Knicks · Difference bewteen the Knicks and a team like Oklahoma (page 1)
Vmart wrote:The Knicks take on the persona of their leader. Westbrook, Harden, Curry Paul these are attack type players. Melo not so much very laid back player. We have to let Rose lead this team and get him going. He is the real key to the teams success.
Excellent point, V. I couldn't agree more on Rose. In fact, I was saying the same thing since we first got him--gotta let Rose be Rose. I mean WTF--do we wanna win games or what??? There's quite a few things wrong so far with our entire approach but one of them that needs to be corrected immediately is allowing Rose to go off on teams and be himself. I think he needs to be the focal point now...This is the first year in awhile where the main objective is to win games and hopefully make the playoffs, and you know what--there's potential here to do so, even after the rocky start. Rose is starting out well in these games then he just fades, stops being himself. Or then there's too much Jennings all of a sudden (and Brandon's poor play and attitude so far is a whole 'nother conversation
).. Rose needed to prove one thing to me -- that he was healthy. Well he appears to be.. He may not be everyone's favorite player on and off the court, I understand, but a healthy D-Rose is still an ELITE level player. Clear as day to me. We need to exploit that to the fullest, get the most out of him that we can. I think we just need to wind him up and let him go. Can't be any restrictions on his style of play at all. A surpressed Derrick Rose, whether it's being done intentionally or not, is not the right approach. I want him playing exactly like Wall, Westbrook, Irving -- he's still on that level. Again, I feel like we have a huge decision coming up at the end of the year--do we re-up this guy or not? How can we make the right decision if we don't let this guy be himself? Even Jeff mentioned right before the season or maybe after the Cavs loss that there will be times where he needs to tell him to be more aggressive. Hopefully he's had that conversation with him already. That should never even be an issue--that needs to be a constant every night. It should start tonight -- back home in Chicago, he just needs to go off this Bulls team. Not as if anyone else on our squad is stepping up. Like it or not, Rose is the driving force on this team. We desperately need this to be his team--whether anyone like Jeff/Phil/Melo want to come out and admit it or not, it doesn't even matter to me. Rose just needs to come out and start playing like that's the real deal. So far, he's tried too hard to blend in, acknowledging that this is Melo's team, that we have a lot of good players, more options than he had in Chicago...That's all great but it's obvious now that the difference between these other Melo-dominated Knick teams the past few years (that haven't won a damn thing) and the potential of this year's club comes down to one player -- D-Rose. 30+ points tonight on how ever many shots it takes, dominate, get this W, and let's not look back.
And Briggs raises a good point to open the thread -- why is it that other teams can add players/lose important players and still come out competitive, executing their gameplan where with us, it's gotta be a mess and a struggle, and something that's 'gonna take some time'? WTF--how much time? And how long are we gonna wait to make adjustments? To me, if we wait another 5 games, it'll be too late. There's enough here to win with. I know it's early but I'm already fed up with how we're playing--all the bullshit: Rose not playing aggressive enough (probably the easiest thing to correct in the early going), Phil possibly meddling with Jeff's coaching (not like I'm making anything up here--look at the evidence. Read the goddamn papers about Phil showing up at practices and coaches' meetings and then see the results on the court--the utter confusion out there. Think about the upgraded personnel and the quality head coach we have and give me reasons for the confusion other than Phil's involvement and insistence that we do things his way--I really think that's part of the problem here. You give me this team with this coach and no Phil involvement/triangle whatsoever and I think we'd be seeing better results so far), the poor D (close out HARD on these damn perimeter shooters already--if I see another guy like Channing Frye or Ryan Anderson taking wide open jumpers, I'm gonna puke--don't leave guys like that open), D-Rose saying after game 1 that there needs to be less triangle and more P&R (he's right -- I understand there's no obvious triangle being run ad nauseum and there is some P&R throughout but to me, there shouldn't be any triangle at all. It's confusing for everyone involved and needs to be abandoned. I don't even want the players thinking about it anymore. Shouldn't even be an option. I don't even want them thinking 'blend.' JUST DUMP IT!! Can't wait for the day we don't even have to talk about it anymore!! Not sure if the day will ever come while Phil's here but the moment we dump it entirely will be the moment we start playing better. I tell you what, if I'm Jeff, the first thing I'd do the next practice is take an hour talking to the players and ask them for their opinions & input on the matter--give the guy's their say and be prepared to dump any aspect of the gameplan the players don't like and don't believe in. We're acting like we're half in on everything we're doing out there and it's costing us. We need to be 100% united with our gameplan. It's clear as day that we're not right now), Courtney Lee saying we need to stop practicing D against the triangle in practice because it's not what they're seeing in real games. Probably has a point there, no? Again, more triangle confusion coming directly from a key player--but you know what Courtney, get your act together too, buddy--we need this guy aggressive, need double-digit scoring from him every night), then tinker with the smaller issues to make things better: maybe a little let Lance Thomas and more Kuz/N'Dour, maybe try some Marshall Plumlee backing up Noah (think about it--see if keeping an interior defensive anchor in there at all times makes a difference. I think it would--on those plays where Noah's on the bench and KP has to jump out on a Ryan Anderson-type, we'd still have Plumlee back there guarding the tin), etc.. Can't be afraid to make adjustments. I say unleash Rose in a big way and DUMP the triangle. Start there. Let's get our shit together already! 
