Melo is a 4. He's good on both ends at the 4. Porzingis should come back as a 5. Spacing would be great and perimeter defense will be better.
O'quinn and noah should play about 18 mpg each off the bench with a few minutes here and there sharing the court to keep small ball on the court for close to half of the game.
Lance can start for now but a better forward is needed. PJ tucker would be perfect short term either at the deadline or as a free agent.
Draft could also bring a nice forward if we miss out on the PGs. Either Anunoby or Miles would be perfect long term.
It's really so simple.
Would also be great if we could play a short handed Bulls team game after game
They look even more mediocre than us!
magicTs wrote:Would also be great of we could play a short handed Bulls team game after game They look even more mediocre than us!
Agreed. It wasn't a special win or anything, but it showed us the obvious.
Knixkik wrote:magicTs wrote:Would also be great of we could play a short handed Bulls team game after game They look even more mediocre than us!
Agreed. It wasn't a special win or anything, but it showed us the obvious.
And it was on the tail end of a back to back for the Knicks.
CrushAlot wrote:Knixkik wrote:magicTs wrote:Would also be great of we could play a short handed Bulls team game after game They look even more mediocre than us!
Agreed. It wasn't a special win or anything, but it showed us the obvious.
And it was on the tail end of a back to back for the Knicks.
More important than the competition was the methodology. It was CRYSTAL CLEAR that the paint was wide open based on the way the Knicks spaced out. Ordinarily the Knicks played Packed in tight with each other and they would make predictable long passes and no real movement.
The difference tonight was that the guards started the offense much further back behind the 3pt line.
They had two guys in the corners and a WIDE OPEN PAINT. This exaggerated spacing made it impossible to give help. IF Jeff can help them keep this style of ball they will win games. Tomorrow I'm gonna do some breakdowns of what they changed. I just hope they keep playing this style.
Defense defense and defense.
Without Jimmy Butler, the Bulls looked very similar to the Knicks. Like a team that was built to compete in 2010.
The Knicks can beat teams that can't shoot from outside. We know this already. The challenge will be doing that to a team that can shoot from outside. The Bulls had plenty of wide open threes that clanged off the rim because they're the worst shooting team in the league.
nixluva wrote:CrushAlot wrote:Knixkik wrote:magicTs wrote:Would also be great of we could play a short handed Bulls team game after game They look even more mediocre than us!
Agreed. It wasn't a special win or anything, but it showed us the obvious.
And it was on the tail end of a back to back for the Knicks.
More important than the competition was the methodology. It was CRYSTAL CLEAR that the paint was wide open based on the way the Knicks spaced out. Ordinarily the Knicks played Packed in tight with each other and they would make predictable long passes and no real movement.
The difference tonight was that the guards started the offense much further back behind the 3pt line.
They had two guys in the corners and a WIDE OPEN PAINT. This exaggerated spacing made it impossible to give help. IF Jeff can help them keep this style of ball they will win games. Tomorrow I'm gonna do some breakdowns of what they changed. I just hope they keep playing this style.
The scored 104pts. They give up 109 on average. Their offense wasn't really good enough to win against a good shooting team. How many games have they lost 118-112 this year? The offense has not been the problem. The problem is the defense and allowing too many wide open corner threes. They won because the Bulls missed them. The Bulls shot 3/18 from three. How many times have the Knicks allowed their opposition to shoot 13/22 from 3 or something.
I think the OP was correct - Melo is really a four. Their defense moves better around the perimeter with Melo at the 4. The spacing is better on offense, too. We've known this for years, since 2012-3 season. But Melo has stubbornly insisted staying at the SF. He made the Knicks get Bargnani and ever since then we've been a mediocre team. Woodson figured out how to play with Melo four years ago. Melo is the guy who doesn't want to play the PF. To be fair he seems to get injured a lot more at that position.
I think we need more games to get a better idea of what works best.
Re: Melo
He looked okay on defense because he was matched against a low usg 4 who doesn't stretch the floor
The Knicks and Bulls have roughly the same record, but the media pressure on the Knicks is much greater, which I think sometimes exasperates things.
Phil will never let that happen. It would mean he paid 18 mill for 4 years for a bench scrub.
crzymdups wrote:nixluva wrote:CrushAlot wrote:Knixkik wrote:magicTs wrote:Would also be great of we could play a short handed Bulls team game after game They look even more mediocre than us!
Agreed. It wasn't a special win or anything, but it showed us the obvious.
And it was on the tail end of a back to back for the Knicks.
More important than the competition was the methodology. It was CRYSTAL CLEAR that the paint was wide open based on the way the Knicks spaced out. Ordinarily the Knicks played Packed in tight with each other and they would make predictable long passes and no real movement.
The difference tonight was that the guards started the offense much further back behind the 3pt line.
They had two guys in the corners and a WIDE OPEN PAINT. This exaggerated spacing made it impossible to give help. IF Jeff can help them keep this style of ball they will win games. Tomorrow I'm gonna do some breakdowns of what they changed. I just hope they keep playing this style.
The scored 104pts. They give up 109 on average. Their offense wasn't really good enough to win against a good shooting team. How many games have they lost 118-112 this year? The offense has not been the problem. The problem is the defense and allowing too many wide open corner threes. They won because the Bulls missed them. The Bulls shot 3/18 from three. How many times have the Knicks allowed their opposition to shoot 13/22 from 3 or something.
I think the OP was correct - Melo is really a four. Their defense moves better around the perimeter with Melo at the 4. The spacing is better on offense, too. We've known this for years, since 2012-3 season. But Melo has stubbornly insisted staying at the SF. He made the Knicks get Bargnani and ever since then we've been a mediocre team. Woodson figured out how to play with Melo four years ago. Melo is the guy who doesn't want to play the PF. To be fair he seems to get injured a lot more at that position.
I agree - but do you really think it's Melo who doesn't want to play 4?
And if that is the case, then we have to find a player like a Draymond Green - a mobile strong defensive player that can play & guard either 3 or 4- so we can play Melo at the 4 and allow him to take the weaker of the 3/4 on the opponents.
And why the heck doesn't Kuzminskas get minutes every game? He is the only player on this squad that can hit the open 3 ptr every single time.
They should definitely consider trying KP starting at the 5 a few games. On Golden State, San Antonio, Cleveland, Houston and some other top 5 teams in the league I think they all would have KP start at 5. That's also because of their talent level. They could be fine with KP being in foul trouble.
Problems with KP at 5 is post defense and rebounding. He gets pushed around tol easily. And then responds with physical play but that's usually fouls.
Yet another conundrum with our team. Melo is best at the spot where our young franchise player in the making starts at. Moving KP to 5 has its positives and negatives
franco12 wrote:crzymdups wrote:nixluva wrote:CrushAlot wrote:Knixkik wrote:magicTs wrote:Would also be great of we could play a short handed Bulls team game after game They look even more mediocre than us!
Agreed. It wasn't a special win or anything, but it showed us the obvious.
And it was on the tail end of a back to back for the Knicks.
More important than the competition was the methodology. It was CRYSTAL CLEAR that the paint was wide open based on the way the Knicks spaced out. Ordinarily the Knicks played Packed in tight with each other and they would make predictable long passes and no real movement.
The difference tonight was that the guards started the offense much further back behind the 3pt line.
They had two guys in the corners and a WIDE OPEN PAINT. This exaggerated spacing made it impossible to give help. IF Jeff can help them keep this style of ball they will win games. Tomorrow I'm gonna do some breakdowns of what they changed. I just hope they keep playing this style.
The scored 104pts. They give up 109 on average. Their offense wasn't really good enough to win against a good shooting team. How many games have they lost 118-112 this year? The offense has not been the problem. The problem is the defense and allowing too many wide open corner threes. They won because the Bulls missed them. The Bulls shot 3/18 from three. How many times have the Knicks allowed their opposition to shoot 13/22 from 3 or something.
I think the OP was correct - Melo is really a four. Their defense moves better around the perimeter with Melo at the 4. The spacing is better on offense, too. We've known this for years, since 2012-3 season. But Melo has stubbornly insisted staying at the SF. He made the Knicks get Bargnani and ever since then we've been a mediocre team. Woodson figured out how to play with Melo four years ago. Melo is the guy who doesn't want to play the PF. To be fair he seems to get injured a lot more at that position.
I agree - but do you really think it's Melo who doesn't want to play 4?
And if that is the case, then we have to find a player like a Draymond Green - a mobile strong defensive player that can play & guard either 3 or 4- so we can play Melo at the 4 and allow him to take the weaker of the 3/4 on the opponents.
And why the heck doesn't Kuzminskas get minutes every game? He is the only player on this squad that can hit the open 3 ptr every single time.
We can find that Draymond player you are describing. PJ tucker is a short term solution. OG Anunoby and miles bridges are late lottery/mid 1st round prospects who can do it long term. Bridges especially also has playmaking abilities. He's from mich st, could be the next Draymond. Long term, this is the answer. Melo can still be useful here as a stretch 4. Spacing would be amazing. Porzingis will eventually be a mismatch nightmare st the 5.
What did we learn?
That Kuz and oquinn deserve big roles
That we need a quality pro Sg or 2
That Courtney Lee is a bench player
That we need to let kp completely heal
BRIGGS wrote:What did we learn?
That Kuz and oquinn deserve big roles
That we need a quality pro Sg or 2
That Courtney Lee is a bench player
That we need to let kp completely heal
1) Totally agree, especially Kuz. I also think Willy and Holiday deserve more burn and Thomas deserves more bench time.
2) & 3)I don't care what the stats say, Lee hasn't been as lights out as his stats indicate. And his defense hasn't been as good as advertised. Yeah, it would be great if we had a better option and he came off the bench.
4) Maybe I missed it but have they actually performed an MRI on KP's achilles? I don't remember reading anything about an MRI and if they haven't isn't it about time?
Given the current record I'd like to see us ride more with the young guys. With KP out now is a perfect excuse to see what Kuz brings to the table.
Welpee wrote:BRIGGS wrote:What did we learn?
That Kuz and oquinn deserve big roles
That we need a quality pro Sg or 2
That Courtney Lee is a bench player
That we need to let kp completely heal
1) Totally agree, especially Kuz. I also think Willy and Holiday deserve more burn and Thomas deserves more bench time.
2) & 3)I don't care what the stats say, Lee hasn't been as lights out as his stats indicate. And his defense hasn't been as good as advertised. Yeah, it would be great if we had a better option and he came off the bench.
4) Maybe I missed it but have they actually performed an MRI on KP's achilles? I don't remember reading anything about an MRI and if they haven't isn't it about time?Given the current record I'd like to see us ride more with the young guys. With KP out now is a perfect excuse to see what Kuz brings to the table.
If we had made no moves in the off season outside of maybe bringing in some of the guys that came free (Willy, Kuz) and went with Lopez and Calderon - would our record be much worse?
Everyone here justified the overpaying of Noah by saying we got Lee on a discount? Really?
Can folks man up at this point and basically admit to themselves that Noah and Lee are albatross contracts, and no amount of salary cap increase is ever going to erase the harm they are doing as far as trying to build in the future.
franco12 wrote:Welpee wrote:BRIGGS wrote:What did we learn?
That Kuz and oquinn deserve big roles
That we need a quality pro Sg or 2
That Courtney Lee is a bench player
That we need to let kp completely heal
1) Totally agree, especially Kuz. I also think Willy and Holiday deserve more burn and Thomas deserves more bench time.
2) & 3)I don't care what the stats say, Lee hasn't been as lights out as his stats indicate. And his defense hasn't been as good as advertised. Yeah, it would be great if we had a better option and he came off the bench.
4) Maybe I missed it but have they actually performed an MRI on KP's achilles? I don't remember reading anything about an MRI and if they haven't isn't it about time?Given the current record I'd like to see us ride more with the young guys. With KP out now is a perfect excuse to see what Kuz brings to the table.
If we had made no moves in the off season outside of maybe bringing in some of the guys that came free (Willy, Kuz) and went with Lopez and Calderon - would our record be much worse?
Everyone here justified the overpaying of Noah by saying we got Lee on a discount? Really?
Can folks man up at this point and basically admit to themselves that Noah and Lee are albatross contracts, and no amount of salary cap increase is ever going to erase the harm they are doing as far as trying to build in the future.
I agree about Noah even if I admit I had high hope he would anchor the defense far better than he is.
However Lee was an integral part of a nice team in Charlotte last year. He was considered a good (not great) 3 and d guy. I don't think he suddenly forgot to play as soon as he came in NY. You look better on defense when the whole lineup plays defense. Lee shares the floor with Melo and Rose.
franco12 wrote:Welpee wrote:BRIGGS wrote:What did we learn?
That Kuz and oquinn deserve big roles
That we need a quality pro Sg or 2
That Courtney Lee is a bench player
That we need to let kp completely heal
1) Totally agree, especially Kuz. I also think Willy and Holiday deserve more burn and Thomas deserves more bench time.
2) & 3)I don't care what the stats say, Lee hasn't been as lights out as his stats indicate. And his defense hasn't been as good as advertised. Yeah, it would be great if we had a better option and he came off the bench.
4) Maybe I missed it but have they actually performed an MRI on KP's achilles? I don't remember reading anything about an MRI and if they haven't isn't it about time?Given the current record I'd like to see us ride more with the young guys. With KP out now is a perfect excuse to see what Kuz brings to the table.
If we had made no moves in the off season outside of maybe bringing in some of the guys that came free (Willy, Kuz) and went with Lopez and Calderon - would our record be much worse?
Everyone here justified the overpaying of Noah by saying we got Lee on a discount? Really?
Can folks man up at this point and basically admit to themselves that Noah and Lee are albatross contracts, and no amount of salary cap increase is ever going to erase the harm they are doing as far as trying to build in the future.
Neither appear to be good signings
at this point. I'll wait until closer to the end of the season before making a final judgement. But I will say this, Rose alone has contributed to more wins than Calderon would've. People are forgetting how awful that dude was. Yeah, I think our record would be worse maintaining last year's squad.
franco12 wrote:Welpee wrote:BRIGGS wrote:What did we learn?
That Kuz and oquinn deserve big roles
That we need a quality pro Sg or 2
That Courtney Lee is a bench player
That we need to let kp completely heal
1) Totally agree, especially Kuz. I also think Willy and Holiday deserve more burn and Thomas deserves more bench time.
2) & 3)I don't care what the stats say, Lee hasn't been as lights out as his stats indicate. And his defense hasn't been as good as advertised. Yeah, it would be great if we had a better option and he came off the bench.
4) Maybe I missed it but have they actually performed an MRI on KP's achilles? I don't remember reading anything about an MRI and if they haven't isn't it about time?Given the current record I'd like to see us ride more with the young guys. With KP out now is a perfect excuse to see what Kuz brings to the table.
If we had made no moves in the off season outside of maybe bringing in some of the guys that came free (Willy, Kuz) and went with Lopez and Calderon - would our record be much worse?
Everyone here justified the overpaying of Noah by saying we got Lee on a discount? Really?
Can folks man up at this point and basically admit to themselves that Noah and Lee are albatross contracts, and no amount of salary cap increase is ever going to erase the harm they are doing as far as trying to build in the future.
Lee isn't an albatross contract by any means. He's been a starting SG his whole career and 12 mil a year is what good reserves are getting paid. I think had we not made the Bulls deal, and just signed Jennings and Lee to be the backcourt, with Lopez at center, we would probably be a little better than we are now, or at least not worse. Lopez can stretch the floor a little bit whereas Noah can't, so the spacing would be better. But ultimately, nothing will really matter until KP and Melo move to their natural positions full-time.
The key to me is Jeff doing what he TRULY believes is right for this team! He can't be forced to play lineups that aren't right for this team or forced to run more Triangle than is good for these players! If Jeff wants to play Melo at the 4 more then he should do that.
I actually think this team has not maximized the talent it has already. That goes for all the players people think aren't good enough. There's really no good reason this team shouldn't be able to beat most of the lesser teams in this league if they're playing the right way!!!
