Knicks · We are only 2 losses behind the 8th seed (page 1)

Certainly things look bleak.
It's been a disaster stretch of 12 games.
However we are somehow still one winning streak of 4 games away from being back in the playoff 8.

This team is very talented. Rose, Melo, KP, Lee, Jennnings.

Indiana went from 10th to 5th in te East with a 5 game win streak.

the East is very weak other than at the top so I agree we can still get in. However I don't know how far we would get

I don't mind(as much) the losses when the players play their heart out. This has not been the case. They have the talent to be good, that's why it's so frustrating.

This should be cut and pasted for the last 15 years

Teams are starting to find their stride.... the Knicks are spiraling. That's what usually happens some teams struggle early then catch their stride. The pretenders fall back in line.

The upcoming schedule is fairly light. The Knicks could be 10-2 over the next 12 games before we get smacked by Cleveland. Even 8-4... that's if they settle down. If they keep getting smacked by lowly teams then I want to start preparing for next year...

The difference in the past 15 years and now is that we have KP. A player who has been our best young draft pick (own) since Ewing. In his 2nd season he is playing at an all-star level and overall accounting defense and offense, he is our most valuable player. Melo is the better player for offense, overall it's KP. We need to stay positive and keep focused on winning. If we wind up staying in this disasterous losing trend, it does not really hurt us too much.

Why? Say we finish with 36 wins instead of 41. That's 5 wins difference, yet a difference of making the playoffs vs missing out. The difference in now vs past years is we have the draft pick. We'll be drafting 10th or 12th something along those lines. Teams have picked up great players at those spots. Phil and Gaines have shown they know how to scout and bring in talent out of no where. KP. Willy. Kuz. Langston. Baker. If we have a lottery pick we'll add a quality young player with KP. This is important. Huge actually. Rose will be gone as would Jennings and some other vets, and we would be able to have something like 40$ million in capspace to add some younger players to play with KP.

It's still win-win for us. It's not like last year. Last year when we began to lose after 22-22 and it was a disaster similar to this stretch, I was miserable because I saw us losing a draft pick for nothing. This year, I see us in a different position. We should go all out for the playoffs. KP is a winner and has a winning mindset. He must be pushed to go for the playoffs. If we fail, we end up in a positive situation longterm. Big capspace and a lottery pick.

It just irks me that players like Rose and Melo don't push themselves to a higher gear right now. This losing falls on them more than KP or others. They are vets with star status. They need to show they know how to win. I'm hopeful that the two of them either play better winning ball, or simply move out of town by season's end. However if Melo and Rose truly dedicate themselves on a nightly basis to defense, playing harder, we will make the playoffs. We have the talent to do so.

nyknickzingis wrote:The difference in the past 15 years and now is that we have KP. A player who has been our best young draft pick (own) since Ewing. In his 2nd season he is playing at an all-star level and overall accounting defense and offense, he is our most valuable player. Melo is the better player for offense, overall it's KP. We need to stay positive and keep focused on winning. If we wind up staying in this disasterous losing trend, it does not really hurt us too much.

Why? Say we finish with 36 wins instead of 41. That's 5 wins difference, yet a difference of making the playoffs vs missing out. The difference in now vs past years is we have the draft pick. We'll be drafting 10th or 12th something along those lines. Teams have picked up great players at those spots. Phil and Gaines have shown they know how to scout and bring in talent out of no where. KP. Willy. Kuz. Langston. Baker. If we have a lottery pick we'll add a quality young player with KP. This is important. Huge actually. Rose will be gone as would Jennings and some other vets, and we would be able to have something like 40$ million in capspace to add some younger players to play with KP.

It's still win-win for us. It's not like last year. Last year when we began to lose after 22-22 and it was a disaster similar to this stretch, I was miserable because I saw us losing a draft pick for nothing. This year, I see us in a different position. We should go all out for the playoffs. KP is a winner and has a winning mindset. He must be pushed to go for the playoffs. If we fail, we end up in a positive situation longterm. Big capspace and a lottery pick.

It just irks me that players like Rose and Melo don't push themselves to a higher gear right now. This losing falls on them more than KP or others. They are vets with star status. They need to show they know how to win. I'm hopeful that the two of them either play better winning ball, or simply move out of town by season's end. However if Melo and Rose truly dedicate themselves on a nightly basis to defense, playing harder, we will make the playoffs. We have the talent to do so.

I agree with all of this! Especially the last paragraph! This losing is on the VETS! MELO, ROSE, NOAH AND LEE have all been around way too long to be playing like this and not LEADING these younger players at least by example! That's why Phil brought them here!!! They need to start doing their jobs.

All right! Only two games back of watching the complete and utter evisceration of the Knicks at the hands of the Cavs!!! JACKPOT. We're 0-2 against them and have lost by a total of 61 points. yaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay

That time of year already?

nixluva wrote:

nyknickzingis wrote:The difference in the past 15 years and now is that we have KP. A player who has been our best young draft pick (own) since Ewing. In his 2nd season he is playing at an all-star level and overall accounting defense and offense, he is our most valuable player. Melo is the better player for offense, overall it's KP. We need to stay positive and keep focused on winning. If we wind up staying in this disasterous losing trend, it does not really hurt us too much.

Why? Say we finish with 36 wins instead of 41. That's 5 wins difference, yet a difference of making the playoffs vs missing out. The difference in now vs past years is we have the draft pick. We'll be drafting 10th or 12th something along those lines. Teams have picked up great players at those spots. Phil and Gaines have shown they know how to scout and bring in talent out of no where. KP. Willy. Kuz. Langston. Baker. If we have a lottery pick we'll add a quality young player with KP. This is important. Huge actually. Rose will be gone as would Jennings and some other vets, and we would be able to have something like 40$ million in capspace to add some younger players to play with KP.

It's still win-win for us. It's not like last year. Last year when we began to lose after 22-22 and it was a disaster similar to this stretch, I was miserable because I saw us losing a draft pick for nothing. This year, I see us in a different position. We should go all out for the playoffs. KP is a winner and has a winning mindset. He must be pushed to go for the playoffs. If we fail, we end up in a positive situation longterm. Big capspace and a lottery pick.

It just irks me that players like Rose and Melo don't push themselves to a higher gear right now. This losing falls on them more than KP or others. They are vets with star status. They need to show they know how to win. I'm hopeful that the two of them either play better winning ball, or simply move out of town by season's end. However if Melo and Rose truly dedicate themselves on a nightly basis to defense, playing harder, we will make the playoffs. We have the talent to do so.

I agree with all of this! Especially the last paragraph! This losing is on the VETS! MELO, ROSE, NOAH AND LEE have all been around way too long to be playing like this and not LEADING these younger players at least by example! That's why Phil brought them here!!! They need to start doing their jobs.

I Disagree a little with the melo and rose theory..Kp, Koq, and noah, are the worst perimeter defenders in the league as far as big men.

What's worse is that the defensive system makes them look even worse. As soon as the ball gets below the 3 point line, they all turned there attn to the paint, and when the ball gets kicked out, they're just to far away to close out.. This is happening on almost every other possession and It's really the entire team.

the knicks players almost never stay home on the perimeter, the cheat and get burned time and time again...Every opposing team comes in with the same game plan, and it works like a charmed. Even bad perimeter teams suddenly become the GSW/rockets

knicks1248 wrote:

nixluva wrote:

nyknickzingis wrote:The difference in the past 15 years and now is that we have KP. A player who has been our best young draft pick (own) since Ewing. In his 2nd season he is playing at an all-star level and overall accounting defense and offense, he is our most valuable player. Melo is the better player for offense, overall it's KP. We need to stay positive and keep focused on winning. If we wind up staying in this disasterous losing trend, it does not really hurt us too much.

Why? Say we finish with 36 wins instead of 41. That's 5 wins difference, yet a difference of making the playoffs vs missing out. The difference in now vs past years is we have the draft pick. We'll be drafting 10th or 12th something along those lines. Teams have picked up great players at those spots. Phil and Gaines have shown they know how to scout and bring in talent out of no where. KP. Willy. Kuz. Langston. Baker. If we have a lottery pick we'll add a quality young player with KP. This is important. Huge actually. Rose will be gone as would Jennings and some other vets, and we would be able to have something like 40$ million in capspace to add some younger players to play with KP.

It's still win-win for us. It's not like last year. Last year when we began to lose after 22-22 and it was a disaster similar to this stretch, I was miserable because I saw us losing a draft pick for nothing. This year, I see us in a different position. We should go all out for the playoffs. KP is a winner and has a winning mindset. He must be pushed to go for the playoffs. If we fail, we end up in a positive situation longterm. Big capspace and a lottery pick.

It just irks me that players like Rose and Melo don't push themselves to a higher gear right now. This losing falls on them more than KP or others. They are vets with star status. They need to show they know how to win. I'm hopeful that the two of them either play better winning ball, or simply move out of town by season's end. However if Melo and Rose truly dedicate themselves on a nightly basis to defense, playing harder, we will make the playoffs. We have the talent to do so.

I agree with all of this! Especially the last paragraph! This losing is on the VETS! MELO, ROSE, NOAH AND LEE have all been around way too long to be playing like this and not LEADING these younger players at least by example! That's why Phil brought them here!!! They need to start doing their jobs.

I Disagree a little with the melo and rose theory..Kp, Koq, and noah, are the worst perimeter defenders in the league as far as big men.

What's worse is that the defensive system makes them look even worse. As soon as the ball gets below the 3 point line, they all turned there attn to the paint, and when the ball gets kicked out, they're just to far away to close out.. This is happening on almost every other possession and It's really the entire team.

the knicks players almost never stay home on the perimeter, the cheat and get burned time and time again...Every opposing team comes in with the same game plan, and it works like a charmed. Even bad perimeter teams suddenly become the GSW/rockets

While I definitely agree that our defensive philosophy is awful - or that we don't have one period - I think our defense would be better if Melo and Rose pulled up their shorts, smacked the floor, and were bulldogs on the defensive end. yes, we give up way too many 3s, especially considering the era that this is, but tenacity from our top dogs would certainly be contagious

StarksEwing1 wrote:the East is very weak other than at the top so I agree we can still get in. However I don't know how far we would get

Sure you do...and it ain't far.

SupremeCommander wrote:

knicks1248 wrote:

nixluva wrote:

nyknickzingis wrote:The difference in the past 15 years and now is that we have KP. A player who has been our best young draft pick (own) since Ewing. In his 2nd season he is playing at an all-star level and overall accounting defense and offense, he is our most valuable player. Melo is the better player for offense, overall it's KP. We need to stay positive and keep focused on winning. If we wind up staying in this disasterous losing trend, it does not really hurt us too much.

Why? Say we finish with 36 wins instead of 41. That's 5 wins difference, yet a difference of making the playoffs vs missing out. The difference in now vs past years is we have the draft pick. We'll be drafting 10th or 12th something along those lines. Teams have picked up great players at those spots. Phil and Gaines have shown they know how to scout and bring in talent out of no where. KP. Willy. Kuz. Langston. Baker. If we have a lottery pick we'll add a quality young player with KP. This is important. Huge actually. Rose will be gone as would Jennings and some other vets, and we would be able to have something like 40$ million in capspace to add some younger players to play with KP.

It's still win-win for us. It's not like last year. Last year when we began to lose after 22-22 and it was a disaster similar to this stretch, I was miserable because I saw us losing a draft pick for nothing. This year, I see us in a different position. We should go all out for the playoffs. KP is a winner and has a winning mindset. He must be pushed to go for the playoffs. If we fail, we end up in a positive situation longterm. Big capspace and a lottery pick.

It just irks me that players like Rose and Melo don't push themselves to a higher gear right now. This losing falls on them more than KP or others. They are vets with star status. They need to show they know how to win. I'm hopeful that the two of them either play better winning ball, or simply move out of town by season's end. However if Melo and Rose truly dedicate themselves on a nightly basis to defense, playing harder, we will make the playoffs. We have the talent to do so.

I agree with all of this! Especially the last paragraph! This losing is on the VETS! MELO, ROSE, NOAH AND LEE have all been around way too long to be playing like this and not LEADING these younger players at least by example! That's why Phil brought them here!!! They need to start doing their jobs.

I Disagree a little with the melo and rose theory..Kp, Koq, and noah, are the worst perimeter defenders in the league as far as big men.

What's worse is that the defensive system makes them look even worse. As soon as the ball gets below the 3 point line, they all turned there attn to the paint, and when the ball gets kicked out, they're just to far away to close out.. This is happening on almost every other possession and It's really the entire team.

the knicks players almost never stay home on the perimeter, the cheat and get burned time and time again...Every opposing team comes in with the same game plan, and it works like a charmed. Even bad perimeter teams suddenly become the GSW/rockets

While I definitely agree that our defensive philosophy is awful - or that we don't have one period - I think our defense would be better if Melo and Rose pulled up their shorts, smacked the floor, and were bulldogs on the defensive end. yes, we give up way too many 3s, especially considering the era that this is, but tenacity from our top dogs would certainly be contagious

We are just as bad on defense when those 2 sit..its like FCK it man, just switch on everything.

Melo is not a guy who is going to play rugged defense, neither is rose. As soon as the coaching staff excepts that they can turn their attention to finding ways to hide that, but they can't because they refuse to make adjustments defensively, they still go with the same sht that hasn't really worked..

Is Harden a better defender under MDA, abslutley not, but he's twice the offensive player he ever was since MDA started coaching him..Just like rose was a better defender under thibs.

We are forever filling our roster with players that don't fit the caoch..like given MDA melo instead of deron Williams..

That's why Woodson made MDA look bad..he took the same exact roster and tweeked it and won 12 straight.

MDA took little use Lin with a injured plagued roster and won 7 straight, all because of the system and the player running it

JH wants guys who will make the extra pass, who won't avoid contact, then he would have a powerhouse offensive team..we see it every game, rose never ever makes the extra pass, the only guys on this team that does that is , baker, willy, KOQ and kuz. Aside from Noah, and melos occasionally, everyone else is shoot first..

Maybe Noah needs to come off the bench and let KP play the 5. Let's run and gun with rose and Jennings. I'd like to see this line up starting.

KP
Melo
Lee
Rose
Jennings

KP is our future center and the future is now. He is having a hard time defending the perimeter. And rightfully so he is 7'3 and he wants to be a monster in the paint. Melo is having problems guarding 3's a lot of times they are to quick for him plus melo has issues guarding the perimeter as well. Lee can guard 3's no problem, rose is athletic and should have no problem guarding opposing 2's . Jennings is jennings so maybe he steps up as a starter.

Bringing Noah off the bench will bring that much needed energy off the bench and if he plays well you can mix him in with the starters .

A bench of
Noah
Oquin
Lance
Holiday
Baker

Should bring a lot of defense and if offense becomes a issue you pull lance for kuz and Noah for Willy ...

As of right now what do we have to lose by doing this.

"evident progess"

We're also 3 wins behind the 8th seed. You know how long it takes us to win 3 games? We've only won 3 in the past 31 days

Bonn1997 wrote:We're also 3 wins behind the 8th seed. You know how long it takes us to win 3 games? We've only won 3 in the past 31 days

Things are going to change I can feel it