David Lee: "Our Defense has got to get better"

MSGKnickz33

The Gold Mac
Mike D'Antoni scolds David Lee for lousy 'D'

BY MATT GAGNE
DAILY NEWS SPORTS WRITER

Saturday, December 27th 2008, 1:02 AM

Mike D'Antoni called a timeout just nine seconds into the fourth quarter of Friday night's 120-107 loss to the Timberwolves and started yelling at the Knicks to play better defense following a quick layup by Sebastian Telfair, who scored 14 of his season-high 20 points in the period.

David Lee received the brunt of D'Antoni's criticism, as Telfair blew by him to give the Timberwolves a 21-point lead.

"Deservedly so, it was my fault," said Lee, who finished with 12 points and 13 rebounds before fouling out with just over eight minutes left. "Sebastian got an easy layup, and he (D'Antoni) let me hear about it.

"Our defense has to get better," Lee added. "Everybody from top to bottom. It is not on one guy. We need to play with more energy."

The Timberwolves had their way on offense, shooting 51% from the field and 54% from beyond the arc as seven players finished in double figures - including three with 20 or more points.

"There were a lot of little things that didn't work out," D'Antoni said after the Knicks' worst losing streak of the season reached five games. "We have to go back to work and dig ourselves out of this hole."

Good to see Lee manning up to his mistakes. He got the right attitude, I could never see him being a good one on one defender but team defense is something everyone can play, you just need a team that communicates and trusts each other. No excuse for allowing the Wolves to shoot as well as they did, defense needs to become more of a priority in the new year.
 

DaTPRiNCE

The Knicks are Back
good find MSG and Lee and the knicks took the first big step addmiting they suck on D......now is the detox part loll play D whether we win or lose, soon enough we'll sober up and get back to our 90's form.....we need defensive minded players first
 

DANUTZ39

Benchwarmer
good find MSG and Lee and the knicks took the first big step addmiting they suck on D......now is the detox part loll play D whether we win or lose, soon enough we'll sober up and get back to our 90's form.....we need defensive minded players first

cosign 100%
 

DaTPRiNCE

The Knicks are Back
im sure D'Antoni is a good defensive coach but the teams he inherited didnt have defensive players........if he gets 2-way players then we'll be straight
 
F*&$ DAVID LEE, im sick and tired of the over promotion this guy gets , a role player acting like a leader, im sorry but he is in his 4th season, declined last year, and only started putting up (ok) numbers since Zach who was playing like a top 5 big man was ousted from the team. I like lee as a person stand up guy, good team mate, but he is not our go too, he is taking another season of opportunity by playing on a week team with inflated minutes due to a lack of population in the big man department. Now dont get me wrong when I say these things i am not a lee hater, just not over indulgent in my adoration for the guy, he is truly a suspect defender, and should be better than he is after four years in the league if he truly is a future top notch PF in the game, he cant block a shot, cant move his feet on defense, and ever since his 37-21 game scouts have figured out the pick n roll and he gets stripped every time he hits the paint, I thought I was watching a volley ball game last night every time he took the ball up he got scrapped and the ball would fly 10 feet into the air. If lee wants to open his mouth, then hes gotta open his game, and i honestly dont think he has what it takes to back up his words, the dude is just not good enough. will never be an all star, will never be an all nba anything, and will always be a good teammate, solid rebounder, and sound role player.
 

CoolClyde

Moderator
F (No) D Lee (no homo?)

F*&$ DAVID LEE...the dude is just not good enough. will never be an all star, will never be an all nba anything, and will always be a good teammate, solid rebounder, and sound role player.

Harsh words, DFDH, but I see where you're coming from. I say let's get DLee back to his true PF position, and see if his D (and overall game) improves; I think it will. He's way out of his league playing center against bigger better, more athletic players. You're described a good 6th man, and maybe that's what he's destined to be. Or, maybe the next Oakley?
 

paris401

Starter
i agree , lee is a hustle player, but thats about it... i would not place him as the 6th man... imo more like an 8th, maybe 7th..

maybe if he can develop a 5ft shot i'd rate him a bit higher..
 
in 1994-1995. the nets took 3 out of 4 during the regular season against the new york knicks, many predicted that their first round series would go 5 games. In the pivotal game of the series patrick ewing was unable to play due to a second quarter ejection, and charles oakley responded with 25 points and 24 rebounds. POINT BEING ( DONT EVER TELL ME DAVID LEE WILL BE THE NEXT CHARLES OAKLEY IT IS IMPOSSIBLE). the make up of david lee cant even match the intensity, big game prowess, defensive knowledge, and leadership ability of charles oakley, if oak was playing against lee today lee would be in the locker room sobbing with his head in his hands searching for a way to get within 10 feet of the rim .
 
in 1994-1995. the nets took 3 out of 4 during the regular season against the new york knicks, many predicted that their first round series would go 5 games. In the pivotal game of the series patrick ewing was unable to play due to a second quarter ejection, and charles oakley responded with 25 points and 24 rebounds. POINT BEING ( DONT EVER TELL ME DAVID LEE WILL BE THE NEXT CHARLES OAKLEY IT IS IMPOSSIBLE). the make up of david lee cant even match the intensity, big game prowess, defensive knowledge, and leadership ability of charles oakley, if oak was playing against lee today lee would be in the locker room sobbing with his head in his hands searching for a way to get within 10 feet of the rim .


Sad but true
 

Toons

is the Bo$$
All of those who hate on david lee are retarded. If you think a career 9 pts 9 rebs is 8th man in rotation, you are retareded. If you think 15 and 11 for the 2008/2009 season is 6th man stats, you are retarded. If you dont agree that lee is better than chandler, you are retarded. lee averages 15 n 11 and shoots almost 60%, he is a career 57% shooter, meaning by volume, he is BETTER THAN ZACH RANDOLPH. Randolph averages almost double the turnovers than lee, and lee does not go out and shoot rediculous 3 pointers all the time. Lee is 6th in the nba in rebounds per game....HOW THE F*CK is that a 6th man??? He ranks 3rd in the league in double doubles after the likes of dwight howard and chris paul, and is tied with tim duncan for 3rd; those under him are people like okafer, yao, jamison, bosh, garnett, bogut, etc etc. 6th in rebounds per game, under him again, are yao, bosh, al jefferson, amare, dirk, duncan, etc etc. 10th in offensive rebounds per game, (second chance points, very important stat) under him again, yao, bynum, gasol, tim duncan, etc etc. He is also averaging a career high in steals with 1 per game.

Hate on that, and you are just retarded. Lee plays with passion, heart, and earns next to nothing and is listed with ALL STARS, and overrated players who earn 10s of millions more than him. Lee is the truth. Stop Hating. Good Post MSG.
 
Last edited:

Toons

is the Bo$$
Sad but true

How about after a trade, and with a new system and only 7 healthy bodies, with 6 of them able to play sensible basketball, and with all star veteran marbury exiled from the team, curry injured, lee stepped up for 37 pts and 21 rebs 3 steals n a block? or did that game slip your memory already? so what, oak had a big game....so did lee
 
it didnt slip my memory, but it came against the golden state warriors guy, a team that plays no Defense, and they ran 100 plays for david lee, in a meaningless MEANINGLESS REGULAR SEASON GAME. toons dont call me retarted, D LEE HAS YET TO PERFORM IN A MEANINGFUL GAME IN HIS ENTIRE CAREER oak was putting up 20 and 20 in big play off games while guarding Derrick Coleman who was an all NBA 20-10 player that season. your out of your mind if your thinking DLEE Is better than 22-12 randolph who was putting up literally top 5 numbers, I never said LEE Was horrible, I just said people gotta stop sweating his nuts like he is the savior, he is not even in the top 20 big man in the league today

duncan
garnett
brand
randolph
D west
R wallace
J oneil
C bosh
Y ming
L Scola
A stoudamire
S oneal
A beidriens
L aldridge
N Hilario
C kaman
M camby
D nowitzki
A jameson
K perkins
D howard
A horford

and thats just to name a few who are better players, producing better if not equal numbers to lee, and are on better deeper basketball teams.

I JUST DONT WANT TO SEE WALSH ( WHICH I DOUBT HE WILL DO BECAUSE HES NOT AN IDIOT) UNLOAD A PAYCHECK TO A GUY WHO CANT PLAY DEFENSE AND HAS ONLY PERFORMED O.K DURING THE REGULAR SEASON ON ONE OF THE WORST TEAMS IN THE nba.

END OF STORY.

oh I posted this and went back to edit it
the list continues

P gasol
A bynum
T chandler
Z illgauskus
C boozer
A thornton
P millsap
Al Jefferson
Emeka Okafor
MEhmet Okur

I think thats like 32 players who are more effective players, either by talent, defense, or the fact they have put up equal numbers to LEE and have done so IN playoff games.
 
Last edited:

Toons

is the Bo$$
in a meaningless MEANINGLESS REGULAR SEASON GAME.

toons dont call me retarted, D LEE HAS YET TO PERFORM IN A MEANINGFUL GAME IN HIS ENTIRE CAREER oak was putting up 20 and 20 in big play off games while guarding Derrick Coleman who was an all NBA 20-10 player that season.

Firstly, youre making yourself look retarded. lee hasnt performed in a meaningful game??? WTF?? He never had the opertunity silly boy. And oak is better than lee, hands down, boo to you for comparing oak to lee, hoping to get credit for stating an obvious fact.

your out of your mind if your thinking DLEE Is better than 22-12 randolph who was putting up literally top 5 numbers, I never said LEE Was horrible, I just said people gotta stop sweating his nuts like he is the savior, he is not even in the top 20 big man in the league today

BY VOLUME he is better than zach. Not downing zach or anything. bte, who is sweating lee, MSG stated that lee accepted the scolding....why are you going off on lee like its an article about someone saying how great he is.


but which would you rather?

14 n 11 for 1,000,000

or

20 n 12 for 18,000,000?

because you cannot answer that question with sense, you are retarded.

duncan
garnett
brand
randolph
D west
R wallace
J oneil
C bosh
Y ming
L Scola
A stoudamire
S oneal
A beidriens
L aldridge
N Hilario
C kaman
M camby
D nowitzki
A jameson
K perkins
D howard
A horford

of all the names you listed, any of them get paid under 5 mil? ok , ill wait

and thats just to name a few who are better players, producing better if not equal numbers to lee, and are on better deeper basketball teams.

I JUST DONT WANT TO SEE WALSH ( WHICH I DOUBT HE WILL DO BECAUSE HES NOT AN IDIOT) UNLOAD A PAYCHECK TO A GUY WHO CANT PLAY DEFENSE AND HAS ONLY PERFORMED O.K DURING THE REGULAR SEASON ON ONE OF THE WORST TEAMS IN THE nba.

for the mere fact that you mention him with nba greats is a compliment to a player picked so late in the draft. Also, how many of those guys are 25 or younger? its ok, ill wait

whats your point if those guys are on deeper teams? i dont get your relation, maybe i need to learn retard. If your on a better and deeper team, that means youre a better player?? btw, who said lee is the best? why are you telling me about top centers?

END OF STORY.

oh I posted this and went back to edit it
the list continues

P gasol

T chandler
Z illgauskus
C boozer
A thornton
P millsap
Al Jefferson
Emeka Okafor
MEhmet Okur

I think thats like 32 players who are more effective players, either by talent, defense, or the fact they have put up equal numbers to LEE and have done so IN playoff games.[/QUOTE]

you are also retarded because you have 16 centers on that list HAHAHAHAHA
LEE IS A PF playing out of his position. any real knick fan should know this. if lee had a defensive minded center like howard or camby, that combination would be sick.

2660063431_7cc19f8f83.jpg
 
wow your lack of education is quite evident by your responses, basically number one you cannot read, I stated BIG MEN, lee is playing center and PF as we speak dumb ass, so therefore the dude is a big man, my first line I said big men not power forwards, there are only 4 or 5 legitimate PF in the game today, the rest can play the 3 4 or 5 in this changing league, and no DLEE has no played in a big game yet, therefore my whole purpose behind the post was and I will quote,.

"I JUST DONT WANT TO SEE WALSH ( WHICH I DOUBT HE WILL DO BECAUSE HES NOT AN IDIOT) UNLOAD A PAYCHECK TO A GUY WHO CANT PLAY DEFENSE AND HAS ONLY PERFORMED O.K DURING THE REGULAR SEASON ON ONE OF THE WORST TEAMS IN THE nba. "

If Walsh believed that LEE was worth the money he would of signed him already, but just like me I think walsh and D antoni see the big picture that LEE gets dunked on by NENE, and every other big man in the league night in and night out, you see that dude acting like hes running hard down the paint, he is over shined, and over lighted by being a hard worker on a shitty team, he is the one small bright spot amongst nate and chandler on this team, that give fans something to cheer about, you sound like a jets fan, holding onto the one or two little things you do well that dont even compare to the rest of the league just so that you have something to say, like mets fans talking about david wright, you idiots talk about lee, a peoples person, who works his ass off, but never came up in a big spot, and probably never will, I hope they trade lee because his true colors are coming through day in and day out, he gets owned every night by the person he is guarding, OWNED. nene and k mart had him gassed by the third quarter the other night, and the only reason he gets 19-12 is because


NAME ONE OtheR REBOUNDER ON OUR TEAM SMART GUY.
 

Toons

is the Bo$$
wow your lack of education is quite evident by your responses, basically number one you cannot read, I stated BIG MEN, lee is playing center and PF as we speak dumb ass.

Ok, Let me break down how stupid you are making yourself look. You cannot put lee in the same bracket with centers and guys who are physically built like natural centers. Also, where did you get that list of big men from? Lee is 6'8'' and listed at 6'9'' and u are saying dwight howard and yao are better....DUH....idiot. My post was mainly for the other idiot who says lee is 8th man off the pine. also, you seem to neglect his paycheck.....heres a fact for your dumb ass, 282 players are paid more than david lee in the nba..do the math, there are 140 starters in the league, lee is putting up major numbers for his price. That is what the big deal is about, a second round pick, 30th overall, being a double double machine. if you don tunderstand what all the hype is about, go watch baseball.

.
so therefore the dude is a big man,

6'8'' is not a big man LMAO, coach put lee at center, does not mean he's a big man. Open ur eyes, does he look like a big man? does he have the muscle of a big man? does he have the length of a big man? ITS OK, ILL WAIT. lee is a PF, an undersized PF at that.


my first line I said big men not power forwards, there are only 4 or 5 legitimate PF in the game today, the rest can play the 3 4 or 5 in this changing league, and no DLEE has no played in a big game yet, therefore my whole purpose behind the post was and I will quote,.

"I JUST DONT WANT TO SEE WALSH ( WHICH I DOUBT HE WILL DO BECAUSE HES NOT AN IDIOT) UNLOAD A PAYCHECK TO A GUY WHO CANT PLAY DEFENSE AND HAS ONLY PERFORMED O.K DURING THE REGULAR SEASON ON ONE OF THE WORST TEAMS IN THE nba. "

When others have a size advantage, its kinda hard to be physical. Lee got burned by a gurad, its not entirely his fault. I dont know if u ever played basketball before, but bigger guys have big nights over smaller guys generally.



If Walsh believed that LEE was worth the money he would of signed him already, but just like me I think walsh and D antoni see the big picture that LEE gets dunked on by NENE,


Well walsh needs to get a real big man. then he can consider lee's status

and every other big man in the league night in and night out, you see that dude acting like hes running hard down the paint, he is over shined, and over lighted by being a hard worker on a shitty team, he is the one small bright spot amongst nate and chandler on this team, that give fans something to cheer about, you sound like a jets fan, holding onto the one or two little things you do well that dont even compare to the rest of the league just so that you have something to say, like mets fans talking about david wright, you idiots talk about lee, a peoples person, who works his ass off, but never came up in a big spot, and probably never will, I hope they trade lee because his true colors are coming through day in and day out, he gets owned every night by the person he is guarding, OWNED. nene and k mart had him gassed by the third quarter the other night, and the only reason he gets 19-12 is because


NAME ONE OtheR REBOUNDER ON OUR TEAM SMART GUY.[/QUOTE]

like i said before, you are speaking about natural positions and positions coaches put you in. bottom line, lee is a keeper.
 

paris401

Starter
wow your lack of education is quite evident by your responses, basically number one you cannot read, I stated BIG MEN, lee is playing center and PF as we speak dumb ass, so therefore the dude is a big man, my first line I said big men not power forwards, there are only 4 or 5 legitimate PF in the game today, the rest can play the 3 4 or 5 in this changing league, and no DLEE has no played in a big game yet, therefore my whole purpose behind the post was and I will quote,.

"I JUST DONT WANT TO SEE WALSH ( WHICH I DOUBT HE WILL DO BECAUSE HES NOT AN IDIOT) UNLOAD A PAYCHECK TO A GUY WHO CANT PLAY DEFENSE AND HAS ONLY PERFORMED O.K DURING THE REGULAR SEASON ON ONE OF THE WORST TEAMS IN THE nba. "

If Walsh believed that LEE was worth the money he would of signed him already, but just like me I think walsh and D antoni see the big picture that LEE gets dunked on by NENE, and every other big man in the league night in and night out, you see that dude acting like hes running hard down the paint, he is over shined, and over lighted by being a hard worker on a shitty team, he is the one small bright spot amongst nate and chandler on this team, that give fans something to cheer about, you sound like a jets fan, holding onto the one or two little things you do well that dont even compare to the rest of the league just so that you have something to say, like mets fans talking about david wright, you idiots talk about lee, a peoples person, who works his ass off, but never came up in a big spot, and probably never will, I hope they trade lee because his true colors are coming through day in and day out, he gets owned every night by the person he is guarding, OWNED. nene and k mart had him gassed by the third quarter the other night, and the only reason he gets 19-12 is because


NAME ONE OtheR REBOUNDER ON OUR TEAM SMART GUY.


here...here... i guess us 'retards' have to stick together... i like lee, but "D" is not one of his strong points, nor is a jump shot from beyond 5ft.. he gets an "A" for effort, has a nose for the ball, but on a good/contender he fills the 8th, maybe 7th spot..

toon, your opinion is diff, but did not see anyone calling u retarded .. why the hate??
 

Toons

is the Bo$$
look here mr. i want world peace,
no1 is taking this personal
are you really retarded? no? so dont take offense

if da cap fits homie
 

donchris

Next season, keep waiting
Toons has a good point. Lee is really playing out of position. I know Walsh has bought in to D'Antoni's 'play small, run fast' philosophy, and that was said to show support to D'Antoni, but let's be real. Lee is in the same position that Kurt Thomas was in years back. He's a PF playing out of position as center. Those of us that know our Knicks history know that Kurt Thomas was never a natural center.

I always said that Lee was better coming off of the bench, but he has shown that he can be a solid Forward at the starting position. And you guys are right, we need a real center so we can move Lee back to his rightful position.
 
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