this team reminds me of the 90's knicks. Gritty defense and smart players
IrishKnickFan wrote:this team reminds me of the 90's knicks. Gritty defense and smart players
Isn't it GREAT? This team is legit. Woody has them all locked in and focused.
This is looking more and more like what I thought the team should be. It's a lock down defensive team with smart offense. For all those who bitched about the older players, how's that looking now? You can't just worry about injury. You have to look at how those vets influence the younger guys and keep them sharp and focused. Also having so many capable players you don't have to play anyone long minutes. We're winning games early and that's the idea.
Discipline
24 assists and only 7 turnovers
We make every possession count.
misterearl wrote:Discipline24 assists and only 7 turnovers
We make every possession count.
That was also one of my line items for what I expected from this team in my original post. That's why Woody wanted veteran PG's that were known for taking care of the ball. It makes this team so much more efficient to play mistake free basketball on top of elite defense.
One thing I've been noticing is all the little things that our vets do. Kidd really uses his head when it comes to his D. He just does things that you can see he's so aware of what's GOING to happen. He anticipates the play and that is what allows him to make steals and play tough D on younger faster players. Prigioni isn't a very quick player, but he still manages to get on opposing PG's nerves. He all in their space and just a pest. If you're not paying attention there he is poking at the ball. LOVE that guy.
Then you have the younger guys who basically bust it on D. I was watching how much ground Tyson covers. He was running out to the perimeter to close out on a 3 and then he ran back into the paint to defend the basket. He was all over the freakin place. Same with Brewer. You watch him and he helps and recovers very well. He just makes the floor seem so congested for opposing teams.
Gotta love the way Woody has this team focused on D. There are only a few plays each game where the Knicks get caught not doing the right thing. It's not an accident or just a good stretch of shooting, this is about preparation and consistency. Woody is proving it was no fluke what he was able to do last year. The longest streak to start a year was 7 games back in 94. It's gonna be tough with our road trip coming up, but how cool would it be to match that or pass that mark? Whatever happens, this feels good right now. 
In about a month, everyone is going to wonder what the heck went wrong after Knicks falls apart. Getting rid of MDA was a bad move. Mike Woodson is a terrible coach.
nixluva wrote:This is looking more and more like what I thought the team should be. It's a lock down defensive team with smart offense. For all those who bitched about the older players, how's that looking now? You can't just worry about injury. You have to look at how those vets influence the younger guys and keep them sharp and focused. Also having so many capable players you don't have to play anyone long minutes. We're winning games early and that's the idea.
I am one who bitched about the older guys and I have to say that they look great, specifically Kidd in spot minutes. I am just worried that Tyson, having played in the Olympics, will get hurt at some point and how the others would not be able to handle heavy minutes at the 5. You can say not to worry, but it's a real concern.
But this team looks tough as nails and come playoff time, with the veterans and this type of D, are gonna be a team no one wants to face. Just thinking about the depth when Shump and Amar'e come back is gonna be crazy and it'll be interesting to see how the minutes get distributed.
Syniko wrote:In about a month, everyone is going to wonder what the heck went wrong after Knicks falls apart. Getting rid of MDA was a bad move. Mike Woodson is a terrible coach.
I am pretty sure you are messing around but since you brought up dantoni here are some numbers to consider. The Knicks would have to lose 4 in a row to be where dantoni had them last year. They would have to lose 8 in a row to match dantoni's 2010 start. They would need to lose the next 14 games to match his 2009 start. Dantoni was a really bad coach in NY. His training camps could not have been more ineffective.
CrushAlot wrote:Syniko wrote:In about a month, everyone is going to wonder what the heck went wrong after Knicks falls apart. Getting rid of MDA was a bad move. Mike Woodson is a terrible coach.
I am pretty sure you are messing around but since you brought up dantoni here are some numbers to consider. The Knicks would have to lose 4 in a row to be where dantoni had them last year. They would have to lose 8 in a row to match dantoni's 2010 start. They would need to lose the next 14 games to match his 2009 start. Dantoni was a really bad coach in NY. His training camps could not have been more ineffective.
I used to like it when he said "Let's go, let's go". That to me is more important than scouting opposing teams, preparing a team defensively or making in-game adjustments.
smackeddog wrote:CrushAlot wrote:Syniko wrote:In about a month, everyone is going to wonder what the heck went wrong after Knicks falls apart. Getting rid of MDA was a bad move. Mike Woodson is a terrible coach.
I am pretty sure you are messing around but since you brought up dantoni here are some numbers to consider. The Knicks would have to lose 4 in a row to be where dantoni had them last year. They would have to lose 8 in a row to match dantoni's 2010 start. They would need to lose the next 14 games to match his 2009 start. Dantoni was a really bad coach in NY. His training camps could not have been more ineffective.
I used to like it when he said "Let's go, let's go". That to me is more important than scouting opposing teams, preparing a team defensively or making in-game adjustments.
I heard a rumor that for the first 15 games when he yelled "Let's go" his voice had a tenor quality and guys didn't respect or listen. 15 games in he began to become hoarse and the 'Let's go' took on an offensive genius tone.
Listen I am not going to say that Woodson is the next Phil Jackson, but give the man some credit because his team looks like they are prepared and are playing really well on defense. I grew so tired of MDA's excuses year in and year out, always talk about needing to get on the same page, guys are injured, not enough practice time, etc etc. Woodson is holding people accountable, has defined roles for players, and preaches defense to which his team is responding. I'm fine going to war in the EC with this team.
giantfan216 wrote:Listen I am not going to say that Woodson is the next Phil Jackson, but give the man some credit because his team looks like they are prepared and are playing really well on defense. I grew so tired of MDA's excuses year in and year out, always talk about needing to get on the same page, guys are injured, not enough practice time, etc etc. Woodson is holding people accountable, has defined roles for players, and preaches defense to which his team is responding. I'm fine going to war in the EC with this team.
I think you and others were just frustrated period. It really wasn't about excuses. You have to at least acknowledge that this team didn't give MDA the tools to excel. It wouldn't have taken much considering that everytime we had a half decent PG the team played well. If they had not been trying to gut the team and constantly changing it, there's no doubt MDA would've been able to find success, but none of that seems to matter to NY fans. You think Woody would've survived with same situation MDA had in his 1st 3 yrs? NO WAY IN HELL!!!
If Melo of this year was playing for MDA there would've been no issues. I love how Melo is playing now, but where was this attitude last year? It's not just about Woodson holding guys accountable. That's just a nice line considering other coaches have had success with different styles of coaching. MDA was winning with the very same approach people are bashing. He didn't fail to make the finals because of some lack of accountability. He simply didn't have the best teams. He got his teams to overachieve. Those teams weren't deep nor big and yet he got them to excel. As i've said before, if you get to the WCF's with Diaw as your Center, then you have to be doing some great coaching.
It's early on but having watched all the teams in the league I think it's clear to me that the Knicks can be the BEST defensive team in the NBA. The Heat can really defend at a high level, but this year they aren't as solid in defending the 3pt line and they're small inside. The Lakers actually are better than some people think. They aren't totally locked in yet but I can see that their size causes problems. One of the things stopping the Knicks from being as good as they can be is rebounding. Still not totally committed to it.
This isn't even as good as I think this Knicks team can actually be on D either. They still have breakdowns and Woody hasn't perfected his rotations yet. Also I think they kick it up a notch when Shump comes back and when we get Sheed and Camby in better shape. I still don't see a lot of intensity from Camby yet. I do like the defense we can play on the perimeter when the team is locked in.
The Spurs are a really tough team to defend with all the speed and precision of their ball and player movement. They've got guys that can break a D down and create shots. It's just a tough team to deal with. Knicks will have to be very focused and not mess around with the Spurs. They shouldn't try to play at the Spurs pace. They need to slow it down. I'd like to see more post ups against the Spurs. In any event this team is very tough defensively.
