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martin
Posts: 67903
Alba Posts: 108
Joined: 7/24/2001
Member: #2
USA
1/2/2002  9:29 AM
Nothing new here, but I'll post it anyway:
Knicks crisis reaching boiling point (again)

Maybe Jeff Van Gundy knew something the rest of us didn't. With the Knicks on the verge of internal combustion, he seems to have gotten out just before the crap really hit the fan.

New coach Don Chaney's job is on shaky ground at best as Latrell Sprewell, Marcus Camby, Kurt Thomas and now Shandon Anderson have taken turns pointing the finger at the coach, or worse, at each other.

The Knicks' problem? With Van Gundy out and Spree still pouting, there is a void of leadership. The void has led to disintegration after disintegration in the fourth quarter.

"You have to have a strong leader, no question about that," Chaney told the New Jersey Star Ledger. "All the great teams have great leaders. It's more of a concentration thing than anything: I'm not discounting the fact you have to have leaders, because leaders create the momentum, they get you refocused. At the same time, we have to do it collectively. I didn't need another player to tell me to step my game up, but that's the mentality we have to have as a team."

Despite pointing the finger at the leaders, Chaney took a shot directly at Anderson, who has been struggling mightily. Anderson fired back, questioning whether the coach was putting him in a situation in which he could succeed.

"In the media guide, you know what my game is," Anderson told the N.Y. Post. "My game is not standing out there shooting threes. That's a passive game. Anytime I'm shooting a three, I'm also playing aggressive taking the ball to the hole, getting offensive rebounds. A lot of turnovers come from not being passive. I'm not a Dell Curry just standing out and shooting."

Those aren't the only criticisms of Chaney. The Knicks' defense has been awful since Van Gundy left and most of that has to do with Chaney's offensive philosophy.

Chaney believes in a run-and-gun offense. While he wants his players to play better defense, his underlying philosophy believes an unbridled Knicks team can outscore any opponent, regardless of how many points are scored on the Knicks. So far, that hasn't proven true and it could only get worse. In January, nine of the Knicks' 13 games are against teams with winning records. How have they fared so far against teams with winning records? 4-12. Prepare for the revolution.
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knicksbabyyeah
Posts: 21472
Alba Posts: 5
Joined: 8/19/2001
Member: #100
Netherlands
1/2/2002  9:36 AM
Nothing new here, but I'll post it anyway:

Ain't that the truth. I do agree with Chaney though, when a roster consist out of mainly guards and is short, running ought to work. Hard Defense is necessary but it should be able to be combined with a running offense. We don't have the roster for a long setup for points since we lack power in the middle, we're not SA for christ's sake. If the opponent has defensive position we're in deep doodoo concerning scoring.

Actually our problem might be that our PG is too slow to succesfully utilize the running game, just a thought.

[Edited by - knicksbabyyeah on 01/02/2002 09:38:27]
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