nyknickzingis wrote:crzymdups wrote:reub wrote:We play better against slower, older teams without dominating point guards.
Fair point. I was thinking this during our last Indiana win... but yeah basically teams that don't rely on PG penetration and pick and rolls we are actually okay against.
Too bad most of the league uses speed and athleticism at the point to create havoc in the pick and roll.
That's why you need athletic guards and wings. You can't have old declining vets who are tired running up on offense. Yesterday's game was slow paced. We also didn't get into a high tempo contest like with the Nuggets. It wasn't a track meet.If the Knicks want to play games at that pace, and against athletic guard led teams, they have to become athletic and defsnively skilled at the PG, SG and SF spot themselves.
Too much is put on KP and Willy or whomever our bigs are. Yes they can struggle at times too, but our #1 issue is perimeter players can not stay with their man. Spurs game was an exception, helped by the fact that Spurs don't have athletic penetration guards.
I agree with this, but I would add that when KP is locked in and positioned correctly on defense he helps the guards immensely by acting as a lane deterrent.
Similar to the way Tyson Chandler locking down the lane used to really help our perimeter.
This is why I continue to advocate for Willy and KP to play together - start together - they know how to play on D and it helps the interior defense, which in turn helps the perimeter D. Willy and KP have chemistry and trust one another - two foundations of good D that most of the rest of our team doesn't have.
Also, Lance's return shouldn't be overlooked. He committed a lot of fouls, but he brought good intensity and really helps the perimeter D. He's a massive upgrade over Kuz on defense in that backup SF role.
But I agree completely we need more athleticism at the 1, 2, and 3. Part of our problem is the oft mentioned fact that Melo can defend well at the 4, but is too slow for most 3s in the league.
