TripleThreat wrote:holfresh wrote:JamesKPolk wrote:That's right. Time to blame Lin. We've found the real source of the problem.
It's not a blame thing..The team has to get better..Lin will be our starting PG for years to come..I want to see him get better sooner than later...No one is beyond criticism..
Good God, what games are you watching?
Lin takes the shot when that's what the defense gives him. If you watch Lin, he's force feeding Melo and STAT just enough to keep the coach off his back. But as long as Melo and STAT aren't producing ( i.e. are shooting poorly) Lin has finally realized he can tune out his coach if he wants. His responsibility is to his TEAM and WINNING, not to Mike Woodson desperately trying to keep his job by holding to his mandate to force feed Melo and STAT no matter what. Now STAT is shooting better than Melo right now, but he's not always working hard to get open. If he's not open, Lin is not going to get him the ball.
Don't confuse the agendas. Mike Woodson's approach is to first and foremost to keep the Knicks job. He needs to win to do so. But if he can sacrifice some wins to keep the giant egos of Melo and STAT happy, so as to get their rubber stamp to Dolan, clearly he's willing to do that. Hence his screaming at Lin and clearly jabbing at Lin on the sidelines to feed a 35-40 percent chucking Melo. Lin, however has to make split second decisions, and Woodson can't justify tearing into Lin to feed a guy who is starting a brick factory and is too poorly conditioned and lacks the desire to get open after the game. When they watch game film, if Woodson rips Lin because he passed to the open man, and if that open man wasn't Melo or STAT, what do you think the rest of his team mates will do and feel about Woodson? If he does it, the press will also turn on him. And they will label him as Melo and STAT's stooge, instead of a real NBA head coach.
The real PROBLEM is the Chandler, STAT and Melo front line can't play together and the Melo/Fields combination does not function at all. Chandler is essential to the Knicks winning by anchoring the defense. However he is not versatile offensively and they need some of his offense. Unlike Dallas or a team like the Heat, the Knicks don't have the offensive production to hide Chandler from having to play offense. They have the offensive potential, but not the actual production. Chandler needs space to work in the post. STAT does not move well without the ball and does not space well. He's also limited in that he can't adjust his game to play with other big men. Some bigs just can't. Some have "Elden Campbell Disease", they just clog up the works with another big on the floor.
Melo isn't shooting free throws because he's not getting contact. Why should other teams generate contact on Melo? He's chucking, he's missing, he's huffing and puffing because he's not used to giving effort on defense ( makes me want to throw up saying that) As new stars come into the league each year like Kyrie Irving, Melo becomes less relevant each year for the refs to protect. There are only so many free points and phantom calls and non calls to give out to each team and in the league each year by the refs via Stern, and Melo isn't helping his cause to get them. Melo needs to play power forward, he needs to get his back to the basket and get into position where his plus rebounding is an asset and his low post game can generate higher percentage shots and contact.
The Knicks will never bench Melo or STAT, they make too much and Dolan won't do it. The Knicks cannot live without Chandler's defense. Fields cannot function with Melo, as Field's, unlike Chandler and Lin, cannot adjust well to playing with a low IQ player. He doesn't have the long range shooting or finishing ability near the rim to compensate for Melo not spacing the floor enough for him. The Knicks need to move Lin and Chandler and Fields to the second unit, not because they deserve bench, it's just that the actual starting lineup has to become the bench to satisfy Dolan.
SF - JR Smith
PF - Melo
C - STAT
PG - Davis
SG - Shumpert
The offense can flow through STAT without Chandler in the paint. Melo can play back to the basket and get contact. Davis and Smith provide long range shooters to space the floor. Shumpert and Smith provide enough athleticism to use the press, the only way to compensate for Melo and STATs defense, even when they are trying, in this kind of lineup. This is the low IQ/high athleticism unit.
SF - Novak/Walker
PF - Jeffries
C - Chandler
PG - Lin
SG - Fields
Lin and Novak play very well together. Lin is the focal point of the offense with Novak as the safety valve that keeps other teams honest and spread out for Lin's attacks to the cup. Jeffries and Chandler compensate for Lin's and Novak's defensive problems. Fields is not constantly running into Melo. Walker lets Novak slide into the Stretch 4 and gives you better defense. Chandler gets room in the paint to operate, as Jeffries knows how to work with another big man in the game.
This is what's good for the team. You need to split apart the guys whose games don't mesh and hide certain guys defensive weaknesses. Davis is not a better point guard than Lin, he's a more experienced point guard often working with a unit that isn't completely incompatible. The trick is not to demand a player become what he's not, but put him where his strengths come out and his weaknesses can be hidden. However moving Lin to the second unit will create a nightmare press frenzy where Melo will be crushed as a player and a brand and Stern will blow a gasket and probably choke some low level NBA intern to death.
EXCELLENT post, but let me ask this question. Do you think that starting lineup of davis, shump, melo, amare and smith is good enough to win a substantial amount of games? You would almost have to play the second unit starters minutes.....
