One stat I was aware of is that Steve hasn't committed a turnover for a few games now......
I think Novak has done more than his share on the court this year.Yes I do think he has improved on all phases of the game.No he is no shutdown defender nor will he average 12 rebounds a game BUT imho he has improved on all those this season.The guy can flat out shoot and he can now put the ball on the court and make his own shot.The FO really made a great move when they signed Novak and im proud he is a NY Knick.
Amare played no defense where requiring foot movement was required. He did on occassion make a sensational block in the paint. Novak is playing much, much better defense NOW.
I don't know why fans, Breen, etc. say Novak has improved, at least making it seem like a big improvement. I've seen him do nice fakes, makes nice rebounds, and have solid defense last season. Maybe I haven't noticed if he's improved even more on it, correct me if I'm wrong.
What bugs me is him standing around. I know he's not fast, but he needs to try harder to get free or the coach (I'm guessing this is the coach's doing that he's standing around usually) needs to make a few more plays for him.
Kidd is not gonna drive as much as he used to, so if he's not able to kick it to Novak, have Smith try to get him the ball who has good chemistry with him.
Novak hasn't been hot lately, but he's also not getting many basket opportunities.
At the moment I`d rather see Copeland get Novaks minutes. If Novak isn`t hitting threes then he`s a complete waste on the court. Copeland has more ability to score. He can shoot the three, drive at the basket and post up. Defensively they are both suspect but Copeland offers us more in my opinion.
Woody will have to start making-up some design plays for Novak 3s, when in a lineup with Felton, JR, and Melo their are no set plays for Novak. Why?
Novak presence on the court has stopped a lot of oposition from double-teaming Felton, JR, & Melo .. which give the trio one on one defenders to beat off the dribble.
We get very few suprise passes from Melo & JR off their dribble when they are in shooting-mode, Amare's 7 shots per game were enough proof .. it took a while for Melo & JR to gain confidence in passing to Novak, so rookie Copeland is out of luck expecting a pass from the two. Copeland have to be happy he got Pablo for the give n go lol
With DNP injuries to Camby, Kurt, Rasheed, and Amare we shouldve seen more minutes from Copeland & Novak gellin to protect the paint on switches, plus when one was outside shooting a 3-ball the other shouldve been running to spot up for a high offensive-rebound, rather than stand around watching oposition guards get the 3-ball rebound ..
Woody's coaching errors of letting all our players shoot from peremeter with no bigman teammate posted-up down-low for offensive-rebound has been hurting us, also not letting Novak commit to being a premeter-defender while Melo suppose to be our PF boxing-out with Tyson for the defensive-rebound.
Rookie Copeland inside/outside scoring are becoming more confident, his defensive-rebound, boxing-out, and defending cutters toward the paint need a lot of work, which deserve consistent playingtime to improve his flaws on the defensive-end.
Looks like Novak's 15 minutes of being in the spot light is coming to an end. The guy has played atrocious basketball. If he continues to contribute to the failures of the Knicks then Grunwald needs to look for a team that is willing to take him.
why put novak in when Copeland can do the same plus more things... Copeland can hit the 3, create his own shot and score in more ways
First of all Novak is playing too many minutes. It doesn't matter if he's making shots or not, you don't play him 20+ minutes a game. He's a specialty player and should not be a huge part of the success of the offense. It should only be an addition to what's already effective. His minutes should be strictly determined on a game by game basis.
Teams know the one thing that he does and takes it away. When this happens, he's rendered to a liability since he's not even an average defender. I wouldn't trade him but he'd definitely lose minutes to someone like Copeland who can do more against the defense.
Honestly I think that with Shump's return and JR's surge, Novak will become an after thought. Is it worth dangling him in the faces of teams that need him to aid a threat from deep/spacing?
I dunno.
What I do know is that the minutes he's been getting have been unproductive/sporadic in terms of production. If it'll take more minutes to get him in sync with the team's O, then when does it become a conundrum, and when does it become an issue?
He's definitely trade bait, but would trading him become a hindsight blunder?
The weird thing is games such as last night, he took five shots. What's the deal? Is he not the same shooter? Is he hurt? Is defenses closing in on him fast enough to where he can only shoot too fast?
It's disappointing to me because when he was on he was one of the funnest players to watch, and EVERYBODY on the team was having fun and looking for him when he was hot. Hopefully he can get back to that.
His problem is two-fold.
1. Confidence is low due to #2
2. He's a one-trick pony with no surprises
Look... everything is relative. During our struggles last year after the lock-out when we were looking for leaders and Melo to acquiesce to the old system, Novak was a little-known bright spot. He had one job on a team looking to play no Defense and chuck away.
The playoffs came and he got exposed. Really the reasons why he was a journeyman were realized. He demonstrated why teams didn't value him.
Now we have a different philosophy. One where his prowess could still be useful but was only valued after defense as a matter of priority. Since he lacks the athleticism and skills to play defense, he only has his one trick left.
Since teams know what to expect he's neutralized. His only hope now is to lay low until we further incorporate a drive and dish or low-post kick-out game. His limitations prevent us from drawing up screens and such for him so thats not an option. Unless Melo, Stat, and JR value him, his days are numbered IMO.
I say that because they are the only ones who can carry the scoring load thus they are the leaders and naturally the team will adjust to their liking.
Can you make Novak more athletic, metro?
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