Why are we getting beat like this by the Pacers???? It seems to me that we look a lot like the Denver Nuggets, only a lot older. Just look at our primary players (at each position): Raymond Felton (former Nugget PG); JR Myth (former Nugget SG); Iman Shumpert (SF, only primary guy never to have been a Nugget); Carmelo Anthony ("PF," former nugget); KMART ("C," former Nugget).
You gotta love Knicks fans, not longer than a couple of weeks ago Woodson was a legit COY candidate, Chandler was called one of the best Knicks acquisitions ever and everybody was giving Smith props for winning the well deserved 6th man of the year award. Now everyone's bitching about Woody not making adjustments, Chandler being Hibbert's bitch (as if Hibbert was a 2nd string center on a lower seed team) and Smith chucking us out of playoffs. Nobody seems to take into account that Indiana is the 3rd best team in the East with two all-star players on their roster. Also, nobody remembers that we were tied for the season series and it should be well expected that this playoff series won't a be a piece of cake and it could possibly go as af as G7. Indiana Pacers =/= Charlotte Bobcats and Roy Hibbert =/= Jerome Jordan, it's gonna be a long series fellas.
Good point, they just out hustled us, it's like they got every 50-50 ball also.We gotta increase our energy level.Tyson wasn't the only problem on the glass, we gotta team rebound.
Looks like Woody intends to address the 3 point shot problem by playing Cope and Novak more minutes, should make the Copeland fans happy. TC said the team didn't follow the game plan on Sat and didn't trap Hibbert to force him to give up the ball. Amare will not play more than 10-15 minutes and doesn't look like Woody will be playing a big lineup of TC Martin and Melo at SF.We will see in game 4 what kind of coach Woody is. Indy will again pound it down low to Roy and try to take away the 3 point shot, what does Woody do? He was pretty adamant after game 1 that it was too soon to panic and continued with that small ball lineup which worked in game 2 but game 4 is a different story, lose game 4 and it's more than likely the end of the Knicks season so if I were him I would plan on some adjustments. If he wants to stick with small ball, he better have TC front Hibbert to deny him the ball or trap him.
I'm a Woodson fan and appreciate the way he has coached this team for most of the season. However, I thought when the playoffs began he would utilize more players. Having JR turn into a D-league player was certainly not expected, but I expected to see Woody make quicker adjustments. He always said its not about how many minutes you get but rather what you do with the minutes you get. Unfortunately, Copeland isnt getting to see what he could do and Camby isn't even a thought.
From ESPN ini July 2012: Camby averaged 7.1 points and 9.3 rebounds in 19 games last season for the Rockets, who landed the veteran center in a deadline trade with Portland. He becomes the second nearly 40-something to join the Knicks this summer, with Jason Kidd agreeing to go to New York last week.
I find it hard to believe that Camby is totally useless to Woodson. It annoys me that he isnt even given a chance. Even Amare who we know won't give anything on the defensive end is getting 10 minutes.
Coach Woodson is as clueless as the man on the moon .. the Knicks GM gave Woody the top #1 frontcourt big-man rotation of: "Tyson, Camby, Stat, and K-Mart" a frontcourt rotation that belong in the 2012-13 FINALS.
Someone has to stand-up and convince Woody that Melo, Novak, and Copeland are SF in the playoff, and JR & Shump are SG in the playoffs .. before it gets to late.
Woody starting 3 guards (Felton/Prig/Shump) in the regular season could pass in the weak EC ..
but starting 3 guards in the playoff is cluelessness after losing 4 games out of the last 6 games...
:crossfingers::gony::crossfingers:
I'm a Woodson fan and appreciate the way he has coached this team for most of the season. However, I thought when the playoffs began he would utilize more players. Having JR turn into a D-league player was certainly not expected, but I expected to see Woody make quicker adjustments. He always said its not about how many minutes you get but rather what you do with the minutes you get. Unfortunately, Copeland isnt getting to see what he could do and Camby isn't even a thought.
From ESPN ini July 2012: Camby averaged 7.1 points and 9.3 rebounds in 19 games last season for the Rockets, who landed the veteran center in a deadline trade with Portland. He becomes the second nearly 40-something to join the Knicks this summer, with Jason Kidd agreeing to go to New York last week.
I find it hard to believe that Camby is totally useless to Woodson. It annoys me that he isnt even given a chance. Even Amare who we know won't give anything on the defensive end is getting 10 minutes.
I agree we should play bigger. We should have been doing this the whole season though. I don't know if we can just switch up now. Playing that way goes against what we've been doing all year.
Frankly we've been running Mike D'antoni's offense, using his small ball philosophy, and we combined it with Woodie's defensive scrupples and it has gotten us this far.
I doubt Woodson will make any major changes, but we will see.
NYK need hard assed, talented bigs and/or a playmaker from point who can control an offense to maximize potential.
Unfortunate injuries robbed the frontcourt. Backcourt is a chronic problem with Woodson-Melo dynamic.
Can win a chip around Melo, but must be built like recent Pistons championship team and be well-built from top to bottom around an identity. Unselfish, good/borderline-star players who play good (team) defense, and an offense focused THROUGH Melo but in control of itself so the offense isn't run BY Melo.
JR is a poor guard, due to the fit and negative aspects of Melo + Woodson. NYK need a Klay Thompson-type 2-guard, and a veteran 1 who knows how to play team D, run an offense, and is mature enough to work with Melo.
Melo's #1 issues of inefficiency and out of control games can be corrected, but not when you have a guard rotation like NYK (and a coach like Woodson).
At the Knicks best they ran a hybrid D'antoni offense. But it wasn't really, because there was still lots of iso/lack of ball movement by JR and Melo...
Yes, when they were hitting 3's at a historic pace nobody complained, and the 3's gave it the appearance of MDA. (which is funny because the people who love Woodson/hate D'antoni, always talked of the 3 ball....yet, the Knicks surged in the first half of the season due to the 3 ball, and set records)
Did you see Tyson's comments? "Good offenses let the flow of the game dictate it", not doggedly running it through a cookie cutter formula (aka what Woodson has mostly been about in his career; and what Melo has mostly been about in his career).
This is why the current NYK team is so dangerously built -- to do self harm. Melo is talented enough that it masks the potentially fatal flaws of his game, and seduces fans into turning blind eyes because he has otherworldly talents.
Note: Tyson Chandler's offense was better than it's ever been in his career, when Lin was guiding the offense and the team was playing team ball. It shouldn't surprise anyone that Chandler's offense has slacked/he's now frustrated.
Can replace Chandler with Amare, too, for that matter....he's been neutered, as well.
When Chandler said the game can only run through and by one man and one man alone....when they are "great great great great" players. He wasn't referring to Melo. He was referring to the Jordans and Lebrons, and they are few and far between.
This is the danger in giving Melo that kind of clout. And why I picked beef with people comparing Melo to Durant, it's not even a matter of of it's true or not...just a slipper slope of making him more than he is and feeding into fatal flaws.