Knicks · Woj: Mills Angling for Fizdalr Firing (page 4)

I think most of it comes down to coaching. If we are being honest how badly did they really screw up the roster in the off season given what was available to them?
Going into off season we knew we needed:

Improved shooting
more depth at PF
A Center to back up Mitch
Improved PG's
Better defenders
Better passing
A star

We took RJ Barrett who was clearly the best player available and he turned out great compared to expectations despite the many reservations people had(especially me, I wanted Culver but thank god i'm not running things).

Given how far behind in development we were it was always unlikely we'd get the biggest FA's. We wen't from having no NBA caliber PF's to having 3, one coming off a career season, one who was a respected two way vet for many good teams, and one wildcard which to many was fine.

We brought in 3 two way players that would improve our shooting(Morris and Wayne Bullock)

We got a very serviceable PG

So what gives?

You could make the argument that maybe we bring in a center instead of one of the PF's we brought in, and I'd agree given how raw Mitch was. But who were the feasible the alternatives? Dedmon? Valenciunas? Zubac? WCS? Dwight Howard?

You could make the argument that Payton wasn't enough, but if not him then who? Cory Joseph(who sucks right now)? a rapidly declining George Hill? Or make riskier allocations and spend over the top to lure Rubio or Rozier?

You could say that maybe we don't sign Ellington and trust Dotson and Trier to fight it out..but would we be better?

I knew coming in that the way we built this roster wasn't great but given the alternatives I'm not sure we would have been that much better. We got better passers, defenders, shooters, and more depth at the 4. We still lacked PG play, an outright go to player, and a reliable center but all things can be handled under a good coaching scheme. I'm not saying fire Fizdale yet but this idea that they are throwing him under the bus is overblown.

Lets also be clear: The front office clearly had the right mindset in FA in looking for vets who could improve the roster and help groom the young ones on short term deals. They could have done a slightly better job in terms of who they signed but going forward we are still on the right track.

smackeddog wrote:

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This made me laugh--Mills is probably in that old photo stood next to jack nicholson at the end of the shining

Teflon Steve

TPercy wrote:Lets also be clear: The front office clearly had the right mindset in FA in looking for vets who could improve the roster and help groom the young ones on short term deals. They could have done a slightly better job in terms of who they signed but going forward we are still on the right track.

Both your most previous posts are fair and accurate.

I agree. The FO did ok given the assets in play.

Saw this on Reddit.

BigDaddyG wrote:Saw this on Reddit.

I didn't know if I wanted to laugh or cry.

franco12 wrote:I like Fizdale, but based on this years results and what I have seen, it is hard to argue against firing him.

That he hasn't had enough time isn't a really compelling reason.

Papabear Says

The way we loose is the problem. We get blown out by bad teams. That means not being prepaird and can't get up for a bad team and just don't know how to win.

I'm watching the Rockets and Clippers game and Van Gundy chimed in on the Fizdale situation. "Fiz is an outstanding basketball coach. We need to be patient. We put together a new basketball team, injury and absence at the point guard position, we have a young rookie at the starting 2, we have multiple forwards that are trying to play the same spot, we gotta calm down and let it play out some. We always say we are in it together and we gotta be patient, but then at the first sign of adversity, teams start to break a part. Stay the course and let that man coach his team."

Clearly, Van Gundy has been reading my post

Uptown wrote:I'm watching the Rockets and Clippers game and Van Gundy chimed in on the Fizdale situation. "Fiz is an outstanding basketball coach. We need to be patient. We put together a new basketball team, injury and absence at the point guard position, we have a young rookie at the starting 2, we have multiple forwards that are trying to play the same spot, we gotta calm down and let it play out some. We always say we are in it together and we gotta be patient, but then at the first sing of adversity, teams start to break a part. Stay the course and let that man coach his team."

Clearly, Van Gundy has been reading my post

When is the last time you heard a coach crap on another coach who is on the verge of being fired? And don't mention Rex Ryan.

BigDaddyG wrote:

Uptown wrote:I'm watching the Rockets and Clippers game and Van Gundy chimed in on the Fizdale situation. "Fiz is an outstanding basketball coach. We need to be patient. We put together a new basketball team, injury and absence at the point guard position, we have a young rookie at the starting 2, we have multiple forwards that are trying to play the same spot, we gotta calm down and let it play out some. We always say we are in it together and we gotta be patient, but then at the first sing of adversity, teams start to break a part. Stay the course and let that man coach his team."

Clearly, Van Gundy has been reading my post

When is the last time you heard a coach crap on another coach who is on the verge of being fired? And don't mention Rex Ryan.

Van Gundys comments on Fiz were unsolicited. In other words, he ain't have to say anything at all. Heres a question for you, what lies were told in the above mentioned quote from Van Gundy?

Uptown wrote:

BigDaddyG wrote:

Uptown wrote:I'm watching the Rockets and Clippers game and Van Gundy chimed in on the Fizdale situation. "Fiz is an outstanding basketball coach. We need to be patient. We put together a new basketball team, injury and absence at the point guard position, we have a young rookie at the starting 2, we have multiple forwards that are trying to play the same spot, we gotta calm down and let it play out some. We always say we are in it together and we gotta be patient, but then at the first sing of adversity, teams start to break a part. Stay the course and let that man coach his team."

Clearly, Van Gundy has been reading my post

When is the last time you heard a coach crap on another coach who is on the verge of being fired? And don't mention Rex Ryan.

Van Gundys comments on Fiz were unsolicited. In other words, he ain't have to say anything at all. Heres a question for you, what lies were told in the above mentioned quote from Van Gundy?

Fix is an outstanding basketball coach...

Look Fiz may be a great teacher and motivator, but think most can agree that he doesn't seem to have them prepared to play this season. You don't get blown out by the Kings, Cavs and Celts on your homecourt in the first two weeks of the season. I recall another poster referenced Fiz's friendship-type approach with players (which usually works best with vets) and the concern for holding players accountable. I think there is truth to that and the best coaches find a way to demand a lot while maintaining some positive relations so the players are loyal and disciplined.

You need mature and/or self-motivated players to respond well in that type of coach-player dynamic. I think that's why Morris, RJ, Taj and Payton seem ready to play most nights, whereas many of the younger guys (fighting for minutes with similar ability players) like Knox, Randle, and Portis don't seem to have that inner fire and consistency. So don't think it's all the players or the coach - but given this roster which reeks of younger and less disciplined style players - think they would do better with a touger/hard-nosed kind of coach.

BigDaddyG wrote:

Uptown wrote:

BigDaddyG wrote:

Uptown wrote:I'm watching the Rockets and Clippers game and Van Gundy chimed in on the Fizdale situation. "Fiz is an outstanding basketball coach. We need to be patient. We put together a new basketball team, injury and absence at the point guard position, we have a young rookie at the starting 2, we have multiple forwards that are trying to play the same spot, we gotta calm down and let it play out some. We always say we are in it together and we gotta be patient, but then at the first sing of adversity, teams start to break a part. Stay the course and let that man coach his team."

Clearly, Van Gundy has been reading my post

When is the last time you heard a coach crap on another coach who is on the verge of being fired? And don't mention Rex Ryan.

Van Gundys comments on Fiz were unsolicited. In other words, he ain't have to say anything at all. Heres a question for you, what lies were told in the above mentioned quote from Van Gundy?

Fix is an outstanding basketball coach...

That may prove to be the case. But, how about we let it play it out a little longer and give him a stable roster, one with parts that fit and compliment each other before we come to a final conclusion.

I'm for getting rid of Fiz but I think there's more than that. It all starts at the top. We know we can't get rid of Dolan, but we sure as heck can get Mills and Perry. They were the ones who put together this roster and staff. So we should let the new powers put together the next staff which means Fiz should remain until they are removed. Problem is how long will this take? It's really unbelievable how this franchise can put together such a dysfunctional organization!

The guy who quit on the Knicks is lecturing us to be patient?

Chandler wrote:The guy who quit on the Knicks is lecturing us to be patient?

Why are people still bitter about that? Do people have to stay working for the Knicks forever? Are they not allowed to stop?

Politics will always be a part of management. We were just dealing with better chess players back then.