Azubuike Eyes Return

Crazy⑧s

Evacuee
Oh Really?

Well I'll say this...

As good as Fields has been, if Azzy were healthy he'd be starting and we'd be better off for it.

And what makes you say that, Ron diggity? I've never seen any footage of him bar highlight reels which are deceptively deceptive. I've read that he's good. Enlighten me!

Is he that much better than Lord Landry that he'd take the starting 2?
 

mafra

Legend
With SW suspended, Chandler hurting and Amar'e questionable... and being that NYK is playing DET next... I would think we should see AZZY next game if this report is accurate. ESPECIALLY if we build a nice lead.
 

la2ny

Starter
And what makes you say that, Ron diggity? I've never seen any footage of him bar highlight reels which are deceptively deceptive. I've read that he's good. Enlighten me!

Is he that much better than Lord Landry that he'd take the starting 2?
Better Believe he is. I've seen him in alot of games being on the westcoast and he's really skilled. Plays great D too. If he didn't get injured I don't believe GS would have traded him and I believe they most likely would have traded Monta by now to have a backcourt of Curry-Azubuike. The kid can ball, his stats before he got hurt were starting to reflect what they thought he could be. Also I believe he hits the three better than Laundry and is/was more explosive.

Also wouldn't it be great to be able to have the option to bring him or Landry off the bench. We'd be just that much deeper.
 

elcol

Rotation player
this guy is one of the best defenders in the league, solid 3 point shooter and fast break. hope to see him back
 

ronoranina

Fundamentally Sound
Well allow me to elucidate then..

And what makes you say that, Ron diggity? I've never seen any footage of him bar highlight reels which are deceptively deceptive. I've read that he's good. Enlighten me!


Is he that much better than Lord Landry that he'd take the starting 2?

Idk if I can enlighten you Crazy, but I'll do my best.. :thumbsup:


Let me start of by saying that I like Landry Fields, ALOT.

When I say Azzzzzzy would be the starter I don?t say it lightly. I?ve thought it out.

I should also say, that like AR, I?ve watched Azzy a handful of times and feel like I have a good idea of what he can and can't do..

I believe Azubuike would have cracked the starting rotation on a Mike D coached squad for a number of reasons:


1. Azzy is a real good 3 pt shooter. Mike D prizes knock-down three ball shooters who can space the floor. In the 08-09 season during which he started 51 games and played a total of 74, he shot .448 and made 94 threes. 45%.... That?s friggin? solid. On a Mike D coached, SSOL squad he would be an asset for sure. When you watch him shoot, you see why. His mechanics are sound. Fields is an adequate guy from behind the arc, but Azzy is better right now, or at least was..

2. He?s not just a camper. This guy takes to the whole and finishes w authority. He?s explosive and has a knack for getting in the teeth of defenses. He can lay- in w either hand and often times will end a drive w an emphatic dunk. I?ve seen him dunk in traffic a handful of times, nastily.

3. The guy is flat out fast. He runs the floor better than Landry for sure IMO. He would be ideal spotting up for threes and getting the ball and taking to the rim in transition.

4. Defensively, Azzzzzy was showing tenacity. He has a knack for coming up behind players and swatting the ball away, ala D.Wade or Lebiactch.. He can also get ya a steal or two per game. On this end of the floor, technically I think the two are a wash. Physically though, Azzy has a slight edge due to him being the better athlete.


Overall, I think Azzy was the better two way player. I think, based on the trajectory he was on and if healthy, he could have averaged 15- 18 ppg. on this team. He was the center piece in the trade of Lee and he would have fit in nicely.

Now Fields has shown he?s smart, efficient and timely. He shoots an amazing .528 from the field. Mostly due to his effective board crashing and subsequent put-backing, and his savvy at finding open spaces in the defense which he?s deftly exploited for easy lay-ins. He?s also taken 115 threes and made 45 for a percentage of .391.

Azzy kicks ass on offense in a more traditional way. He is the better slasher, (due to his explosiveness and solid handle) more explosive inside scorer and better shooter from deep. He would help our offense overall score more because we could space the floor better. He would also make teams pay at a higher clip. Azzy could easily have 70 or more threes at this point in the season.

Both players are good. But Azzy has more experience. Because of his talent-makeup I really think he could have become the kind of player that could propel this offense into more consistent, unpredictable dominance. He was also nothing to sneeze at defensively either and would have helped us there also.

I truly hope he can crack the rotation and help us this year. :gony:
 
yea azzy was the truth 4 real but i doubt he will ever be back to his old form i just cant see it even if he does return his explosiveness and leaping ability will be gone.
 
From what I've heard and read he's a very good shooting guard, who can defend, hit 3's and play the game the right way.

Fields has been great for a second round pick, but it seems like Kellena has more natural ability than Landry.

The question is how much of that talent can be fulfilled after such a tough injury (although STAT's injury was a lot worse and he recovered 110%).

He could be a great role player come post season to defend the likes of D-Rose or D Wade. Those type of guys, because Felton is too slow for them and Fields too inexperienced.

I hope Mike D'Antoni plays him a bit, I'm looking forward to see him play since he arrived here in the summer.
 

Kiyaman

Legend
And what makes you say that, Ron diggity? I've never seen any footage of him bar highlight reels which are deceptively deceptive. I've read that he's good. Enlighten me!

Is he that much better than Lord Landry that he'd take the starting 2?

Hypothetically.... If we had the same Azu before the injury..... the Knicks
would have a helluva 4-guard-backcourt rotation in the EC, I wouldnt want headcoach
Dantoni anywhere around these 4-guards Felton/Douglas/Azu/Fields.
Raymond Feltons playmaking skills would improve 95% receiving 26 to 30 minutes
per game. Landry Fields off the bench would have us dominating the 2nd qtr.
and 3rd qtr. of practically every game.
What made Azu so spectacular in GS was his movement without the ball, his
energy/speed/and IQ was consistent when receiving just 24 to 30 mpg.

The procedure and healing process after Azu's surgery has proved Azu will
not be 85% healthy to do the samethings he did in GS untill the 2011-12 season.
Azu is working hard on his rehabilitation for the Knicks to resign him :crossfingers::crossfingers::crossfingers:
 

Paul1355

All Star
everyone but Azzy thinks he can come back

The Knicks can release him after the trade deadline to free up a roster spot for a big man or a d league kid who is on the rise and wants to prove himself

I want to see Azubuike play more than anyone, but he can't even move laterally....if thats true then he won't play as a Knick this year or he will play at the end of the season if he isn't cut yet
 

ronoranina

Fundamentally Sound
bad post

Fields is one of the best rookies this year....if Azzy were healthy right this second, he would be a role player

Really? Why? Because you don't agree..

I thought I backed the statement in question up w some pretty cogent stuff..

Listen, nobody is saying Fields hasn't been one of the best rookies in the NBA this season. The point I'm making, very clearly if you read, is that if Azzy was healthy he would produce more, which would help the team more. That's all Paul. When you look at Azzy's talent (not sure you're up on him) and the direction his career was taking before the injury, its not outlandish to think he'd have a numbers jump under D'ant.

I think my projections for what he could do are extremely plausible. If you don't agree, back it up w something. Your not really saying anything w your drive-by comments.
 
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SSj4Wingzero

All Star
I think Azubuike would be good if he were at pre-injury strength but I'm scared that if he tries a comeback right now he'll look kinda like T-Mac did for us last year - show flashes of ability here or there but not really have that explosiveness back. Even T-Mac doesn't really have it back and might not ever, and and fully healthy pre-injury Azubuike is probably better than Fields, but Azubuike who might shot up in the next 3 days, I doubt it.
 

SSj4Wingzero

All Star
I mean he's been playing well, but he's hardly his old self. And even if he's playing decent it took him a lot of games to get to this point.

That's the thing with Kelenna Azubuike - he might work his way back to being a great player but who knows if it'll happen until December of next season?
 

iJoe

Rotation player
I'd rather the Knicks take their time with Buike. Fields' value is even more important on our team since the lineup is already so weak with rebounding.

Its doubtful Buike will be even close to 100% and he really should be looking at the long history of players who have come back from knee injuries too early. His minutes should be extremely limited and why halt the development on Fields especially since Azubuike's contract is up at the end of the season anyway? I'd much rather let him heal and resign him for cheap.

Otherwise the Knicks will just be doing him favors by letting him fatten up his contract by playing hard to get numbers and most likely injuring himself even more in the future.
 

nixon7

Benchwarmer
Silly to argue about who should start

It can only help the Knicks for Azubuike to get healthy and play well.

It is unlikely that Azubuike will be 100% this year, but a solid contributor at 80-90% come playoff time will still be extremely useful.

Who starts is not about who is a better player. Azubuike and Fields are both good players with all around games.

Who starts will be about chemistry, about how the rest of the team plays, who fits better with the starters and who fits better with the second team. This is something you can only discover by playing them in different situations for a while.

If Azubuike only plays in April, there will not be enough time to figure this out this year; and consequently Walsh may not know enough to decide between re-signing him, trading him, or letting him walk over the summer. If he can contribute in February, then this is a totally different [and positive] development.

Whenever Azubuike is able to contribute serious minutes, it is Douglas and Walker whose minutes will be negatively affected, particularly Walker.

Fields and Felton will benefit from playing 25-32 minutes per game rather than 35-42 minutes. Also, Felton and Douglas will be able to get healthy, which we will need if we want to make it to the second round of the playoffs.
 
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