nixluva wrote:

BRIGGS wrote:I guess moving Paul George to PF can have significant benefits. Thats why every time I make a line up I put Carmelo at 4. Zinger is either a back up 5 or 4==hes not the main guy. In this NBA Carmelo Anthony--like the year we won 54 games--is an impossible match up nightmare at the 4. Putting Carmelo at the 4 with smarter pieces and better defense will help make the team to be much more competitive. From there its how much they can share the ball IN ADDITION to Melo and how good the % are in those other shots.

I think you're missing the point. The system of offense we play now has literally NOTHING to do with how we played in that 54 win season. This is just not comparable in any way. This is a motion offense!!! It's not a 4 out 1 in, static offense with some PnR. In this system Melo will still get plenty of looks in his most successful spots, but the other players will not be static and posted around the 3 pt line most of the time. Now his teammates will be moving constantly. You have to get out of this mindset of the past cuz we aren't playing like that anymore.

This offense is designed to work with multiple bigs. Legit Centers and PF's. You have post ups at the C, PF and SF spot if you want it. This offense is about getting to the basket a LOT. People wrongly think it's about midrange jumpers when it's really about penetration! Post up Penetration, back cut penetration and give n go penetration at the basket. Of course there will be midrange and 3pt shots as well, but the primary focus is on getting to the basket.

Whatever you say. The team is best with Melo at 4. One thing I can already notice is NBA tempo its faster--it worked last year and its just going to get faster. I dont know if having 2 7 footers at a time will work.

BRIGGS wrote:

nixluva wrote:

BRIGGS wrote:I guess moving Paul George to PF can have significant benefits. Thats why every time I make a line up I put Carmelo at 4. Zinger is either a back up 5 or 4==hes not the main guy. In this NBA Carmelo Anthony--like the year we won 54 games--is an impossible match up nightmare at the 4. Putting Carmelo at the 4 with smarter pieces and better defense will help make the team to be much more competitive. From there its how much they can share the ball IN ADDITION to Melo and how good the % are in those other shots.

I think you're missing the point. The system of offense we play now has literally NOTHING to do with how we played in that 54 win season. This is just not comparable in any way. This is a motion offense!!! It's not a 4 out 1 in, static offense with some PnR. In this system Melo will still get plenty of looks in his most successful spots, but the other players will not be static and posted around the 3 pt line most of the time. Now his teammates will be moving constantly. You have to get out of this mindset of the past cuz we aren't playing like that anymore.

This offense is designed to work with multiple bigs. Legit Centers and PF's. You have post ups at the C, PF and SF spot if you want it. This offense is about getting to the basket a LOT. People wrongly think it's about midrange jumpers when it's really about penetration! Post up Penetration, back cut penetration and give n go penetration at the basket. Of course there will be midrange and 3pt shots as well, but the primary focus is on getting to the basket.

Whatever you say. The team is best with Melo at 4. One thing I can already notice is NBA tempo its faster--it worked last year and its just going to get faster. I dont know if having 2 7 footers at a time will work.

With lots of ball and player movement on offense it will be harder for teams to deal with great size inside. The Knicks will play with enough pace of their own since nothing in the triangle prevents a team from pushing the ball. In fact that is a key part of the offense. You play fast but not too fast. Making quicker decisions, harder cuts and picks, will stop the defense from being able to stop what the Knicks want to do offensively.

Forget Melo at the 4, won't work. Traditional lineups worked since the dawn of time. No need to get cute like Golden State, we don't have a Draymond Green or Harrison Barnes or Andre Iguodala that could play multiple positions, defend, pass, and play it all well.

ChuckBuck wrote:Melo at the 4 only worked, because we had 2 point guards in the backcourt, and we set a franchise record for 3s that season. Eventually he broke down, sat some games due to the Wests and KG's pounding Melo into submission, then we saw the final outcome in the Indy series.

Forget Melo at the 4, won't work. Traditional lineups worked since the dawn of time. No need to get cute like Golden State, we don't have a Draymond Green or Harrison Barnes or Andre Iguodala that could play multiple positions, defend, pass, and play it all well.

Can see it both ways but I tend to agree with you...You mentioned Iggy -- now Thanasis obviously isn't on his level yet but in terms of athleticism at the 2/3, overall game, defensive ability/two-way potential at that position etc., I think he resembles Iggy quite a bit. TA is my sleeper this year. I don't think it's unreasonable to think he could develop into a better version of Gerald Wilkins eventually, maybe something close to Andre Iguodala. If that's the case, that's a very useful rotation player for us. They're gonna have to weigh cultivating a player like that vs. whatever they think Sasha Vujacic could give them.

Finestrg wrote:

ChuckBuck wrote:Melo at the 4 only worked, because we had 2 point guards in the backcourt, and we set a franchise record for 3s that season. Eventually he broke down, sat some games due to the Wests and KG's pounding Melo into submission, then we saw the final outcome in the Indy series.

Forget Melo at the 4, won't work. Traditional lineups worked since the dawn of time. No need to get cute like Golden State, we don't have a Draymond Green or Harrison Barnes or Andre Iguodala that could play multiple positions, defend, pass, and play it all well.

Can see it both ways but I tend to agree with you...You mentioned Iggy -- now Thanasis obviously isn't on his level yet but in terms of athleticism at the 2/3, overall game, defensive ability/two-way potential at that position etc., I think he resembles Iggy quite a bit. TA is my sleeper this year. I don't think it's unreasonable to think he could develop into a better version of Gerald Wilkins eventually, maybe something close to Andre Iguodala. If that's the case, that's a very useful rotation player for us.

the kid is an athletic freak! However, he will need much more consistency on his jump shot to be successful.

Finestrg wrote:

ChuckBuck wrote:Melo at the 4 only worked, because we had 2 point guards in the backcourt, and we set a franchise record for 3s that season. Eventually he broke down, sat some games due to the Wests and KG's pounding Melo into submission, then we saw the final outcome in the Indy series.

Forget Melo at the 4, won't work. Traditional lineups worked since the dawn of time. No need to get cute like Golden State, we don't have a Draymond Green or Harrison Barnes or Andre Iguodala that could play multiple positions, defend, pass, and play it all well.

Can see it both ways but I tend to agree with you...You mentioned Iggy -- now Thanasis obviously isn't on his level yet but in terms of athleticism at the 2/3, overall game, defensive ability/two-way potential at that position etc., I think he resembles Iggy quite a bit. TA is my sleeper this year. I don't think it's unreasonable to think he could develop into a better version of Gerald Wilkins eventually, maybe something close to Andre Iguodala. If that's the case, that's a very useful rotation player for us. They're gonna have to weigh developing a player like that vs. whatever they think Sasha Vujacic could give them.

Athletically, Thanasis has the "look" of an Iggy clone. You just can't teach that high BBall IQ, the making the extra pass, the defensive know how to make Lebron take the shots that Iggy wanted and not make Lebron get into rhythm, the veteran professionalism to be shuffled in and out as a starter or as a 6th man and play well either way.

I'm sorry Thanasis maybe called Greek Freak 2, but his younger brother got all the good bball genes in the family already. Same could be said for Seth Curry.

Just phuck the Melo at the 4 bullshyt already. Take one look at the roster construction for one long minute, and what's the first thing that comes to mind...."SIZE". Use that shyt. It's not rocket science, it's common sense.

crzymdups wrote:

ChuckBuck wrote:Melo at the 4 only worked, because we had 2 point guards in the backcourt, and we set a franchise record for 3s that season. Eventually he broke down, sat some games due to the Wests and KG's pounding Melo into submission, then we saw the final outcome in the Indy series.

Forget Melo at the 4, won't work. Traditional lineups worked since the dawn of time. No need to get cute like Golden State, we don't have a Draymond Green or Harrison Barnes or Andre Iguodala that could play multiple positions, defend, pass, and play it all well.

If the 54 win Knicks had some guys like Barnes and Iggy to put alongside Melo and guard guys like Lance Stephenson and Paul George, they could've beaten the Pacers.

I agree with Briggs that Melo is best at the 4. I think Melo at the 4 and Tyson at the 5 was the beginnings of a formula to be very very good. Unfortunately they rarely had any quality guys at the 1, 2, or 3.

54 win season was a mirage. You had Kidd-Felton or Felton- Prigioni, then you had Smith or Shump at the small. They rained 3s and led the league raining 3s. Once that well dried up, they got exposed.

Melo got West'ed and the rest is history. Let's not revisit bad history.