nuckles2k2
Superstar
Like Red said...all of this is a culmination of:
The signs were obviously there...some missed it, some saw it. Those who seemed to have missed said signs have been eerily quiet on these boards. But I'll give them a pass because that loss on friday was absolutely crushing. I sat in my seat for another 5 mins after the final buzzer in shock....I don't even wanna go today...
I made this point before. The Knicks seem to do everything exactly opposite of conventional basketball wisdom.
Offense should be inside out...but we're outside in.
Defense should start on the perimeter and deny penetration and have our bigs provide support and help.....but we let everyone and their moms get right in the paint and attack the cup then we're scrambling to try to close out on shots, and rotate extremely late on wing players....inside out.
These are the things I've been seeing since MDA got here and they have nothing to do with talent, but more so the schemes and coaching (or lack thereof.)
It's disgusting.
I get everything you're saying, but I think you're kind of mixing apples with oranges. When you ask "can you blame Mike for the horror show back then?" are you talking about the wins and loses or the fashion in which we won and lost? Because they're not quite the same thing.
The Knicks lack of defensive fundamentals (mostly having to do with team defense) was there as well. But it was just too easy to sit back and say "oh, well...we're shedding salary..." but now that the purging is complete, we have some pieces, the majority of them had training camp & preseason together...and those same defensive flaws that were present in 2008 & 2009, reared their ugly heads in 2010...and they're still here in 2011.
Even if this team acquires all of the missing pieces deemed needed, gels, and continues to play this way on the defensive end next year...we will be in no better position.
Something is wrong out there...there are either no set defensive strategies being installed and implemented, or there are...and the guys are ignoring MDA. Because team defense has very little to do with talent, just like Billups said and I see it in your sig, most defense is positioning, awareness, and effort...if players are not in the right spots, have their heads in the clouds, and are acting like a pregnant woman in her 8th month...who's job is it to light a fire under those dude's asses to get back to the plan installed for this game? You don't need STAT, Melo, Billups, a defensive 5, and whoever else all to be on the same team, nice and gelled, for 2 seasons to hold people accountable and get back to your game plan.
I can live with a team playing the way the Knicks did in the 3rd Q last night, but can't pull out a win because of a lack of talent, or cohesiveness on the offensive end...the ironic thing is tho, if you play D like that for 4 quarters....you're gonna win more games than you lose. But that kind of defensive intensity and focus is a rarity for the Knicks and the 4th Q defensive efforts are far more common.
Let's all get past wins and losses and records for a sec, and lets look at HOW we're winning and losing these games.
Obviously some of the blame has to go to the players, but when it's an on going situation that has been there from day one, it has nothing to do with who's directing these players? The Knicks have had 30+ defensively unmotivated, and lazy players since MDA got here? And even if that was the case, he couldn't do anything to get more out of them? It's just ":shrug:ehhh these guys don't wanna play D....let's score a lot of points?"
The signs were obviously there...some missed it, some saw it. Those who seemed to have missed said signs have been eerily quiet on these boards. But I'll give them a pass because that loss on friday was absolutely crushing. I sat in my seat for another 5 mins after the final buzzer in shock....I don't even wanna go today...