Knicks · pre season means very little (page 1)

But here are my initial concerns --we are NOT rebounding the ball in the first unit and the 2nd unit relies on low % shots way too much /secondary Felton has not looked good--not anywhere near good as Lin last year and our overall D has been just ok

I'm thinking I'll be saying variations of this a lot this season.

i agree its only preseason but i am worried about facing younger teams who can move faster. I mean lowry pretty much embarassed ray last night and im a big felton fan. Maybe it was an off night but i didnt see the defensive tenacity taht we usually see from woodson's team. Also I know Amare will never be a good defender but the guy really cant guard anybody.

Even back in 1999 it seemed like the second unit did better than the first. Hopefully we can turn it around, but like you said it's only preseason, and there's plenty of time to work on it.

BRIGGS wrote:But here are my initial concerns --we are NOT rebounding the ball in the first unit and the 2nd unit relies on low % shots way too much /secondary Felton has not looked good--not anywhere near good as Lin last year and our overall D has been just ok

But think of the money Dolan saved. As I have said before I like Felton, but much much much prefer Lin over him. We'll see how Felton does as a distributor, apparently that is why they got him. Anyway, if Felton doesn't play good my money is on Prigioni to put his azz on the bench. I predict that will happen regardless.

We had problem rebounding last year as well, in particular with Stat out there. It will be important to see how Stat and Melo and Chandler play together. 2 of the 3 will rebound I think, and it is up to Stat to raise his defense and rebounding. Melo played decent defense last year, at least at the 3.

I think it will take some time for them to come together, at least with the new guys. I just would have liked to see what Lin could have done as a PG and 3rd scoring option on this team. We would be pretty dangerous imo.

Biggest question is does Amare, Melo & Tyson learn to play together?
Will it take until the end of the season or maybe by year 3 of their contracts?
Defense and rebounding is a major concern when Amare is on the floor.
Will Melo ever learn to pass the ball out of a double team instead of forcing a crazy shot?
Can Felton finally have a good year without Dantoni?
Can anyone other than Novak off the bench shoot on this team to space the floor for those 3? JR will help at times.
Like has been said can we contain lightning fast PGs?
A lot of questions just wondering how long it will take this team to gel if ever?
It would be an embarrassment if we go through another season trying to gel and the Brooklyn Nets figure it out before they do.
Might have to trade Melo at the deadline since he has the most value

gunsnewing wrote:Biggest question is does Amare, Melo & Tyson learn to play together? Will it take until the end of the season or maybe by year 3 of their contracts? Defense and rebounding is a major concern when Amare is on the floor. Can anyone other than Novak off the bench shoot on this team to space the floor for those 3? Like has been said can we contain lightning quick PGs? A lot of questions just wondering how long it will take this team to gel if ever? It would be an embarrassment if we go through another season trying to gel and the Brooklyn Nets figure it out before them.

Stat is not made for this team. I think Melo and Felton and Chandler can play well together. But Stat needs to be set up, and ideally be on a more active team imo, not a half court team, at least not this one with Melo having the ball so much. But, if Melo learns (or rather continues and improves on) passing out of more double teams, I think we will be ok.

Who can contain lightning quick PG's? No one can but yes, Felton will get burned a lot as he isn't great with fast pgs. The good thing is we have Chandler and Camby to back him up.

If we go through another year like last year (and with Lin now gone), Dolan will be wishing he had the chance to sign the kid again.

So, the thread title implies that we shouldn't be worried because its preseason, then when we open the thread, there is a toilet paper roll worth of worries....

First, why would Felton, in his 3rd preseason game look as good as Lin did in the middle of the season? Lin didn't look as good as Lin did when he checked in for his first skit in garbage time.

Second, Tyson Chandlers career numbers tell us that he is going to beast on the boards as usual. No reason to get alarmed by the 3 rebs last night. Add to that, Camby has always been a monster on the boards so, I'm really not that concerned about our board work this year.

Third, once we get our legs under us (meaning, once the games count and we shake off usual pre-season rust)our defense will pick up. Again, we were without 3 of our best defenders last night; Brewer, Smith and Camby.

Its preseason.

Here's my hot sports take: the Knicks look like a team full of new guys who are learning to play together.

Uptown wrote:So, the thread title implies that we shouldn't be worried because its preseason, then when we open the thread, there is a toilet paper roll worth of worries....

First, why would Felton, in his 3rd preseason game look as good as Lin did in the middle of the season? Lin didn't look as good as Lin did when he checked in for his first skit in garbage time.

Second, Tyson Chandlers career numbers tell us that he is going to beast on the boards as usual. No reason to get alarmed by the 3 rebs last night. Add to that, Camby has always been a monster on the boards so, I'm really not that concerned about our board work this year.

Third, once we get our legs under us (meaning, once the games count and we shake off usual pre-season rust)our defense will pick up. Again, we were without 3 of our best defenders last night; Brewer, Smith and Camby.

But, butt, but, Lin would be killing it in Perseason, right???LOL

Yes Lin had more reps playing with amare, melo and tyson. And he is light years better than Felton

gunsnewing wrote:Yes Lin had more reps playing with amare, melo and tyson. And he is light years better than Felton

Both Lin and Felton are having pretty much the same preseason. Way too early to call it in my opinion.

Not basing anything on preseason

Can we ever be patient and at least see how the team looks when everyone is back and they have some time together? The pre season is so bad for making any serious assessment of a team. Teams are trying new things and holding back the full playbook. Just never a good thing to make too much whether it's positive or negative.

Gymkata wrote:Here's my hot sports take: the Knicks look like a team full of new guys who are learning to play together.

That is only true if they play together.

I dont take Wins and losses seriously on preseason since the starters are only playing half the game and they're not going full throttle yet. However there have been things that i like and some things that i dont like. First Copeland has impressed in the sens that i think he can have success playing off the bench against the second unit and scoring some points. Prigioni has also impressed me with his great physical condition,crisp passsing and great defense. Melo looks great even in the short amount he has played he has shown great scoring touch so far and will have a big season. Now there are some things that i have noticed. Felton even though i like him a lot has had a lot of troube guarding the opposition both lowry and rondo really took it to him. Amare also has no defensive skills whatsoever. I mean I know he will never be a good defender but he rreally cant stop anybody. The main concern is injuries. I mean missing shump and brewer hurts because they are both two of the best perimeter defenders in the league. Both Marcus and JR need to be healthy because they are important part of the second unit

nixluva wrote:Can we ever be patient and at least see how the team looks when everyone is back and they have some time together? The pre season is so bad for making any serious assessment of a team. Teams are trying new things and holding back the full playbook. Just never a good thing to make too much whether it's positive or negative.

It would be nice if we can get everyone on the floor for a time.

Shoot, even regular season doesn't mean that much either...

Nalod wrote:

nixluva wrote:Can we ever be patient and at least see how the team looks when everyone is back and they have some time together? The pre season is so bad for making any serious assessment of a team. Teams are trying new things and holding back the full playbook. Just never a good thing to make too much whether it's positive or negative.

It would be nice if we can get everyone on the floor for a time.

Agreed. Not surviving camp and preseason is not a very good sign.

A benign cyst. I swear, all the negativity from the Negative 5 6 has got to be taking it's toll.

jrodmc wrote:

Nalod wrote:

nixluva wrote:Can we ever be patient and at least see how the team looks when everyone is back and they have some time together? The pre season is so bad for making any serious assessment of a team. Teams are trying new things and holding back the full playbook. Just never a good thing to make too much whether it's positive or negative.

It would be nice if we can get everyone on the floor for a time.

Agreed. Not surviving camp and preseason is not a very good sign.

A benign cyst. I swear, all the negativity from the Negative 5 has got to be taking it's toll.

I agree, all that energy went into Amare's knee! The Cyst is our fault!

We have to work harder together as fans! WE have let them down!