mafra
Legend
Melo 13-20 (30 points)... 8 rebounds, 9 assists, played defense... Took over in 4th and OT. Great game.
Knicks actually only about 4 games out of 3rd place...
Crazy.
Game Thread: New York Knicks vs Utah Jazz 2:30pm 1/20/2016
- Thread starter rady
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Melo 13-20 (30 points)... 8 rebounds, 9 assists, played defense... Took over in 4th and OT. Great game.
Knicks actually only about 4 games out of 3rd place...
Crazy.
They are finding ways to win close games, some of which shouldn't have been but they are competing hard.
If the Knicks lost this game in Over-Time, i would had to agree with Clyde when he mention that's a big change Lopez rarely gets any playing time in the 4th quarter .. which is the reason for the majority of our losses this season.
No one (fan or announcers) has been mentioning all our rookie Porzingis mistakes n blunders in the 4th quarter this season but me. We went into overtime in this game because of a inexperienced rookie mistake in the closing seconds.
Fisher not putting a defensive lineup on the court during the time-out for the remaining 9 seconds of the game having a 99-96 lead has me still wondering who is coaching the Knicks? The fan-base management? Melo? or a incompetent Fisher?
Lopez and the 2nd unit players relentless-defense to start the 4th quarter put the Knicks back into the game by speeding up the tempo to a fast pace u will never see Calderon, Afflalo, Melo, and Porzingis be able to do on both sides of the court to tire out our opponents by going on a defensive-run to outscore our opponents with STOPS!!!
I love this FORUM. Low in numbers but huge in KNOWLEGE of the game. So who should have been the defensive unit on the floor for the KNICKS with 0.9 seconds left at 99-96 KNICKS?????????Opinions by all WELCOMED>
mafra
Legend
Obviously, this is a somewhat fluid situation (based on matchups and how a guy is performing that game)... But, for me, it seems like our most prolific lineup offensively in these clutch situations is LG, AA, DW, Melo, and Lopez/PORZ.
All of these score in isolation, can create their own shots, hit a jumper...
KP helps bc he draws his man out of the paint... ROLO is starting to show why he was a viable Plan-C. It might be possible to say it simply took him time to get acclimated in this offense...
Last ten games he's averaging about 15 and 8. So, you can go with either big.
I think DW is a must. He is always moving without the ball... He can get to the FT line. He has the athleticism and moxie.
Calderon could be the conductor and he can drain a 3.... But I think LG is starting to take control of his role... He doesn't turn the ball over much (despite terrible one last night) and he guards and can get to the hop and hopefully he finds his range again.
Melo and Affalo are obvious.
Then there's LT. I think he is that fill-in guy if DWIll or AA is off... Or, if you want to go small (play KP and Melo with DWIll LT And AA).
Quietly, Phil JAX is starting to look like a respectable GM (eye for talent), a guy who might now how to build a team. Still has a long way to go... But DW and LT look like keepers and building blocks, KP is franchise player, and 3 vets (Calderon, AA, ROLO) have changed this toxic environment and shouldered the burden of leadership)...
Looks like his fallback plan has at least allowed Melo to flourish and get back to that level he was at before te injury and has created a perception that might mean this place is an attractive option to potential free agents... We shall see if this attracts the Mike Conley types... But, at least we can enjoy rooting for these guys.
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I've seen vets make the same mistake KP made fouling on that 3 so you can't blame it entirely on him being a rookie. The problem was having him out there defending the 3 at all and that may have been Lance if he was available.
With Lance out, KP was not a bad option to be out there. I'd trust him over anybody but Lance on the team, Shane Battier who was a good perimeter defender had a technique where he stuck his hand in his mans face trying to block the shooters view of the basket. That may be a technique KP could learn if he's going to cover stretch 4's playing today.
With Lance out, KP was not a bad option to be out there. I'd trust him over anybody but Lance on the team, Shane Battier who was a good perimeter defender had a technique where he stuck his hand in his mans face trying to block the shooters view of the basket. That may be a technique KP could learn if he's going to cover stretch 4's playing today.
mafra
Legend
THIS ^^^^^ Exactly!
I'm sure DF instructed KP to do just that... Stay in front and wait for the shot and get that hand up to block the eyes. Remember against PHI, Covington shot the ball quickly off the inbounds... This time, however, the guy made a few jukes... Unfortunately, KP fell for it... probably bc he was attempting to do as told, get in the position to put his hand in the face.
DF should've told the kid that if he puts ball on floor at all, just foul him.
Anyway. We caught a break and we move on. Refs started blowing the whistle and we got plenty of FTs down the stretch.
Hard to believe we're only 4.5 behind ATL for 3rd place. MIA is old and should start wearing down, with guys missing games. NOAH is out. Not hard to fathom Knicks getting into the mix for the 3-6 seeds... Avoiding CLE in the first round means we might be in for a ride come APR-MAY. Imagine that. Get a TOR or ATL in the first round? Then, avoiding CLE until CONF Finals?
A first round win practically assures we land 1 or 2 top free agents. with Melo, this city, and this youngish roster, and cap space, PJ would have to be Walsh in a neck brace and a wheelchair to fail to land some impact talent.
Grab Mike Conley Jr and another guy... We may be in the mix come 2016-2017.
DontForgetDerekHarper
Starter
Not exactly sure I want conley,
not saying i dont want conley
saying im not exactly sure
he has been injury prone like crazy recently, and I dont want another big contract going to a potentially injury prone player.
I would prefer to try and find ways to get more picks or go after a guy like mario chalmers or greives vasquez
in all truth I cant remember the last game we lost where I look at the team and say we lost because of jose calderon
our last few losses were blatantly due to carmelo anthony being sidelined, as well as a lack of team effort against the bulls two weeks ago and a loss to the spurs by 1 point on a final shot.
going 8 and 4 during that stretch with a tough road trip, demonstrates just how limited our weaknesses are.
we dont get murdered on the boards,
teams do not score in the paint on us.
Melo is playing like the all around star we hoped for
and to be honest, rodney hood was lights out last night, dudes were draped on him and he was still smashing buckets fading away 23 feet out.
not getting over hyped, just not sure how much we really need at the pg position, in this offense a ball dominant pg isnt needed, we start our offense in the post, then wings, then swing the ball or cut back door.
the pg after giving up the ball, reverses to the corner, or pulls out and waits for a bail out jumper with the shot clock running down once options 1 2 and 3 are gone.
conley would be a great fit of course, but I dont think hes a need.
our needs are more size off the bench.
we need a legitimate scorer in the post off the bench to fill the void that seraphin and oquinn do now in an inconsistent fashion.
I would love to get these guys
Mahinmi
Pachulia
Sullinger
Terrance Jones
and even bring back david lee
all of those guys in 25 mpg would produce and a rotation of
Calderon - Chalmers
Afflalo - Galloway
Melo - D will
KP - Lance Thomas
Rolo - Mahinmi
would be amazing.
just the addition of another athletic big would flush out our bench,
fisher doesnt trust seraphin and oquinn
the drop off from KP and ROLO is too big
he wants 3 bigs he can rotate throughout the game to compliment whatever line up he has with the variables of his back court and small forwards.
to have lance thomas, D will and melo at the 3 exchangable is amazing
same as having AA, Calderon, galloway and grant as a back court I like alot because you can go fast or go half court with either or, adding a chalmers into that mix would be beneficial because he has experience, hits big shots and u can trust him down the stretch to make winning plays.
I dont know, either way im excited haha
DontForgetDerekHarper
Starter
I believe this summer durant is a free agent, and next summer westbrook.
I would love to get westbrook, resign afflalo and we are set.
i dont see durant fitting in with melo, they both have the same spots on the floor, where as westbrook would still get melo and kp their shots and points while taking over whenever he wants because no one can double any one with that line up on the floor.
its actually a quite doable thing with the new CBA and extended cap. we can resign KP and Afflalo for wahtever we want while maintaining cap room to go after one more big name.
the development of gallo, grant, KP, even ROLO who people forget hes not 33 years old, he has room for improvement in this offense, and the development of lance thomas seraphin and oquinn as well as DWILLIAMS, who will all not require big money to keep on the roster; they are what we always wanted legitimate role players.
2017.
Westbrook
Afflalo
Melo
KP
Rolo
chip easy.