BleedOrange&Blue
Benchwarmer
Like many Knicks Fans I am happy that we can now look back at the Isaiah Era as we move forward and try to restore the prominence of what was once a proud and respected franchise. I think Donnie Walsh has been decent as a GM as he was able to clean house and give the Knicks young talent and some flexibility to work with in the future. Up until this point however, the Knicks have not show any real improvement. This of course is part of the rebuilding process and considering how there was no real continuity and players were all looking out for themselves with contracts expiring, to fault D'Antoni at this point would be premature.
Up until this point, I have ignored most of the criticism of our coach as he has never really had much of a chance to put his system into place. I think the most legitimate point that has been made is his lack of emphasis on defense and rebounding. Even as a D'Antoni supporter I am truly concerned by his disregard for the two most critical components of championship winning basketball. I have no doubt that the Knicks will be entertaining but quite frankly I got plenty of that reading the newspapers when Isaiah was running things. I don't care about just "making the playoffs" I want to dominate.
Looking back on the history of the NBA, I cannot recall a team outside of perhaps the Showtime Lakers that could get away with average defense and go deep into the playoffs. As potent as the D'Antoni Offense can be I honestly feel that this Knicks team regardless of personal will not win the Eastern Conference Finals unless D'Antoni accommodates more effective defensive players at the expense of his personal taste. So when Donnie is looking to trade Wilson for Rudy most people scratch their head, but in D'Antoni's "system" which overvalues offensive prowess and undervalues defense this is a slam dunk.
Considering where we stand now do you feel D'Antoni will be able to coach a contender?
Up until this point, I have ignored most of the criticism of our coach as he has never really had much of a chance to put his system into place. I think the most legitimate point that has been made is his lack of emphasis on defense and rebounding. Even as a D'Antoni supporter I am truly concerned by his disregard for the two most critical components of championship winning basketball. I have no doubt that the Knicks will be entertaining but quite frankly I got plenty of that reading the newspapers when Isaiah was running things. I don't care about just "making the playoffs" I want to dominate.
Looking back on the history of the NBA, I cannot recall a team outside of perhaps the Showtime Lakers that could get away with average defense and go deep into the playoffs. As potent as the D'Antoni Offense can be I honestly feel that this Knicks team regardless of personal will not win the Eastern Conference Finals unless D'Antoni accommodates more effective defensive players at the expense of his personal taste. So when Donnie is looking to trade Wilson for Rudy most people scratch their head, but in D'Antoni's "system" which overvalues offensive prowess and undervalues defense this is a slam dunk.
Considering where we stand now do you feel D'Antoni will be able to coach a contender?