Is AL right? Who is better: NYK '09 or NYK '10

[mafra]

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2:06 PM, July 23, 2010 ι [Only registered and activated users can see links. ]

Now that [Only registered and activated users can see links. ] has officially moved on from the Knicks and signed with the Nuggets, he was happy to take some shots at his former team.
Harrington had this to say [Only registered and activated users can see links. ]

"I guess they could be better, but I don't think they're better than the team we had last year," Harrington said. "That's my opinion. You never know. They got Bill Walker, he could get better, Gallo [[Only registered and activated users can see links. ]] could get better. So it could be better but I don't think so."

At first, I thought sour grapes since he took some good shots at D’Antoni, too. But let’s take a look at the roster the Knicks started last season with and the one they will likely bring out on the floor this October. [Only registered and activated users can see links. ]

Point guard: [Only registered and activated users can see links. ] vs. [Only registered and activated users can see links. ]
Felton is looking forward to stretching his legs in D’Antoni’s run-and-gun offense after being held back in [Only registered and activated users can see links. ]’s slower style with the Bobcats. And he seems like an upgrade from the inconsistent Duhon, who was shuffled in and out of D’Antoni’s lineup last season.
This seems like the position where the Knicks made the most drastic improvement, but watching how the Magic’s [Only registered and activated users can see links. ] dominated Felton in the first round of the playoffs is cause for worry. Duhon is now in Orlando as Nelson’s backup, where he somehow was able to wrangle a four-year, $15 million contract.
Advantage: New Knicks

Shooting guard: [Only registered and activated users can see links. ] vs. Wilson Chandler
Chandler struggled at the start of last season when he was returning from offseason ankle surgery. Unfortunately he needed another ankle operation this offseason, so the Knicks will have to hope this won't affect him too much.
Chandler is at his best when he’s going to the basket or shooting open threes, but gets in trouble when he tries to create on his own and forces pull-up jumpers.
Advantage: Draw

Small forward: Danilo Gallinari vs. Danilo Gallinari
Believe it or not [Only registered and activated users can see links. ] opened last season as the Knicks starter at small forward, but Gallinari quickly took over and started 74 games.
Back problems limited Gallinari to 28 games in his rookie, but he just missed one last year while averaging 15 points a game. He should only improve in his third season.
Advantage: New Knicks

Power forward: Anthony Randolph vs. Al Harrington
Harrington is a nice player, but wasn’t the perfect fit for D’Antoni’s system. Randolph fits better and has shown potential, but foot injuries limited him to 33 games and eight starts last season.
Randolph was the crucial piece in the sign-and-trade that sent [Only registered and activated users can see links. ] to Golden State and will be key if the Knicks want to be in the playoff picture this year. We want to see Randolph for a couple of months before giving him the nod over Harrington.
Advantage: Old Knicks

Center: Amar’e Stoudemire vs. David Lee
Both are more power forwards then centers, but if Stoudemire works as hard as Lee did and stays healthy then he is a definitive upgrade. But those are two big ifs and the two reasons the Knicks were the only team to offer Stoudemire a max contract.
The knee and eye problems have been discussed at length and the Knicks will have to get lucky in that respect, but the motivation part is up to Stoudemire. Some were concerned that he wouldn’t be motivated with a $100 million contract signed. The Knicks have to hope he proves those naysayers wrong.
Lee now gets to pair with Monta Ellis and Stephen Curry with the Warriors trying to turn that team into a playoff threat in the stacked [Only registered and activated users can see links. ].
Advantage: New Knicks

Sixth man: Kelenna Azubuike vs. [Only registered and activated users can see links. ]
Azubuike will try to bring the same spark off the bench that Robinson did when he was seeing eye-to-eye with D’Antoni. Not quite the shooter that Robinson was, but averaged 14.4 points per game two years ago and was on similar pace last season when he blew out his knee nine games in.
Azubuike’s health concerns is a worry. And he may not have the ability to take over the game the way Robinson was capable of.
Advantage: Old Knicks

Rest of bench
Jared Jeffries, Toney Douglas, Darko Milicic, Larry Hughes, Jordan Hill, [Only registered and activated users can see links. ] vs. Eddy Curry, [Only registered and activated users can see links. ], [Only registered and activated users can see links. ], Rony Turiaf, Bill Walker, Andy Rautins or Landry Fields
After Robinson there wasn’t much to like from this bunch.
Jeffries was solid on defense, but provided little help on offense.
Douglas contributed late in the season, but wasn’t trusted early. The same could be said about Hill before he was included in a trade to the Rockets.
[Only registered and activated users can see links. ] made an impact on the court, but was in and out of the rotation. D’Antoni deserves more blame than Hughes for that.
You can also point to D’Antoni for not recognizing that [Only registered and activated users can see links. ] could contribute off the bench.
Eddy Curry played in seven games before knee problems acted up again.
As the year went on Bill Walker, [Only registered and activated users can see links. ], Tracy McGrady, Sergio Rodriguez, [Only registered and activated users can see links. ], Jonathan Bender and J.R. Giddens would all provide contributions.
Walker, a throw-in when the Knicks sent Robinson to the Celtics, and Douglas are the only ones coming back this year and the Knicks will be counting on both for increased contributions.
Rony Turiaf is the only known quantity, and will provide toughness and rebounding in the low post — something the Knicks have lacked. He will likely start games to open the season, but don't see him playing in crunch time.
The Russian center, Timofey Mozgov, is a complete mystery and the Knicks can’t expect much from Curry.
And don’t expect the two second-round draft picks — Andy Rautins and Landry Fields — to see much time.
Advantage: Draw

Overall
It comes down to Randolph and Stoudemire. If they stay healthy — and motivated in Stoudemire’s case — then this team is better than last year’s.
It also will help that the specter of LeBron James won’t be hanging over the Garden this season.
There will be a lot of moving parts to put together, but if the Knicks can get off to a decent start (10-10 through 20 games) they can compete for one of the final few spots in the Eastern Conference playoffs.
Advantage: New Knicks

[New New York]

First off I love the Thread

But....Harrington better than Randolph! I know Randolph is still unproven, but Al Harrington is a scorer (albeit a pretty affective one) but nothing more than that, Randolph will produce (even without reaching his maxium potential) than Al Harrington would.


Plus your PF comparison should be Amare vs. Harrington in which case the advantage cleary goes to New Knicks

and the Center comparison she be comparing Lee and Turiaf, while Lee is a better rebounder and overall offensive player, Tariaf is a much better defender

So by my scoring it goes

PG:advatage 2010
SG: draw
SF:advantage 2010 simply because we have to assume that Gallo will be better
PF:Advantage 2010
C: draw


6th man: draw simply because what Randolph can produce compared to what Nate did produce is unknown....but you have to imagine Randolph shouldnt be the headache Nate was for us.

Bench:Adv. 2010 Toney Douglas and Azebuke represent a better tandon than Hughes and Jefferies Mozgov should produce more than Jordan Hill or certainley Millic.

There is not one area where we were better in 2009

2010 is going to be better....but 2009 only won 29 games so how much is that really saying!?

[HoLLaBaCK]

To me Randolph is the key to the season. I've watch as much footage as I could since we got him, he looks like he can be excellent in our system. He definitely give us a shot blocked we haven't had for some time, he can run the floor and has great handle for someone his height. I would love to see him as the PF and Stout as the Center. Felon is a young up and comer and I think should help us improve as well.

[DontForgetDerekHarper]

Ummm I started the same thread a week ago this is what I had down

every one was so lost in the LEbron hatred they over looked it

good post though mafra


09-10 vs 10-11 let the games begin.
Raymond Felton vs Duhon, Chris = Felton wins : He is an upgrade from the stand point of making it through larry browns harsh coaching style where he rides his point guards as hard as any coach in the league, with Mike D's open offense complimenting feltons speed and roy williams run and gun background I feel that felton will finally come into his own these next two yaers to help us out big time, plus knowing he is only signed for two years, unlike duhon felton seems to have something to prove in the spotlight as opposed to duhon who almost seemed happy to sit the bench behind toney douglas last season.

Chandler, Wilson Vs Azabuikie= Make or break year, I am giving the advantage to Azabukie. WIth the additions of azabuikie and randolph the skill set of chandler becomes more common this year. Wilson has to improve his three point shot, and his ability to handle the rock or he will be instant trade bait once randolph and azabuikie prove to be just as if not more valuable at the 2, 3 and 4 positions.

Jeffries, Jared Vs Anthony Randolph = The edge definitely goes to randolph, Younger, faster, better handle, shot, similar defensive instincts but with a 7 foot 3 wing span randolph is much more effective. Jefferies played as well as he ever will in his career last season, and I respect his hustle, but Randolph put up better numbers at 20 years old and will only get better.

Harrington, Al Vs Danilo Gallinari = definitely edge to gallo, I say this based on the fact that gallo will be taking 40 percent of the shots that harrington came in and chucked up with a much better production rating to go along with it. The fact that danilo will draw double teams similar to harrington will only high light his passing ability as well as his ability to get to the line and make shots as opposed to chucking up heaves desperately

Lee, David FC vs Amare = any other pf comes into NY and I am going to struggle with this one base on lees familiarity and thriving nature in Mike D's system, the only thing that changes that is Amare's as familiar with the system as any one in the league. AMare is built for this tempo, and he is mentally prepared to take on the challenge in NY. The pressure is different from anything lee ever had to go through and with Amare's playoff experience and winning mentality I assure you that we upgraded big time here. Lee had it easy in that there werent any real other bigs on the team, we were expected to fail so there was no pressure for lee to be perfect every night, and Lee was truly a by product of ball hawking and over doing pick and roll plays with who ever had the ball at the top of the key.

Nate vs douglas = While I hated nates antics and I love douglas's defensive mentality, I have to say this is even, there were things in terms of changing games that douglas is incapable of doing in terms of scoring, intensity and making big plays to turn games around. If nate wasnt a knucklehead, and if sometime he didnt shoot 8 times in 10 possessions he would still be on this team. DOuglas will be a GREAT back up option, but I still feel like there will be times where he disappears in the offense, and shows why he isnt a true PG. '

Hill, Jordan PF vs Rautins and Fields = Hill hands down, he had alot of natural gifts, but he allowed us to move jefferies and basically in hindsight that turned into a trade Hill, Jefferies and Hughes for Amare and Felton. We dont sign Amare if he doesnt believe we can add another player with the open cap space, which current is being used on Felton. So while the trade made us a better team this year, the advantage of last years big rookie to this years rookie duo goes to Hill. I personally dont see rautins or fields getting any burn unless some one gets injured.

Hughes, Larry vs Bill walker = I would have to say hughes, for 10 mil like he was getting paid nooo, but for his defense yes. Walker is un proven and while his upside is great, I dont believe he will be an impact player for us. If hughes wasnt so worried about a contract this year his attitude probably would have been better therefore, leaving him more effective on the court.

Milicic, Darko vs Ronny Turiaf = Turiaf wins here, one reason why... he understands that he is a bench role player who blocks shots and plays defense, you wont hear complaints or bitching if he doesnt get 25 minutes a night, and that in terms of chemistry is exactly the kind of veteran leadership we need.

Overall if these two teams met in a 7 game series i would give the edge to the 10-11 knicks

4 games to 1

[mafra]

I think even comparing 2009 to 2010 is crazy. This squad is LIGHT YEARS ahead of last years team.

1- Felton & Amar'e are ten times the duo Duhon-Harrington were. Both on and off the court. It's not even worth adding up all the pros and cons. EASILY will translate in +10 wins.

2- 2010 actually has a presence in the paint. We can play defense now and defend the post. We weren't just bad (or pathetic) last season, we were one of the worst in NBA history. This will matter, and will translate into a few extra wins.

3- I repeat, we have a legit PG, and a C who can defend-block shots. Did I mention that. These are pretty important in basketball.

4- We have Randolph this season, and Gallo is a year older.

5- I give 2009 the advantage when it comes to 6th man. We might not have that instant offense off the bench.

6- This year's Eddy Curry cannot contribute less this year. Either it's a draw, or we actually have an edge this season.

7- We are gunning for wins this year, not tanking the season.

I think people are underestimating just how poorly Chris Duhon was last year. In any system, and especially in the SSOL, the PG is everything. Sort of like having the worst QB in the NFL, and a solid RB-WR combo but no O-line; or a great offense but lousy pitching.... We had the worst PG in the NBA last year, and it showed.

This article says Felton had a bad week in the playoffs, against ORL, and that gives him pause? PLEASE! Duhon had a bad SIX MONTHS. Just having Felton running the point instead of Duhon INSTANTLY makes us a much better team. We're talking 6-8 wins alone.

NOW, if Al Harrington thinks he's even close to player Amar'e is then he's certifiably insane. He's Mr. First Half. He's the definition pf garbage points. He's the dude that hangs on rims and costs his team games.

He was an all-star every eighth game. He was a non-factor in 3 of the other 8, and he hurt his team in another 3, and that final game of 8 he was good. Get it AlL? Dude disappeared in the 4th quarter, and was far from being a locker room leader.

Amar'e is an All-Star. Compared to AL Harrington, Amar'e is Dikembe Mutombo. AL blames D'ant for making him play on the perimeter? Not allowing him to dominate the blocks? BOLLOKS! Blame the coach because he clanked (missed) almost 300 3-pointers? Did Donnie Nelson prohibit you from playing in the post as well? And you blame the coach for your poor interior defense and lack of rebounding? Come on.

Amar'e will be twice the PF Al was, and will also bring all the unmeasurable off court stuff, which builds chemistry and helps in the win/lose department.

With Duhon and AL we quit down the stretch of games, but with Felton and Amar'e we now have hope!

SO, to be fair, just replacing Duhon-Harrington duo (now both backups on their new teams) with Felton-Harrington should translate into TEN more wins. 29 wins becomes 39 wins.

AND, I do agree the wild card is Randolph-Gallo. If they "explode" and really put it together, live up to their enormous potential, then we're talking something.... I mean, this takes NY to the next level.... From a team fighting for the 6-8 seed, to maybe one battling for the 4-6 slots. Maybe 45+ wins!

Finally, we cannot ignore the fact that the 2010 NYK will be TEN TIMES better defensively in the paint. We were basically the worst defensive team in the NBA last year. Better yet.... we were so bad it was historic. Maybe worst interior defensive team in NAB history. Coach D'ant took the criticism here, like he paid his players to let down their guards.... ask them to NOT give effort. Come on.

Just adding STAT, Turiaf & Randolph, along with (we hope) Mozgov-Jordan, gives this team something it hasn't had in year. NOt only can we defend the post now, but we can alter shots when guards/wings invade the paint.

ALSO, even the one starting position where we concede a "draw" is easily 50/50 to be a major PLUS. Chandler could return healthy, eager, and play with a chip on his shoulder. I have to add, that just playing with the likes of Felton-STAT-TURIAF over the old regime of disgruntled vets should easily enhance WC's game, right?

NOW.... I will say that the one area where 2009 will be ahead of 2010 is the 6th man. In today's NBA, the 6th man is that instant offense off the bench. That spark.... scoring phenom.... In either NATE or HARRINGTON we did have (maybe) one of NBA's best. Then again, normally when these players entered the game we were already trailing by 12-20 points. And the system is sort of conducive for scorers to let it fly.

Will T-Douglas fill N8's role? Will Gallo, Randolph or Chandler be relegated to the Harrington role? We'll see.

As for the bench, I also say this is a push. I think Azubuike-Walker have potential to be lgith years ahead of last year's SG combos; and I already stated how I think we are deeper in the front court. Fields could be better than Hughes was.

I must admit that losing David Lee is worth noting. HIs rebounding will be missed, but we must recall that statistcally we were not a profoundly worse rebounding team when Lee was on the bench, for what that's worth. His hustle and presence was the lone bright light during those dark years... But Stoudemire-Turiaf is better than Harrington-Lee, as a PF/C duo.... trust me it is....

We won 29 games last year. I'm going out on a limb and I'll predict this teams wins 46-51 games, and captures the 6-7 seed. Call me crazy.

[Kiyaman]

The 09 Knick roster were 41+ win roster without DNP Dantoni

The 2009 Knicks were twice as better than the 2010 Knick roster
just put together by so many facts/reasons.

A) the majority of our 09 roster were expiring contract veterans
fit n ready to put in a winning regular season to up grade their FA market value.

B) Starting C-Darko and SG-Hughes for 82 games wouldve put PF-David Lee
and SF-Wilson Chandler into their respected positions as starters with a
halfcourt starting PG-Duhon to give the Knicks a winning edge over alot of
teams we were suppose to sweep for the season.

C) The Knicks deep depth bench were our most important weapon in the
09 season with Nate/Gallo/Harrington/Jefferies/Hill/Douglas (those bench
players alone) wouldve pulled out 29+ wins by having a high scoring bench
when u add the bench wins with the wins of our expiring-contract starters
u will come up with a 41+ win season of players.

D) And when u take-in the consideration of the 32 win 2008 season roster
being apart of the 2009 season roster ..... u do add on more wins than
the previous 32 win season when the 2009 roster include the missing
players (center/SG) that were not on the 2008 roster.....
C-Darko/PF-Hill/SG-Hughes/combo-Douglas

E) Do u actually think Mr. Owner James Dolan and his up-stairs consultant
will let Donnie Walsh stand still while celebrity coach Damntoni "DNP" six
(6) healthy players in the 2010-11 regular season? again?

F) So the Knicks having a better win season in the 2010-11 season
than they had in the 2008 and 2009 season will not be better-players
it will be the short rope around Walsh/Damntoni necks on the line.

[Kiyaman]

I think even comparing 2009 to 2010 is crazy. This squad is LIGHT YEARS ahead of last years team.

1- Felton & Amar'e are ten times the duo Duhon-Harrington were. Both on and off the court. It's not even worth adding up all the pros and cons. EASILY will translate in +10 wins.

2- 2010 actually has a presence in the paint. We can play defense now and defend the post. We weren't just bad (or pathetic) last season, we were one of the worst in NBA history. This will matter, and will translate into a few extra wins.

3- I repeat, we have a legit PG, and a C who can defend-block shots. Did I mention that. These are pretty important in basketball.

4- We have Randolph this season, and Gallo is a year older.

5- I give 2009 the advantage when it comes to 6th man. We might not have that instant offense off the bench.

6- This year's Eddy Curry cannot contribute less this year. Either it's a draw, or we actually have an edge this season.

7- We are gunning for wins this year, not tanking the season.

I think people are underestimating just how poorly Chris Duhon was last year. In any system, and especially in the SSOL, the PG is everything. Sort of like having the worst QB in the NFL, and a solid RB-WR combo but no O-line; or a great offense but lousy pitching.... We had the worst PG in the NBA last year, and it showed.

This article says Felton had a bad week in the playoffs, against ORL, and that gives him pause? PLEASE! Duhon had a bad SIX MONTHS. Just having Felton running the point instead of Duhon INSTANTLY makes us a much better team. We're talking 6-8 wins alone.

NOW, if Al Harrington thinks he's even close to player Amar'e is then he's certifiably insane. He's Mr. First Half. He's the definition pf garbage points. He's the dude that hangs on rims and costs his team games.

He was an all-star every eighth game. He was a non-factor in 3 of the other 8, and he hurt his team in another 3, and that final game of 8 he was good. Get it AlL? Dude disappeared in the 4th quarter, and was far from being a locker room leader.

Amar'e is an All-Star. Compared to AL Harrington, Amar'e is Dikembe Mutombo. AL blames D'ant for making him play on the perimeter? Not allowing him to dominate the blocks? BOLLOKS! Blame the coach because he clanked (missed) almost 300 3-pointers? Did Donnie Nelson prohibit you from playing in the post as well? And you blame the coach for your poor interior defense and lack of rebounding? Come on.

Amar'e will be twice the PF Al was, and will also bring all the unmeasurable off court stuff, which builds chemistry and helps in the win/lose department.

With Duhon and AL we quit down the stretch of games, but with Felton and Amar'e we now have hope!

SO, to be fair, just replacing Duhon-Harrington duo (now both backups on their new teams) with Felton-Harrington should translate into TEN more wins. 29 wins becomes 39 wins.

AND, I do agree the wild card is Randolph-Gallo. If they "explode" and really put it together, live up to their enormous potential, then we're talking something.... I mean, this takes NY to the next level.... From a team fighting for the 6-8 seed, to maybe one battling for the 4-6 slots. Maybe 45+ wins!

Finally, we cannot ignore the fact that the 2010 NYK will be TEN TIMES better defensively in the paint. We were basically the worst defensive team in the NBA last year. Better yet.... we were so bad it was historic. Maybe worst interior defensive team in NAB history. Coach D'ant took the criticism here, like he paid his players to let down their guards.... ask them to NOT give effort. Come on.

Just adding STAT, Turiaf & Randolph, along with (we hope) Mozgov-Jordan, gives this team something it hasn't had in year. NOt only can we defend the post now, but we can alter shots when guards/wings invade the paint.

ALSO, even the one starting position where we concede a "draw" is easily 50/50 to be a major PLUS. Chandler could return healthy, eager, and play with a chip on his shoulder. I have to add, that just playing with the likes of Felton-STAT-TURIAF over the old regime of disgruntled vets should easily enhance WC's game, right?

NOW.... I will say that the one area where 2009 will be ahead of 2010 is the 6th man. In today's NBA, the 6th man is that instant offense off the bench. That spark.... scoring phenom.... In either NATE or HARRINGTON we did have (maybe) one of NBA's best. Then again, normally when these players entered the game we were already trailing by 12-20 points. And the system is sort of conducive for scorers to let it fly.

Will T-Douglas fill N8's role? Will Gallo, Randolph or Chandler be relegated to the Harrington role? We'll see.

As for the bench, I also say this is a push. I think Azubuike-Walker have potential to be lgith years ahead of last year's SG combos; and I already stated how I think we are deeper in the front court. Fields could be better than Hughes was.

I must admit that losing David Lee is worth noting. HIs rebounding will be missed, but we must recall that statistcally we were not a profoundly worse rebounding team when Lee was on the bench, for what that's worth. His hustle and presence was the lone bright light during those dark years... But Stoudemire-Turiaf is better than Harrington-Lee, as a PF/C duo.... trust me it is....

We won 29 games last year. I'm going out on a limb and I'll predict this teams wins 46-51 games, and captures the 6-7 seed. Call me crazy.

Mafra.....dont get angry or offensive but

Nate Robinson has been a better combo-guard in the NBA in the previous 5 seasons than Felton 5 seasons as a PG.

Harrington veteran experience/first step off the dribble/overall IQ is ten times better than Randolph.

David Lee ambidextrous complimentary performance towards his teammates is just as high as Amare 20-10 stats.

Jordan Hill raw bigman performance is more athletic than Turiaf, plus will improve tremendously with playingtime the next two seasons.

[Crazy⑧s]

Are you ****ing kidding me Brickington?

Gallo [Danilo Gallinari] could get better

He'll be better because you won't be there to skip that extra pass or shoot poorly selected bricks.

Head to head:

-One man front court last season. Stacked, tall, athletic front court this season. Lee was brilliant, but he can't win against 2 Cs and 2 PFs with rest time and 24 fouls between them.

-Inconsistent, NBADL point guard last season. Legit, versatile PG this season + an improved, defensive minded back up.

-5'9", streak shooting guard that can't pass or defend + Larry Hughes last season. Immeasurable depth and size at the 2 this season. Not a marked upgrade, but certainly not a downgrade. Azabuike's rehab, focus, shooting and cohesion as a late entry to the rotation, could have the 2010-11 Knicks as the superior of the 2.

-Exit Harrington, we're instantly a better team in these categories at the 3-4 spot: Passing, shot selection, decision making, con-****ing-sistency. We won't miss his post scoring because we have Stat. The league's exemplary post/paint finisher.

-09-10 vs 10-11 rookies is the only detractor from the present to the previous.

Harrington owes his new, bloated contract to NY. No other team would have let him chuck shots like he did in his unsuccessful tenure as a Knickerbocker.

[p0nder]

Kiyaman, you've been smoking some strange stuff.

I refuse to acknowledge David Lee as being better or equal to Amar'e. There is no way you can put a borderline all-star throw in up against a max contract talent guy like Amar'e. It's just stupid to say they are even close to each other in terms of talent and basketball effectiveness.

Nate has been as good of a combo guard as Felton has been a pg. But this team needed a pure PG, not a circus freak with low basketball IQ.

Harrington gets the Nod over Randolph because he is a known quantity. Randolph could come out this season and produce as good or better then Harrington, who had poor shot selection and mediocre at best defense.

Jordan Hill was and still is a project player. I watched him play in summer league and while he was effective on the court with other scrubs, his mistakes and weaknesses will be exploited by the more savy big men in the league. Turiaf is tougher and more physical and a great locker room presence.


Also, starting Darko? are you for real? that guy is not a starter in this league. I'll be surprised if he's even in the league when his new contract runs out.

Your pessimisim is warrented (any true knick fan holds reservations on their optimisim for this team, given our history) But you really honestly think that 09-10 was a 41+ win squad and THIS team is worse? It doesn't make any sense to me!

[DontForgetDerekHarper]

yeah amare has first team all NBA honors under his belt, international team experience, perennial all star experience, western conference playoff experience, rookie of the year experience, 2.1 blks per game in a season experience, and has developed his jump shot 3 years before LEE did


AMARE IS CLEARLY MUCH BETTER THAN DAVID LEE.

[richtree]

First of all, I wouldn't give Nate the clear edge and our other bench players clear out way last year's bench on athleticm alone.

Secondly, the edge that Felton and Amare gives us is huge


A______________________________________B

where ____ ='s edge.

2009's edges are small A____B

Gallo is healthy and chemistry from camp will be better....

wakkos trying to make something out of nutin again..

nice try, playoffs kid.

[nyk_nyk]

yeah amare has first team all NBA honors under his belt, international team experience, perennial all star experience, western conference playoff experience, rookie of the year experience, 2.1 blks per game in a season experience, and has developed his jump shot 3 years before LEE did


AMARE IS CLEARLY MUCH BETTER THAN DAVID LEE.

Let's also not forget one of the most important factors. You can dump the ball to Amare in crunch time and allow him to take over games. Lee wasn't really effective outside of the usual pick and rolls so when teams zoned in on him late in the 4th, he couldn't produce.

[TR1LL10N]

LOL, our team is way better than last year in almost everyday. The only reason Al is saying this is because he is bitter and delusional enough to think that losing him crippled our roster.

[jimkcchief88]

These are the same points I was making in my "Reality Check" thread. Without Chris Paul last year's team is probably better than this year's team. I don't care about potential and you tube videos, the fact is David Lee and AL were 40 PERCENT of the scoring load last year. No one has reasonably told me how this will be replaced other than "Ifs" and "potential." "If Gallo steps up..." while Gallo is chillin over in Italy instead of working on his game here. "When Felton gets here" even though Hall of Fame coach Larry Brown couldn't wait to dump him. So unless Amare plans on averaging 50/30 next season, we are in trouble in an improved East without Chris Paul.

[Oldtimer]

I am a Gallo fan but not unaware of weakness in his handle and his lack of physical strength. I am concerned that he has spent virtually all of the offseason in Italy. Granted there are gyms in Italy as well as "pick-up" games, but there is also too much home-cooking.

I believe his offseason could have been more productive if he spent more time in New York with training structured around his shortcomings. He did not even go to Vegas to work out with the team. He better be buff when he shows up, be able to beat defenders off the dribble who choose to press him, and be able to bang a little in the post. If he is the same person who left for Italy after the last season, he will likely be the same -- but less promising --imperfect player he was last year.