Win or lose this series shows you how close to a championship contender we are

The Garden '95

Benchwarmer
The Celtics are getting lucky and lucky every game that they play us and if you look at our team,we are really just 2-3 pieces away from officially contending in the east and even a championship,if we add a legit defensive bigman who can finish,ala deandre jordan and another consistent scorer off the bench ala landry fields,then i think we would dominate alot of teams,so even if we get swept,look at the final score and you will see we are just a point or 2 away from beating these guys and we can make that up with better defensive play and a bigman who can consistently finish around the bucket,i know i blame alot but im truly happy about how close our team is to winning a title.
 

STAT1

Starter
The Celtics are getting lucky and lucky every game that they play us and if you look at our team,we are really just 2-3 pieces away from officially contending in the east and even a championship,if we add a legit defensive bigman who can finish,ala deandre jordan and another consistent scorer off the bench ala landry fields,then i think we would dominate alot of teams,so even if we get swept,look at the final score and you will see we are just a point or 2 away from beating these guys and we can make that up with better defensive play and a bigman who can consistently finish around the bucket,i know i blame alot but im truly happy about how close our team is to winning a title.

For the most part I agree with what you just said. I think we're much closer than we've ever been in the past 10 years & a lot of that has to do with having 2 legitimate superstars carrying the load. I don't think we need a third superstar to take the jump to being a viable championship contender, just a viable bigman that can defend the paint & pull down double digit boards. Deandre Jordan could be the missing piece at this point, but he's still got plenty of holes in his game as well, consistency of effort & intensity in games being among them. I would definitely be willing to invest in a talent like that longterm but it all depends on what the new CBA will allow us to do in free agency this summer. If we can't get someone like DJ I think grabbing some veterans at less money that can fill minutes & add depth & toughness to our frontcourt could be the way to go. Guys like Reggie Evans, Kenyon Martin & Jeff Foster would be great additions to our bench in that scenario.
 

PaPZ187

Benchwarmer
For the most part I agree with what you just said. I think we're much closer than we've ever been in the past 10 years & a lot of that has to do with having 2 legitimate superstars carrying the load. I don't think we need a third superstar to take the jump to being a viable championship contender, just a viable bigman that can defend the paint & pull down double digit boards. Deandre Jordan could be the missing piece at this point, but he's still got plenty of holes in his game as well, consistency of effort & intensity in games being among them. I would definitely be willing to invest in a talent like that longterm but it all depends on what the new CBA will allow us to do in free agency this summer. If we can't get someone like DJ I think grabbing some veterans at less money that can fill minutes & add depth & toughness to our frontcourt could be the way to go. Guys like Reggie Evans, Kenyon Martin & Jeff Foster would be great additions to our bench in that scenario.

Agreed.....and another plus to us playing the C's tough is that FAs realize how close we are to being a top contender and will hopefully take less to come here to be a part of it, especially older vets and role players that want to win.
 

knicksin60

Starter
The Knicks will be a championship team when D'antoni is replaced.Donnie Walsh could shop around for all the big men he could find but none of them will ever succeed in NY if D'antoni is still coaching the Knicks.He is absolutely the worst at coaching big men.Could you have imagined the amount of minutes that Rik Smits, Derrick Mckey and the Davis brothers would have received had D'antoni been coaching that Pacers team which Walsh assembled? D'antoni is probably the only coach in NBA history who is known for making 3 point shooters out of centers and centers out of small forwards.

This team doesn't need another scorer or a pg who can provide them with 5 or 6 more assists per game, they just need a coach who can teach them how to play smarter basketball down the stretch.The Knicks are a better team than what they appear to be, they are just poorly coached.
 

STAT1

Starter
Agreed.....and another plus to us playing the C's tough is that FAs realize how close we are to being a top contender and will hopefully take less to come here to be a part of it, especially older vets and role players that want to win.

No doubt. Whatever players we target, we should really be looking to add some physical & tough players, no more finesse guys. We have enough skill players on the roster with Melo, STAT, Chauncey, Landry, Douglas & Walker for 2012. What we're obviously lacking in is that interior toughness & physical presence in the paint defensively. Turiaf can only bring that for limited minute stretches otherwise he eventually breaks down to injury. We need more players to add depth & address that need.
 
It's closer than many thought, that's for sure and if we could have made our last shot in each game we'd be on the verge of a sweep now over the Celtics!

On the other hand, our offense is a problem in the playoffs. The only guys who are reliable scorers are Melo and STAT.

Our defense has been great for the most part of those 2 games, but our offense...I've seen many bad shot attempts or missed shots on good looks by our 'role players'.

I think the difference is that championship teams like the Lakers have guys like Odom coming off the bench who knock those looks down every night, while we have guys like Walker, Mason or Williams coming off the bench who shoot about 30% in the playoffs.

We need more reliable scoring options off the bench, at the moment it's either Melo or STAT who score and after that...famine.

Even Billups needs 20 shots these days to score 20-25 points.

Rudy Fernandez, who so many of you wanted in the summer, could have been the answer as it looks. Confident guy and good shooter with playoff experience.
 

SSj4Wingzero

All Star
Tie up some coaching loose ends (ie focus on DEFENSE although honestly our defense in the playoffs has been pretty decent all things considered), get some better luck with INJURIES, and pick up a big man who can rebound, and we'll be in decent shape...
 

skisloper

Starter
As much as we all blame Dantonio we need to look at what he has accomplished in the past 2 games...

Game 1.....Melo sits first quarter, Refs screwed us and Billups goes out with 2 minutes left......Change one of those and we win...

Game 2.......Billups out, Amare out 2nd half and we again almost win...


There are things I do not like about dantonio and things i question but NOBODY can overlook what he has accomplished...

we are playing against the Celtic who have 4 of their 5 starters playing together for 5 year.......

We have no had the same starting 5 in years. Take these first 2 games in the playoffs and we did not have the same starting 5......YET WE HAVE PLAYED TOE TO TOE WITH THE CELTICS...


I do no think you throw Chris Paul on this team and find some journey big man and we are the best in the NBA,,,,,,,
 

joegti10

Banned
Dont get too excited, this celtics team just isnt that good anymore. Miami will wipe the floor with them next round if they get there. That said, the Knicks need to sieze the moment and take it one game at a time.
 

PaPZ187

Benchwarmer
As much as we all blame Dantonio we need to look at what he has accomplished in the past 2 games...

Game 1.....Melo sits first quarter, Refs screwed us and Billups goes out with 2 minutes left......Change one of those and we win...

Game 2.......Billups out, Amare out 2nd half and we again almost win...


There are things I do not like about dantonio and things i question but NOBODY can overlook what he has accomplished...

we are playing against the Celtic who have 4 of their 5 starters playing together for 5 year.......

We have no had the same starting 5 in years. Take these first 2 games in the playoffs and we did not have the same starting 5......YET WE HAVE PLAYED TOE TO TOE WITH THE CELTICS...


I do no think you throw Chris Paul on this team and find some journey big man and we are the best in the NBA,,,,,,,

As someone who as been "Anti-MSA" like myself I must admit I have been impressed by how the team has been playing on the road in the playoffs against one of the top 2-3 teams in the East, and a top 5 team overall.

Like you said, there are some things I havent agreed with, like last night I was fine with our final play except for the fact that it was Jeffries who was getting the ball downlow instead of Shawne Williams or even Turiaf. Overall though he has done a pretty damn good job IMO all things considering, and we still have a chance to win this series as well so lets wait and see what happens when they go back to NY for games 3 and 4.
 

PaPZ187

Benchwarmer
No doubt. Whatever players we target, we should really be looking to add some physical & tough players, no more finesse guys. We have enough skill players on the roster with Melo, STAT, Chauncey, Landry, Douglas & Walker for 2012. What we're obviously lacking in is that interior toughness & physical presence in the paint defensively. Turiaf can only bring that for limited minute stretches otherwise he eventually breaks down to injury. We need more players to add depth & address that need.

Yeah a lack of role players and size has hurt us and are needs we must address in the offseason.

I would love to get CP3, but with the cap and already having 2 max contracts on the books I would be good with getting a bigman (i.e. DeAndre Jordan) to start at the 5, a shooter, backup pg and possibly another big body to come in off the bench.

I love Turiaf and the effort he has brought to the team, but unfortunatley he has struggled to stay healthy and can only do so much. Hell, I wouldnt be opposed to bring JJ back next year for the minimum as a solid defender off the bench, but we still would need a starter at the 5 and a couple role players to give us the best chance to be a legit contender.
 

p0nder

Starter
2 things this team needs to be title shot worth is: a rebounding big man and a great passer. I honestly think that if the knicks had either of these things we'd win the east and if we had both we'd win it all.
 
Before we become a contender we will need to get a defensive coach/assitant coach, and invest in a young (fresh legs) big man thru the draft. We don't even need a dominant force down low...just anyone better than JJ and SWilliams. Everything else should work it self out.
 

moneyg

Starter
it will only matter if boston wins the ECF.. if they get blown out by the heat in the next round... it would just mean we arent that close
 
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