"It's
everybody's ballclub, I want everybody to feel comfortable. When I put a guy in the game, he's got a shot. I want him to feel comfortable about making that shot. But I want everybody to know, when it comes to nut-cutting time and I've got a big shot, I'm going to Melo and Amare and guys that have done it...
... a lot of these guys are still young and they're trying to figure it out. Those guys have been around the block a number of times and they've done it, so they'll be the go-to-guys down stretch."
- Mike Woodson
Therein lies the difference between a man who has a theoretical system and a coach on the front lines using it. If it was as simple as coming up with a beloved system then you wouldn't need a coach at the game. MDA has developed the former while being inept at the latter. If you can get past his annoying voice he might make a good analyst or something. Is Woodson going to be a good coach for this team? Time will tell.
nixluva wrote:mrKnickShot wrote:Anji wrote:Knicks won baby, im not arguing about
anymore. Talking about things I see on the court. I like seeing plays being run, not freelance pick and rolls. I like seeing my coach giving input, telling guys to get back. Likes it and you can't rain on tonites parade.Yeah I know, we were suppose to posting in my vagina is hurting for MDA threads all night, but there was a change in schedule!!!!!!!!
Let's Go(x100)!!!!!!!!!!
Lets just learn how to deal with the "This is the offense the MDA taught them commments" sadly mentioned every 10 minutes. It's the most we can do.
Is it the truth or not??? Don't just talk ish tell us how it wasn't the same exact system they've been playing all year. See it easy to make comments and jokes with no actual argument to refute a statement. We all want Woodson to succeed in coaching the team but why lie about what he did today? He's gonna be able to make adjustments over time, but tonight he could only do so much.
The players just came with a commitment to play hard all night and to pay team ball, which is all that MDA was trying to get them to do. What in this statement is untrue?
eViL wrote:93BUICK wrote:mrKnickShot wrote:gunsnewing wrote:Can we get Woody smily. Maybe a picture of his "Just For Men" gel goatee
He has the prettiest shiniest head.
Wow from Pringles to Mr Potato Head in one season!
lol
Dude! I guess I wasn't the only one to think of MR Potato Head-
http://www.postingandtoasting.com/2012/3...
I did mention it yesterday on the game thread-
This explosion is mostly about the pressure of a tense situation being relieved. It's not like the team has switched up and run a ton of ISO's for Melo the last 2 games. This isn't about the offense. This has been about the super intense D the starters have played and the bench has continued. It was the same thing during the whole Linsanity craze. Folks got so caught up in what Lin was doing, no one talked about the defense the team was playing.
When STAT and Melo came back they weren't defending like this and that seems to have it's roots in the poor offense and in particular Melo not being happy with MDA. Which is funny since now he's actually doing what MDA wanted in the 1st place! SMH. Now the team can move forward as a group and if they keep listening to Woodson they have chance to really do something in the playoffs.
Nixluva - as we learned with jvg and countless other head coaches, sometimes it is not the message but the messenger.
Woodson, for now, has gotten his message across
Defense
I love this quote from Woodson.
But if you’re sincere about what you want to get accomplished as a player you’ll figure it out and it’s my job to make you figure it out. I’m big on details. I struggle with players that don’t play hard. That’s one thing that I’ve got to hold these guys accountable to do, is to play hard every night that they step on the floor.”
misterearl wrote:Nixluva - as we learned with jvg and countless other head coaches, sometimes it is not the message but the messenger.Woodson, for now, has gotten his message across
Defense
Exactly why didn't that message get across all the previous months Woodson has been here running these guys thru defensive drills and on the bench etc.
That's not the reason things have taken off. MDA left which squashed the beef with Melo and then STAT and Melo decided to finally show up on defense!!! The biggest difference is that the team is finally defending the same with the starters as they have with the bench players. Those Bench guys have been playing hard all year. It's STAT and Melo that haven't been. When they were both out the D was great and we were winning. STAT and Melo came back and they drained the team of it's previously great defensive intensity. MDA resigns and that same evening they snap out of it. I'm not buying that it was MDA somehow not doing something as opposed to it was STAT and Melo not doing their job and giving their all.
nixluva wrote:misterearl wrote:Nixluva - as we learned with jvg and countless other head coaches, sometimes it is not the message but the messenger.Woodson, for now, has gotten his message across
Defense
Exactly why didn't that message get across all the previous months Woodson has been here running these guys thru defensive drills and on the bench etc.
That's not the reason things have taken off. MDA left which squashed the beef with Melo and then STAT and Melo decided to finally show up on defense!!! The biggest difference is that the team is finally defending the same with the starters as they have with the bench players. Those Bench guys have been playing hard all year. It's STAT and Melo that haven't been. When they were both out the D was great and we were winning. STAT and Melo came back and they drained the team of it's previously great defensive intensity. MDA resigns and that same evening they snap out of it. I'm not buying that it was MDA somehow not doing something as opposed to it was STAT and Melo not doing their job and giving their all.
I think there is something to the Melo/MDA rift even though Melo denies it. I remember after the Knicks got swept in the playoffs Amare came out and endorsed D'Antoni. Melo did later but it was not with the same passion and seemed forced. However, I think Amare has been embarassed by his inability to dominate and put up numbers this year. To suggest that he would refrain from playing hard or mope through games because he didn't agree with the coach is a stretch in my opinion. I also think Melo has a huge ego and wants to be successful personally and in the concept of a team. There was a lot made of how much better the Nuggets were after Melo left in Denver. I think Melo wants to be part of an elite team. I don't think he dogs it to get the coach fired but I would not be surprised if he had his agent talk with Grunwald about D'Antoni.
this is reminding me more and more of when JVG took over for Don Nelson. did people call ewing and starks coach killers? no, nellie was just using them wrong. wrong philosophy for the group of players he had. same thing with MDA. it's that simple. props to him for admitting it. i was upset with how it went down, but it's hard to argue that the team finally looks like what we thought this group of players could look like.
Its easy to play for a coach you know doesn't want you on his team. It really instills confidence when your coach doesn't beleive you can be successful in his system.
yellowboy90 wrote:Its easy to play for a coach you know doesn't want you on his team. It really instills confidence when your coach doesn't beleive you can be successful in his system.
the crazy thing about melo is that we know he can be successful in MDA's system - he did it plenty. he scored 39pts in back to back games last april and then 42 in the playoffs. and season opener christmas day against boston he was dominant.
it goes deeper, i think, or there's more to it than melo simply not being able to score/produce in his system. i wonder if he thought they couldn't win in MDA's system.
crzymdups wrote:this is reminding me more and more of when JVG took over for Don Nelson. did people call ewing and starks coach killers? no, nellie was just using them wrong. wrong philosophy for the group of players he had. same thing with MDA. it's that simple. props to him for admitting it. i was upset with how it went down, but it's hard to argue that the team finally looks like what we thought this group of players could look like.
I applaud this post, things may change, but right now how ever small it's made to be, there was a change and it was needed.
Now I might see it as less free lance pick and roll ball and more offensive sets, more coaching over all, but maybe that's just me. We will see.
crzymdups wrote:this is reminding me more and more of when JVG took over for Don Nelson. did people call ewing and starks coach killers? no, nellie was just using them wrong. wrong philosophy for the group of players he had. same thing with MDA. it's that simple. props to him for admitting it. i was upset with how it went down, but it's hard to argue that the team finally looks like what we thought this group of players could look like.
excellent point with the Nelson / JVG analogy. The intense scrutiny/ resentment of Carmelo for killing Gallo, Mozgov, Wilson Chandler AND Linsanity overlooks the fact that everyone has different strengths. The idea is to maximize skill sets and combinations.
No matter who it is
Carmelo (and everyone else) still needs to be put in a position to thrive (on defense first)
Forget the final score. For the second night in a row, an opponent struggled to score. Lisanity is not dead. SSOL is dead.
The stated goal from Woodson is to hold opponents under 25 in the first quarter
long live 25OL
This is kinda fun
Woodson has their attention. The defense is top shelf ... We wore them down in the fourth quarter.
Life am good
4
There is something about holding teams under 90 points that is very entertaining.
Another team is blasted away in the fourth quarter with dominant rebounding and rugged defense.
Amar'e Stoudemire appears to be rounding into game condition at the right time.
JR Smith is playing inspired basketball on both ends.
Someone get Jeremy Lin a cut man like Angelo Dundee.
Beat Philadelphia
Woodson said that he wants to ease off with all the switching on defense. Interesting ... I am not sure who's idea that was, or maybe he just thinks that it is now an area to tweak.
Is it me, or does Woody seem a lot more candid with the media? Fewer canned answers - real explanations in regards to his mindset.
Great Expectations
mrKnickShot wrote:Woodson said that he wants to ease off with all the switching on defense. Interesting ... I am not sure who's idea that was, or maybe he just thinks that it is now an area to tweak.Is it me, or does Woody seem a lot more candid with the media? Fewer canned answers - real explanations in regards to his mindset.
Bring The Wood
“I’ll say to you, and I’ll say to Melo, he’s got to bring the energy now. I’m the head coach. I can’t speak for what has happened. I was a part of it. But he’s got to play harder. And Amar’e’s got to play harder. Everybody’s got to play harder to get us where we need to go.”
Mike Woodson is nowhere near as cute or clever as Mike D'Antoni was in interviews. Woody is direct and to the point.
mrKnickShot - His words seem to have more purpose and force behind them. He is no "Mister Nice Guy." Woodson pushes back against questions in a manner similar to (a well behaved) Bobby Knight or Larry Brown. It would be very cool to watch how hard he pushes during practice. Media interviews are only a small sample of style.
"We did what we had to do from a defensive standpoint. Make no mistake about it, it was our defense that got us the spurt we needed. That's what good teams are supposed to do. We just got to bottle it up and just continue to do it."
Just win baby.
Woodson's been a pleasant surprise. Although he's had to pander to our stars with media statements, on the court the game is much more balanced than I expected.
a) Giving a player of Melo's caliber a few isos to test his jumpshot (which has taken a vacation) is fine. Melo seems to be a bit more tentative and out of sync on his moves to the basket. Conditioning or confidence, I don't know. But at least we're winning even with his offense not a 100%.
b) Amare's really working much harder; physically seems to have improved over the past couple of weeks compared to pre-All Star weekend. Physically not yet there -- he's had a few shots that look like he wanted to dunk them but had to settle for dropping into the basket (or remember the reverse dunk where the rim blocked his shot?).
c) Lin's been establishing himself as the PG of this team. I think Woodson keeps him on a short leash but knows he's the futur eof the knicks. BDiddy will still come in and at times could be the better PG due to his skill-set, but he seems to be a couple of injuries from retirement.
d) Fields. Fewer turnovers. Thank you! JR finally got his stroke back at the Portland game. We have to find a way to run him and Novak off screens similar to how the Cs do it for Ray Allen. Shump has to stay under control; but his defense is top notch. Together with Jefferies, he's earning time for his defense and timely shots.
All in all, we're showing the potential of our talent.
Now if we can only keep our heads together.
This is
Mobb DeepRoyBatty - forget the media statements. Woodson is using our bench, as a platoon, to gain advantage.
During the Knicks’ recent three-game winning streak, the bench is seeing the floor an average of 109 minutes per game. To put that in perspective, during D’Antoni’s final three games, the reserves had accounted for a total of just over 70 minutes a game off the bench.
http://offthedribble.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/03/20/newest-knick-in-the-spotlight-the-bench/
More interesting still, whereas Woodson is slowly but surely reshaping the primary offense according to his more old school philosophy, he has allowed the second unit to ratchet up the tempo – a kind of tip of the hat to the recently departed. The result is a team that can give opponents a number of shape-shifting looks, allowing the guys in orange and blue ample time to develop rhythms and grooves.
Shape-shifting is a great concept. How many teams can actually accelerate the pace with the bench?
Not many.
Iman Shumpert looked more comfortable running at the lead guard last night, than he has all season. If Toney Douglas can return to a reasonable facsimile of a basketball player, he and Shumpert can lock down a second unit's backcourt for about eight minutes in any first half.
Release the hounds!
... a great stretch. Gone is the spector of the No DFence Nicks.
Gotta love it! Gulp the Kool-Aid boys, the water's fine!
