The 2011-2012 New York Knicks Thread

[NYJets37]

Yea, with this current team I think we could scare the Bulls in a best of 7, but i don't think we could beat them. Melo played his best game as a Knick, it's not going to happen every time. You can say that normally we would shoot better, and that's true, at the same time, normally the Bulls aren't going to miss 4 straight free throws in the closing minutes. I think we do matchup well, Chandler has been a beast inside. Shump did work on Rose and should continue to do so. Don't think it's enough to beat them.

Hopefully we can get Amare back, and he's healthy. Sounds like he'll be able to give it a go by the time playoffs start, but we'll see if he's effective. And hopefully we can find a way out of the 8th and 7th spots, and avoid the Bulls and Heat until the 2nd round, and maybe then we can get Lin back.

[SLURPEE]

Anyone else noticed Carmelo was fouled on the game tying 3?

Of course the refs didn't call the and 1. lol

[False1]

Anyone else noticed Carmelo was fouled on the game tying 3?

Of course the refs didn't call the and 1. lol

Yeah, I noticed that and it looked about as obvious as the call Rose got on his 3.

[Snatch Catch]

Yesterday was a great win but we're not going anywhere with this Melo-dependent offense and undersized front line (when Chicago turned it up on the boards in the second half yesterday we were most often pretty helpless). We'd be lucky with this group to win one playoff game against Miami and two agaimst the Bulls. Melo can carry you single-handedly for a game or maybe two, but he'll wear down, as evidenced by his post Game 2 non-performances last year against the Celtics.

Things would be mighty different with our full squad, but we obviously can't count on that happening. Mainly I hope they show enough life to keep Dim Son from dumping the coach and forcing yet another personality makeover next year. We do have something to build on here.

So your point is that this team isn't a legit championship contender without its 2nd and 3rd leading scorers?

If so, I don't think you'll find anyone who will disagree with you.

If Melo is surrounded by solid talent (which he is now) then they can put a scare into anyone. Melo is that good. They won't be favorites, but they'll have a chance to advance, even against the Heat (although that would be a true longshot in my opinion).

In last year's Boston series the Celtics decided after Melo nearly single-handedly beat then in Game 2 that they would throw the kitchen sink defensively at him in Game 3. He shot poorly because he was being totally keyed on, but still finished that game with 11 boards and 6 assts. It was a terrible shooting night, but when you can double and triple team a guy with literally ZERO fear of anyone else beating you, then it's going to be pretty difficult to carry a team, no matter who you are.

In case anyone has forgotten, here are the 10 players that saw the floor, and the minutes they got, for the Knicks in Game 3:

Starters

Melo - 35 min
Amar'e (playing with a back injury that would go on to sideline him for 6 months) - 33 min
Turiaf - 10 min
Douglas - 30 min
Fields - 22 min


Bench

Anthony Carter - 4 min
Roger Mason - 16 min
Jared Jeffires - 34 min
Shawne Williams - 32 min
Bill Walker - 24 min

Same 10 guys played in Game 4.

[Panamaniac42]

In case anyone has forgotten, here are the 10 players that saw the floor, and the minutes they got, for the Knicks in Game 3:

Starters

Melo - 35 min
Amar'e (playing with a back injury that would go on to sideline him for 6 months) - 33 min
Turiaf - 10 min
Douglas - 30 min
Fields - 22 min


Bench

Anthony Carter - 4 min
Roger Mason - 16 min
Jared Jeffires - 34 min
Shawne Williams - 32 min
Bill Walker - 24 min

Same 10 guys played in Game 4.

Holy sh*t that's bad.

[SLURPEE]

If Melo is surrounded by solid talent (which he is now) then they can put a scare into anyone. Melo is that good. They won't be favorites, but they'll have a chance to advance, even against the Heat (although that would be a true longshot in my opinion).

Yep.
I'll add too, you put Melo on the Bulls along with Rose, they likely get by Miami.

Holy sh*t that's bad.

Yeah.

[JohnnyEllis]

Problem is, when JR is off and Baron is playing with himself, this year's team is not much better in the half-court. Chandler and Novak feed off the PG and Shumpert is more of a transition player. Carmelo played as well as he could yesterday and it still took an incredible streak of FT incompetency for the Bulls to blow this one on the road.

[THEBOSS84]

Problem is, when JR is off and Baron is playing with himself, this year's team is not much better in the half-court. Chandler and Novak feed off the PG and Shumpert is more of a transition player. Carmelo played as well as he could yesterday and it still took an incredible streak of FT incompetency for the Bulls to blow this one on the road.

But as Snatch showed on the last page, outside of Melo, the Knicks shot 4-29 from downtown. They couldn't do that again if they tried.

[Snatch Catch]

Problem is, when JR is off and Baron is playing with himself, this year's team is not much better in the half-court. Chandler and Novak feed off the PG and Shumpert is more of a transition player. Carmelo played as well as he could yesterday and it still took an incredible streak of FT incompetency for the Bulls to blow this one on the road.

I don't disagree at all that if Novak goes oh-fer, JR shoots 6-22 including 2-11 from downtown, Shumpert shoots 5-14 including 2-8 from downtown, and Baron not on only plays bad PG, but also goes 1-7 from the field, it's going to be close to impossible to win the game.

That Carmelo led the team to victory despite all of that yesterday is pretty telling of the ability he has, in my opinion. It wasn't like the Knicks got any significant home cooking, either - they shot only 20 FTs on the game (CHI took 31, Rose 12 on his own).

It also is very significant in my opinion that the team now has a legit identity on the defensive end, spearheaded by a guy who takes so much pride in team defense (Chandler) that there's no way this is a passing fad. With Woodson allowing Chandler to really assert himself strictly as the defensive leader and lynchpin, it has enabled Shumpert to REALLY find his stride and identity, too, in my opinion. Shumpert appears to have limited concern about being perfect on offense, and instead has flourished with Chandler and Woodson's backing to be a defense-first player.

All that said, I'm still not at all confident that they're going to make the playoffs, or if they do, that they'll advance, I'm just happy to see a cohesive team in NEW YORK jerseys that I have faith in being able to truly compete against the best teams in the league, bar none.

[THEBOSS84]

I don't disagree at all that if Novak goes oh-fer, JR shoots 6-22 including 2-11 from downtown, Shumpert shoots 5-14 including 2-8 from downtown, and Baron not on only plays bad PG, but also goes 1-7 from the field, it's going to be close to impossible to win the game.

That Carmelo led the team to victory despite all of that yesterday is pretty telling of the ability he has, in my opinion. It wasn't like the Knicks got any significant home cooking, either - they shot only 20 FTs on the game (CHI took 31, Rose 12 on his own).

It also is very significant in my opinion that the team now has a legit identity on the defensive end, spearheaded by a guy who takes so much pride in team defense (Chandler) that there's no way this is a passing fad. With Woodson allowing Chandler to really assert himself strictly as the defensive leader and lynchpin, it has enabled Shumpert to REALLY find his stride and identity, too, in my opinion. Shumpert appears to have limited concern about being perfect on offense, and instead has flourished with Chandler and Woodson's backing to be a defense-first player.

All that said, I'm still not at all confident that they're going to make the playoffs, or if they do, that they'll advance, I'm just happy to see a cohesive team in NEW YORK jerseys that I have faith in being able to truly compete against the best teams in the league, bar none.

I am. They have ten games left. Four of those they should win: Wash, NJ, CLE, CHA. Three are vs mid-range teams that they have beaten before and could beat again: MIL, BOS, ATL. The last three are tough: CHI, MIA, LAC.

I see them going 6-4. With the way PHI is playing now, that should get them in.

[JohnnyEllis]

I don't disagree at all that if Novak goes oh-fer, JR shoots 6-22 including 2-11 from downtown, Shumpert shoots 5-14 including 2-8 from downtown, and Baron not on only plays bad PG, but also goes 1-7 from the field, it's going to be close to impossible to win the game.

That Carmelo led the team to victory despite all of that yesterday is pretty telling of the ability he has, in my opinion. It wasn't like the Knicks got any significant home cooking, either - they shot only 20 FTs on the game (CHI took 31, Rose 12 on his own).

It also is very significant in my opinion that the team now has a legit identity on the defensive end, spearheaded by a guy who takes so much pride in team defense (Chandler) that there's no way this is a passing fad. With Woodson allowing Chandler to really assert himself strictly as the defensive leader and lynchpin, it has enabled Shumpert to REALLY find his stride and identity, too, in my opinion. Shumpert appears to have limited concern about being perfect on offense, and instead has flourished with Chandler and Woodson's backing to be a defense-first player.

All that said, I'm still not at all confident that they're going to make the playoffs, or if they do, that they'll advance, I'm just happy to see a cohesive team in NEW YORK jerseys that I have faith in being able to truly compete against the best teams in the league, bar none.

Yeah, agree with all of that. For me, it's all about getting ownership to buy into the positives and stay the course regardless of what happens w/the playoffs, starting with the coach, who is demanding adult behavior and getting it.

[THEBOSS84]

I just checked Philly's schedule...it's not so difficult.

NJ, TOR, NJ, ORL, IND, CLE, IND, NJ, MIL, DET

[THEBOSS84]

Milwaukee's schedule:

OKC, NYK, DET, IND, WASH, IND, NJ, TOR, PHI, BOS

Looks like the Knicks have the hardest remaining schedule out of the 3 teams.

[Snatch Catch]

Saw this in another forum:

http://espn.go.com/new-york/nba/stor...armelo-anthony

"Actually, they can brag a little bit," said Rose, shockingly. "[The Knicks] know where to get the ball to now. Guys aren't taking many silly shots. Melo's at least touching the ball when they come down the court now. They're running the offense through him and he's making plays. He's hitting tough shots, great shots, making the game easy, and he's getting to the line.

"I've got to take my hat off to Coach Woodson. He's doing a great job of making sure everyone's playing hard and playing team basketball. You've got to give them credit. They're playing hard throughout the whole game. They're a great defensive team now. Especially when they get you playing out of control. But it still comes down to Melo."

[JohnnyEllis]

Saw this in another forum:

http://espn.go.com/new-york/nba/stor...armelo-anthony

Wow...I think I'll shower now.

Nothing like an NBA superstar circle jerk.

[SLURPEE]

"Guys aren't taking many silly shots." *cough..D'Antoni..cough*

[Snatch Catch]

And on that note, as enjoyable as the past 24 hours have been, I have a feeling that 24 hours from now I'm going to be an unhappy Knicks fan.

[Snatch Catch]

And on that note, as enjoyable as the past 24 hours have been, I have a feeling that 24 hours from now I'm going to be an unhappy Knicks fan.

As a means of mitigating a potential loss tomorrow, the Bucks got blown out in OkC tonight.

[GimeMoMuny]

Shump has his hometown mesmerized, his quick hands are making national noise. I can't wait to see him play tomorrow.

It's obviously a bit unreasonable to expect to sweep a hm&hm vs them. I'll be thrilled if they make as good a showing as they did last time in Chi.

They -can- win, though. And that's the best part of it all, imo.

Rebound. Rebound. And rebound some more.

[THEBOSS84]

Rose is a game-time decision tonight. That would be a nice break to catch.

[Jace]

There's a reason Smith has terrible shooting numbers recently, its going to continue with his current shot selection

[JohnnyEllis]

We've scored three points in eight 2Q minutes.

...We need a flippin' PG.

[Snatch Catch]

Man, the bench has been absolutely awful these past 2 games.

Hopefully they turn it around after the half.

[SLURPEE]

All the more reason why I have Amar'e come off the bench.

[GimeMoMuny]

Outstanding, Tyson giving Melo second life. Score +1 attempt.