40	0.8	2.3	35.4	35.6%	37.1	-1.7
Kevin Serphin
Defense Category	GP	G	DFGM	DFGA	DFG%	FREQ	FG%	Diff%
Overall	                78	78	2.8	6.3	44.1	100%	46.2	-2.1
3 Pointers	        78	42	0.3	0.7	38.5	10.5%	33.9	 4.6
2 Pointers	        78	78	2.5	5.7	44.8	89.5%	48.9	-4.1
Less Than 6 Ft	        78	73	1.6	3.1	53.3	48.6%	57.7	-4.4
Less Than 10 Ft	        78	76	2.1	4.2	50.3	65.6%	53.1	-2.8
Greater Than 15 Ft	78	62	0.6	1.6	35.9	25.9%	36.8	-0.8

It's these guys who should help to make our guards and wings much better defensively in a team concept. If this team can get back to a respectable level on D it will help this team a great deal in terms of wins. We lost games that were close last couple of season, due in part to not being able to get stops. Having a D that can get more timely stops could be a huge plus for this team. This team has to try and get to a top 15 defensive team this year. If they can do that they should be able to make the playoffs.