BRIGGS wrote:nyknickzingis wrote:Pretty weak how we crumbled in the 4th.
Turnover after turnover.But it's really about the guards. Afflalo was brutal. I really hope he's thinking about opting out. If not, we need to find a team that's interested in taking him on as salary dump for a 2nd round pick. I rather develop a young sniper drafted in the 2nd round than him. He's brutal after about 30 games. Lost his gas, or whatever it is, just hasn't been the same after the first 30-40 games.
Our lack of guard play is so obvious. Just rinse and repeat. Would have also helped had Kurt inserted some more screen and rolls in the 4th Quarter for Melo and Lopez, or Grant and Lopez. Instead we were trying to isolate too much or working too hard not to try and force the Melo iso, only to stall the offense. Phil needs to get Luke Walton this summer.
The problem w the Knicks is they need so much that they won't get there with melo.
If they can get 2 guards that can be reliable to play minutes down the stretch of games, it will make a significant difference.
Knicks have been taking leads through great frontcourt play. Then the opponents shift their defensive focus to double teaming Melo or denying the ball on feeds to Melo/Lopez/KP and all of a sudden we stall, can't shoot or score for long stretches. Has happened many times this year. Knicks can win in my opinion around 10-12 more games next year just by having some guards that are capable to score in those situations or not make silly mistakes (turnovers, stall because a lack of shot creating skill).
We're giving heavy minutes to guys like Afflalo, Galloway, Sasha and Grant all of whom have not shown they can consistently do that. It's why free agency is huge. Not a single one of those players would get these kind of minutes on a good playoff team.
Also as much hate as Jose gets, he is easily the most capable guard on the team. He can hit the 3, he knows how to make a pass when teams begin to pressure or bally deny Melo. Jose is good enough to be part of a 4 guard rotation on a good team. However we need 2 starters next season that can allow Jose to not be relied on for 35 minutes a night. He is the only guard who I think would get minutes or be a rotation guy on a playoff team. The rest of our guards won't.
So these are my hopes, BRIGGS. Phil can sign 2 guards this summer who can knock down shots when teams pressure the pass to our frontcourt players. Second, I hope Grant comes in better. He seems like a hard worker. He already improved a bit during the season. If he can work hard over the summer on his game, and Phil can sign 2 guards to replace Afflalo/Galloway in the rotation, we'll have a better guard rotation next year and much more capability to beat teams on a consistent basis.
The other hope would be to sign a star guard like DeRozan or Conley. This would go a long way as well. Add either player to our team, based on this past season we easily make the playoffs. It was painful watching Afflao, Gallo, Grant, Sasha and even Melo keep screwing up again and again as the ballhandling guard option in the 4th quarter last night. We can talk about the Triangle all day, but the Triangle that Jackson coached always had a great guard like Kobe, Jordan, Pippen or someone like that to handle the ball under pressure. Our team completely fades when that pressure is applied, unless we're red hot from 3 point line.
