IMO Herb defintely smells something in the air... he's changed his image recently, started being more active on the bench, you can say he knows this might be his chance.what are you saying, Herb has been given the team? Herb is even worse
When when the last time a Knick asst became a head coach (aside from Woodson)....shows another reason why Woodson has no help
Enough is too much: Do something!!!
Everything that we built up until this point has failed us. Firing Grunwald and Chris Smith making the team was the straw that broke the camels back. It didn't help that Felton, Melo, Shump, Metta and whoever had a mic in their face all seemed to think they were going to start the season and just win because they did that last season. The sheer arrogance of these guys was led by a coach that to this day is saying he is still trying to figure out this roster. Who is to blame? The only answer to this question is EVERYBODY!!!
Only 4 players showed up in shape and ready to play on day one. The first I'll mention is Tim Hardaway Jr. The kid broke his shooting hand in summer league and still showed up to training camp ready to steal someone's job. Aside from typical rookie mistakes, the kid has been fantastic. Another guy that I have bashed hardcore in previous blogs, Tyson Chandler, showed up in phenomenal shape. He admitted Roy Hibbert embarrassed him and it drove him to improve his body physically. To my surprise the dude brought a nice looking jumpshot and hook in the lane! That's all I asked of the guy and he finally brought that to the table. For that he has my respect. He had a freak leg injury this year so that's unfortunate. If he can come back and build upon his early success that would be great. The other two players are Carmelo Anthony and Pablo Prigioni. Priggy was picking guys up full court during preseason so he was ready. Sad he's too damn old now and just refuses to look at the rim sometimes. Melo is currently leading the league in minutes and is killing himself trying to do everything. Call him selfish if you want to be cool, but he is playing extremely hard right now. So the problem lies between the eyes of every other player that had put on a knicks uniform this year. What is the problem? That right now simply does not matter. What does matter is what management is prepared to do about it.
First of all, Woodson and his entire coaching staff needs to be fired. There is no excuse to be unprepared like this. The team doesn't run any plays and they are putting everything on Melo. We aren't the best team but we should not be 3-12 right now. That is bull**** my friends. The blame is not all on coaching. The knicks need a point guard. Nothing to debate. Felton needs to go. He's not a champion so I don't understand the respect he's getting from this coaching staff. Beno needs to be let go as well. It's a shame the knicks tricked him into taking a pay cut only not to play him. If we can get a second round pick for Beno, trade him to a contender. I would target Isaiah Thomas immediately. He's averaging 18pts per game off the bench. Sacramento made a major move for their future by starting Ben Mclemore and trading for Derrick Williams. They made a commitment to Grievas at point guard. Isaiah Thomas is available to be had right now! We simply can't wait to get a kid that young and talented. The kid can get in the paint at will and score. He can shoot the lights out as well. He's had his best game's this season playing against Chris Paul. Youtube it if you don't believe me.
Amare Stoudamire wants to dunk the ball and go to the hall of fame. That's all he cares about. The knicks need to Marbury this guy once and for all and look to trade him for the best deal that benefits our team. That's it. Be done with it. We are playing ourselves babying this man. He doesn't rebound or play defense. Be done with this guy. Move on and get the ball rolling with Jeremy Tyler. If someone is going to make rookie mistakes let it be a rookie. The word is Jeremy is healthy and playing unrestricted right now. Get him in uniform asap!
By the time Tyson comes back, the knicks should have Tyler in the mix, Isaiah Thomas as the starting point, Jr Smith starting with Toure "Baby Clyde" Murry and Hardaway Jr off the bench. Bargnani is not as soft as we thought. He should be the starting 4 with Melo and Tyson. Lets get this going immediately. I understand it takes two to tango so teams have to want to trade with us. That's not my problem. Management needs to get their **** together. Excuse my language kids but this is where we are. Hire Lionel Hollins as coach and lets get it popping right now. This team is not dead yet, but the bleeding can't stop until they pull out the blade. Go Knicks!!!
Think about it like this.
Pringles is currently running out THIS roster for the Lakers and they're 9-8.
PG: Steve Blake
SG: Jodie Meeks
SF: Wesley Johnson
PF: Jordan Hill
C: Pau Gasol
And they're 9-8. We have Carmelo ****ing Anthony, arguably the best scorer in the league, and we're 3-12?
Carmelo ****ing Antony is not arguably the best scorer. K.D. is. Melo is taking so many shots to score his points, that he forgets about his teammates. 0 assists. Thats why nobody is happy, and again, i blame Woodson for this BS.
I am rooting for Pelicans today. Maybe that retard Dolan will fire him after 9 straight losses.
Go Pelicans.
Carmelo ****ing Antony is not arguably the best scorer. K.D. is. Melo is taking so many shots to score his points, that he forgets about his teammates. 0 assists. Thats why nobody is happy, and again, i blame Woodson for this BS.
I am rooting for Pelicans today. Maybe that retard Dolan will fire him after 9 straight losses.
Go Pelicans.
Hey, nuckles, i am surprized that you want Melo to stay. I used to be his fan, but after watching him play here in new york, i am convinced that he is too selfish, does not or does not want to understand the team concept, not at all team oriented player, who dosnt make players around him better, just opposite.
As i look at the current situation in the team, nobody is happy to play with him, STAT voiced his opinion, i know he is irrelevant now, but he was right about lack of ball movement. It was a straight shot at Melo, and i think he was reflecting the mood of the whole team. Tyson said the same thing last year, expressed his frastration about running the floor, to only wach MELO and JR (Melo requested to bring him here btw) dribbling and shooting like their teammates dont exist.
If you give him the max contract, and build the team around him, to satisfy his style of play, dont you think its too risky?
I would trade him, while he is still highly regarded in this league for an elite point guard and go from there.
Please identify the team concept for me. The Knicks have been playing like a team with no identity all season.
They're playing for a head coach who turned Joe Johnson from Phoenix, into ISO-Joe in Atlanta. I've watched Woodson's offensive "scheme" be "give the ball to the best, highest paid player, when he wants it, and play off of him."
No one really has a role when the ball crosses half court, that's why we ROUTINELY see the PG dribble the clock down to like 11 secs, then one pass and a shot attempt. Our PnRs go no where, our PG rarely ever makes the "hockey assist" where he's orchestrating the offense and is seeing a play developing.
JR is playing like trash lately, but instead of his minutes getting cut back just a tad, to try to get more production elsewhere -- while still giving JR enough of a chance to play his way out of it... what do we see? JR gets a plethora of minutes that he doesn't need to utilize. That's Melo's fault? If you say so.
Melo's faults this year are his brain-farts on defense, and his poor 3-PT %. Other than that, he is the team's concept. Especially with this coach.
If you see something different can you please enlighten us all as to what is is.
Do so without bringing up asinine points like "STAT voiced his opinion." I couldn't give less of a **** what the opinion is of some dude who's being paid over $20M dollars to go out there and play well once out of every 5 or 6 games, turn the ball over like it's a part of his job description, and then whine about the ball not moving when he gets it on the lower wing and his options seem to be: turnover, or shot attempt.
I want Melo to stay and org. build something around him. But to be honest, if I were him, I'd be outta here. The front owner is stupid, the front office is full of idiots and yes-men, and the fans.... lol.
I would not called Melo's defensive mistakes " Brain Farts " that insinuates that this is a random........I think its clear Melo as a defensive player is weak and picks and chooses when he will step up.......If you are a max contract guy that a team will build around then you should not have defensive lapses. Defense is 50% of the game and lapses are not accepted.
As for JR I said it and will say it again the we should have never signed him.........But with that said JR''s play is on Woodson. I mean how do you increase a players minutes when he is awful and take it away from other players like Metta, Shumpert and Prigs..................Woodson makes zero sense.........He whines about Defense but plays JR more then any other player in the 2nd half and talk about a horrible defensive player JR fits the build........Why would Shump sit the entire $t
4th quarter after having his best game in a while.
Yea, I agree. Melo's defense needs to exist more, and be more consistent. I called them "brain-farts" this year, cause in years past we would see him make absurd fouls on jump shooters, which meant the effort was there but the focus wasn't. Reel that in a little, and he'd be serviceable. But now it's just breakdowns, missed assignments, and not helping when he needs to help.
You could also raise the question: what if so much wasn't required of him in Woodson's "hero ball" offense. Not making an excuse, but like I said several times, Woody's offense is give the ball to the best player, ISO him on the wing, and play off of him. I think if the ball moved in an actual scheme and the majority of Melo's shots didn't always come off of his being 1-on-2, or 1-on-3, he might have more energy to expend on defense.
Remember in D,Antoni's system where the majority of the sets were the high PnR between the 1 and 5, that's when we saw Melo try more on defense, just not in a very intelligent way. With the ball swinging round the perimeter early last year, Melo was a man on a mission on defense. Blocks at the rim, great rotations, diving into the stands for loose balls, etc. Once the 3s stopped falling, and it was time for Woody's "hero/Iso ball" again, the D wore down again.
Just an observation. Maybe other folks see it differently, but either way.. I'd rather it if Melo were a two-way player. But he is what he is, and we have him on the team. I'd rather keep that kind of talent, than lose it with no guarantee of being able to replace it (especially with our draft pick situation.)
The Woody and Felton and JR situation is just uncomfortable. It's almost as if they have some dirt on him or something. It makes absolutely no sense.
<-------------------------- EDIT --------------------------->
Just looked it up, and Melo is playing 40.4 mins per game this year.
LBJ is playing 35.5 mpg
Paul George is playing 36.2 mpg
PG is averaging 23 points on 47% shooting with 3.4 assists and 6.1 rebounds. 17.9 field goal attempts per game.
Melo is averaging 26 points on 42% shooting with 2.5 assists and 9.9 rebounds. 22.2 field goal attempts per game.
Melo's minutes and field goal attempts can EASILY be regulated with a more comprehensive coach, and plan.