Whose Individual Success Is Most Important To NY Next Season?

Who do you see as the most important Knick going in to next year?


  • Total voters
    30
"Individual success" is a loaded phrase in a "team" game sport.

For the Knicks to be as successful as the "individual" capacities of their stars should make them, it will require more "team" play. Melo has to limit his time with the ball in his hands on offense -- particularly when he is not really moving -- has to make some more of the passes he has the talent to make, and has to commit himself consistently to defense. He has all the capacity in the world but limits that capacity too often to ISO ball offense.

Amare', despite his athleticism, is dreadful on defense. It does not appear that he has any idea how to play defense and he does not work hard enough on rebounding, which is primarily part of a defensive game. He is just lazy on that side of the court.

We need "individual" improvement from both of them, but that improvement should be manifested in "team" play, not "individual" statistics.

Chandler is fine. We need Lin to be at least slightly better than adequate. Despite his constant movement, I think he tends to spend too much time with the ball. He has to find Melo, Amare' or an open man more quickly. And, in order to facitlitate Lin's passing, Melo, particularly, must do some moving instead of standing in that elbow waiting to start his ISO maneuvers that leave the rest of the team as spectators.

Agree, and I think we will see these changes once they start putting in quality practices, I'm sure Woody will be running a thorough off season camp. I like what he had to say about Melo's conditioning, developing Stat's post game, accountablity, and having a strong defensive mind set. The Knicks can take Miami, I see tons of potential in this team.
 

Newbie

Benchwarmer
Even though I'm rooting extra hard for Jeremy Lin to be
a success next season, I'd have to say Amare.

Why? Because even though I missed Lin when he was out,
the Knicks still did an amazing job without him in the picture.
Yes, I said amazing. I know they lost, but, in my opinion,
with ALL the problems they experienced earlier in the season,
they came together (with Melo's great effort) and gave it
their all. My theory is that Lin will be a success next season,
but even if he plays a good enough point guard, the Knicks
can do greatly if Amare steps it up. (AND, as long as Melo
can play with Lin as pg.)

P.S. I don't remember if Novak was on your list, but if he
can improve his defensive play, THAT would be a great asset
for the Knicks!
 

Paul1355

All Star
New year=no excuses

Has to be STAT

Here is the only arguement that Stat has for his lack of production last year

He was injured during the offseason and could not have his usual offseason workout for the first time in a while

His brother died

He never had a legit PG for a decent amount of time. Baron Davis is more of a scoring PG that regressed extremely, Bibby was a no show until the end of the season and playoffs, Shumpert is a 2 guard, JR Smith is a 2 guard and Douglas is terrible SO Amare never had a consistent PG

Now we should resign Lin, Amare will have a legit PG that is a good passer.

Amare will be healthy in the offseason

Amare will have a better coach

Amare will have a full training camp with Tyson, Lin, Melo, and a good coach

Amare has no more excuses if he does not produce at a high level this season.

If Amare does not produce then we all know beyond the shadow of a doubt that he just does not fit with this team anymore.
 

STAT1

Starter
I was torn between Lin & STAT for this poll, but in the end I had to go with Lin, because PG is the most important position on the floor & without Lin in the lineup we had absolutely zero ball movement & zero orchestration during that playoff sweep we got handed by the Miami Heat. I think if Lin can come into next year with the same aggressive type mindset he had during the Linsanity streak & can cut down on his turnovers, this team will have a legitimate shot at 50+ wins next year (assuming Melo & STAT are playing good basketball themselves too obviously).

That said, I think STAT needs to get back to playing with the type of aggression & explosion that he was doing for us when he first got here. If his knees are shot, then we're in big trouble w/that huge contract of his on the books for the next few years. I really hope he can bounce back this season & show that he's still got plenty left in the tank. We'll need his presence if we're ever going to seriously contend.
 

Paul1355

All Star
I was torn between Lin & STAT for this poll, but in the end I had to go with Lin, because PG is the most important position on the floor & without Lin in the lineup we had absolutely zero ball movement & zero orchestration during that playoff sweep we got handed by the Miami Heat. I think if Lin can come into next year with the same aggressive type mindset he had during the Linsanity streak & can cut down on his turnovers, this team will have a legitimate shot at 50+ wins next year (assuming Melo & STAT are playing good basketball themselves too obviously).

That said, I think STAT needs to get back to playing with the type of aggression & explosion that he was doing for us when he first got here. If his knees are shot, then we're in big trouble w/that huge contract of his on the books for the next few years. I really hope he can bounce back this season & show that he's still got plenty left in the tank. We'll need his presence if we're ever going to seriously contend.

But Lin elevated his game, Amare is getting paid max money and regressed, therefore I dont see how people can say Lin.
 

Crazy⑧s

Evacuee
"Individual success" is a loaded phrase in a "team" game sport.

For the Knicks to be as successful as the "individual" capacities of their stars should make them, it will require more "team" play. Melo has to limit his time with the ball in his hands on offense -- particularly when he is not really moving -- has to make some more of the passes he has the talent to make, and has to commit himself consistently to defense. He has all the capacity in the world but limits that capacity too often to ISO ball offense.

Amare', despite his athleticism, is dreadful on defense. It does not appear that he has any idea how to play defense and he does not work hard enough on rebounding, which is primarily part of a defensive game. He is just lazy on that side of the court.

We need "individual" improvement from both of them, but that improvement should be manifested in "team" play, not "individual" statistics.

Chandler is fine. We need Lin to be at least slightly better than adequate. Despite his constant movement, I think he tends to spend too much time with the ball. He has to find Melo, Amare' or an open man more quickly. And, in order to facitlitate Lin's passing, Melo, particularly, must do some moving instead of standing in that elbow waiting to start his ISO maneuvers that leave the rest of the team as spectators.

Nice post, OT. I put STAT's individual success as paramount because I believe he needs to overturn his game and make his weaknesses his strengths.

Behind a defensive leader, I hope he can do that for us.

If he doesn't, he'll be crucified by every Knick fan and sportswriter throughout the US. If that happens, there'll be a meltdown.
 

CA7

Scoring Champ
I gotta say its Carmelo Anthony

you only go as far as your best player and Melo has to be on top of his game every night. 25-30 points, 8-12 rebounds, 4-7 assists and efficient scoring, 50% from the field on about 18-22 attempts per game, at least 37% from 3 about 3 attempts per game and 85% from the line with about 9 trips per night.

Also he needs to defend like he did in April with passion
 

RealNYK78

Rookie
I hate to say but.....

If Jeremy Lin can run this Offense and get Stat n Melo the ball..THey can be complete team..but Amare n Melo MUST LEAD OFF the Court..and Defense from STAT is a Must..but If Lin Can bring up the ball and become Sound Point Guard..this would be GREAAT!!!
 

jzero29

Rotation player
success

Not only do we need several guys to succeed. We need to sign Novak and Lin. Which it doesnt look like we will be able to do.
But if fairytales come true...i think lin is the most important. Then stat. Lin got all the role players playing. He's tough and hopefully the refs will call fouls for him more. Idk how many times his nose got bloodied last year without a foul.
 

NYk_Reloaded718

★KNICKS-TAPE★
If Jeremy Lin can run this Offense and get Stat n Melo the ball..THey can be complete team..but Amare n Melo MUST LEAD OFF the Court..and Defense from STAT is a Must..but If Lin Can bring up the ball and become Sound Point Guard..this would be GREAAT!!!
I think Lin will come back alot more polished next season, im not worried about Lin im worried about Amare.. we need him to regain focus and that 2010 season killer instinct
 

STAT1

Starter
But Lin elevated his game, Amare is getting paid max money and regressed, therefore I dont see how people can say Lin.

The question was whose individual success is the most important to NY next season. It wasn't a question of who needed to raise their game more or who had regressed last year. I could go either way between Lin & STAT, but like I said since PG is the most important position on the floor, I don't think this team will go far unless Lin is playing at the top of his game like he was during the Linsanity streak. He was playing out of his mind during those 2 weeks & carrying this team, & while I don't expect him to ever get back to that level, I also don't think it's impossible for him to play that way again. He has shown how great he can be when he's on, & if he even gets back to playing 80% of what he was during that stretch, I think this team will be in great shape. I think this team can still succeed without STAT playing at top level, but w/o Lin this team got severely exposed last year as was clearly evident during the playoffs. We need an effective orchestrator on the floor to make guys like STAT, Novak, Fields, Chandler & JR Smith effective themselves. Without a floor general this team relies entirely too much on Carmelo's isolation game to carry the offense, because no one else other than JR Smith can create their own shot on this team & he is way too inconsistent & streaky to be relied upon as a 2nd option on offense.
 

Paul1355

All Star
The question was whose individual success is the most important to NY next season. It wasn't a question of who needed to raise their game more or who had regressed last year. I could go either way between Lin & STAT, but like I said since PG is the most important position on the floor, I don't think this team will go far unless Lin is playing at the top of his game like he was during the Linsanity streak. He was playing out of his mind during those 2 weeks & carrying this team, & while I don't expect him to ever get back to that level, I also don't think it's impossible for him to play that way again. He has shown how great he can be when he's on, & if he even gets back to playing 80% of what he was during that stretch, I think this team will be in great shape. I think this team can still succeed without STAT playing at top level, but w/o Lin this team got severely exposed last year as was clearly evident during the playoffs. We need an effective orchestrator on the floor to make guys like STAT, Novak, Fields, Chandler & JR Smith effective themselves. Without a floor general this team relies entirely too much on Carmelo's isolation game to carry the offense, because no one else other than JR Smith can create their own shot on this team & he is way too inconsistent & streaky to be relied upon as a 2nd option on offense.

good points
 

petescud

Starter
i'm going with Lin, whom we hope will make STAT look good. STAT's game isn't going to change. The guy avg 17 pts a game and 10 rebounds. Lin has to improve in his weak area's and the team needs to take some lessons from the better teams as far as moving the ball around more and team Defense
 

orangeblobman

Rotation player
You can't pick anyone but Melo.

He has to come in and become and a mature leader.

The problem is, you can't fake maturity, and I doubt he will find it this summer. Likely, the team will be like the flounder fish, and it will win 43 games with another First Round exit.

But Melo can save all this and become a Legend, but I don't think he will do it, that's all I'm saying.
 

orangeblobman

Rotation player
Because Lin is Lin. He was doing fine as the Big Kahuna, he was winning games and the team was feeling good.

Lin will be Lin, a very good player, but he can't influence the game as much as he would without Melo. Melo dominates the ball and the brains and the hearts and minds of the team, and the team doesn't feel good right now.

When you have a guy like Amar'e, really cool guy, he's shattering extinguishers with his hand?

That's a manifestation of the frustration he feels playing with Carmelo, but he doesn't want to be the bad apple by calling it out. So this negative energy lashes out in destructive ways, such as the claims of growing 1" last off-season, then you had the extinguisher, then the gay bashing on twitter. Happy people don't do that ****, and everyone was happy playing with Lin. Lin isn't the problem here.
 
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