D'Antoni says Shumpert can cover Wade, LeBron, DRose

kylepicklehead

Benchwarmer
I Like D'Antoni's bravery in saying this-- But, waaaaay too early to say it. He hasn't played one game at the NBA level yet, and Shumpert doesn't yet know how much of a different pace the game is played at from College to NBA Level. Maybe in a few years Iman can match up on these guys, but these are SUPERSTARS, almost impossible to guard.

Mike D’Antoni says Iman Shumpert can guard Rose, Wade, or LeBron… or did he?



dantoni20087.jpg

Here’s a nice quote from Knicks head coach Mike D’Antoni about first round pick Iman Shumpert that’s going to get misconstrued all over the place.
“He has the athletic ability to guard a Derrick Rose or a Dwyane Wade or a LeBron James,” D’Antoni said Friday.
The Knicks need defense, and they drafted Shumpert, and based off of that quote, you can take the approach that D’Antoni said Shumpert can guard Rose, Wade, or James. But that’s not actually what he said.
To defend players of that caliber, you need athleticism, instincts, skills, and savvy. All of that, plus some luck, will probably get you to hold them to 43 percent shooting or worse. Throw in some help defense from teammates (on the Knicks! Haha, what a funny joke!) and you’ve got a better chance at getting them to 30% or worse. But you do need athleticism. D’Antoni’s not saying Shumpert’s going to come in and guard those guys, that’s obviously insanity. But having that kind of athleticism means Shumpert can be a defensive weapon in time.
Now, whether he’ll actually wind up getting the defensive attention he needs to become that kind of defender under D’Antoni is a separate question.
 

nuckles2k2

Superstar
Nothing wrong with that statement. Iman does have the athletic ability and size to guard those guys, but does he have the defensive acumen to do so effectively?
 

SSj4Wingzero

All Star
I honestly think that Donnie Walsh drafted him solely for the fact that opposing superstar backcourt players have made us into their bitches over the past few years. IE Ray Allen, Kobe, Dwyane Wade...
 

DaTPRiNCE

The Knicks are Back
ahh having shumpert guarding allen on that last possession in game1 couldve really changed things loll. he's long and athletic just what the doctor ordered to guard/stop rondo, and he can cover passing lanes to slow wades kick out. this dude is exactly what we need. i see him getting a stable 25-30 minutes a game. and not only for defense either i feel his offense is pretty good as well. he wont be forced to take shots playing with billups, melo, and stat as he'll likely be the 4th-5th option on the court so fast breaks and open shots are his tool of trade in year 1.
 

ronoranina

Fundamentally Sound
I honestly think that Donnie Walsh drafted him solely for the fact that opposing superstar backcourt players have made us into their bitches over the past few years. IE Ray Allen, Kobe, Dwyane Wade...

Yeah.. and people say they don't understand how having a guy who can defend on the perimeter will help us.. Ridiculous. Learn the game people.
 

Crazy⑧s

Evacuee
Yeah.. and people say they don't understand how having a guy who can defend on the perimeter will help us.. Ridiculous. Learn the game people.

Who said that!? It wasn't our biggest need, but it was right up there.

Suns' media are throwing out the Nash trade rumours already.

Shumpert doesn?t fit in with the Knicks and it is probably unlikely to see significant playing time from D?Antoni if they decide to keep him, especially with Toney Douglas on the current roster. A Shumpert, Landry Fields and Chauncey Billups plus possibly a future first round pick could be just enough for New York to get Nash.
Billups could step in to be the Suns starter for just this season while mentoring Shumpert to become this team?s starter a year from now. Fields could step in to be this team?s starter at shooting guard and Phoenix could add a future piece in next year?s draft, which is expected to be very rich and deep with talent.
:whatever:

This deal as of now if just speculative on my part, but it does make some sense. Hopefully the Suns brass will take a look at this article and use it as a general overview if they decide to change their minds and trade the two-time MVP during this offseason.

Moronic.

http://www.sunszoo.com/2011/06/iman-shumpert-a-strange-choice-for-the-new-york-knicks/
 

ronoranina

Fundamentally Sound
Crazy⑧s;182978 said:
Who said that!? It wasn't our biggest need, but it was right up there.

The guy who has a color for his name that's synomous w crimson.

He said numerous timea that he didn't understand how Paul would help defensively. Like having a great defensive PG wouldn't help us against other pesky penetrating PGs like Deron, Rose, Westbrook, Rondo etc etc. He even asked me to explain it to him recently, which I did relunctantly. I shouldn't have to explain the game to people..

But now that we got a guy who'll hopefully be able to guard other star 2s all of a sudden there's no more questions about what having a legit stopper along the perimeter means for our team. Smh..
 

STAT1

Starter
MDA also said Gallo was the best shooter he's ever seen too. Take anything this guy says with a grain of salt, he lets his foot lead the way most of the time.
 

KingofNy

Starter
Shump was pretty good at guarding college players but now all of a sudden he's gonna lock down the NBA's elite in a Mike Antoni system? Keep dreaming Mike. In reality Mike's statement reads like "I hope he can play defense because he sure as hell can't shoot the ball."
 

clumsy

Rotation player
LMAO D'Antoni judging a players Defense.

Plus no one can Guard D Wade (or like i call him the Ghost) for all hte Phantom Foul Calls the NBA loves to give him.
 

NYKnicks11

Benchwarmer
MDA also said Gallo was the best shooter he's ever seen too. Take anything this guy says with a grain of salt, he lets his foot lead the way most of the time.

LOL I was going to say this. I would like to see him actually do it well first. Just because D'Antoni says these things doesn't make them true.
 

nyk_nyk

All Star
MDA also said Gallo was the best shooter he's ever seen too. Take anything this guy says with a grain of salt, he lets his foot lead the way most of the time.

Agreed. He also hyped up AR at the beginning of last season talking about all the ways he could use AR on defense lol. This is not to say that Iman can't defend, I'm just use to MDA doing this all the time with new players and then not followinig through via coaching strategy one the season begins.
 

Oldtimer

Rotation player
Shumpert

It is too early to say what Shumpert can actually do in the NBA, but i am hopeful. He has great size and athleticism, but many of the premier "athletes" have not fared weil -- Joe Alexander and Gerald Green are recent examples. Balkman is another, so perhaps is Anthony Randolph. But, of course, athleticism helps. Gallo would be fantastic if he had Randolph's athleticism.

One thing I do like about Shumpert is that he seems to be level headed, willing to work and very inteliigent. His interviews have been terrific and Amare' and Melo appear pleasantly anxious to welcome and work out with him. He will learn a lot trying to guard Melo.

We needed to get lucky in this draft. I hope we have gotten lucky and that Shumpert becomes a Westbrook -- but without all the foced shots.
 

SSj4Wingzero

All Star
Indeed, if Shumpert becomes a Westbrook I feel as if we would have some tough long-term problems to deal with.

I still believe that not making use of Anthony Randolph's talents was Mike O'Antoni's biggest mistake...AR was psyched to come to NY, he talked about how he had a good season the year before and was amongst the league leaders in blocks before he got hurt and was hoping to prove himself in front of the Garden crowd and then O'Antoni decided playing Amar'e for 41 minutes a night was more important than giving Anthony Randolph playing time.

**** this coach, man.

Frankly with the way Shumpert's game projects out I wouldn't be surprised to see D'Antoni put Toney Douglas and Chauncey Billups on the floor together against Miami and let Dwyane Wade torch us for 40 points when we have an elite perimeter defender rotting on the bench...that's just how O'Antoni works.
 

Paul1355

All Star
I Like D'Antoni's bravery in saying this-- But, waaaaay too early to say it. He hasn't played one game at the NBA level yet, and Shumpert doesn't yet know how much of a different pace the game is played at from College to NBA Level. Maybe in a few years Iman can match up on these guys, but these are SUPERSTARS, almost impossible to guard.

Mike D?Antoni says Iman Shumpert can guard Rose, Wade, or LeBron? or did he?



dantoni20087.jpg

Here?s a nice quote from Knicks head coach Mike D?Antoni about first round pick Iman Shumpert that?s going to get misconstrued all over the place.
?He has the athletic ability to guard a Derrick Rose or a Dwyane Wade or a LeBron James,? D?Antoni said Friday.
The Knicks need defense, and they drafted Shumpert, and based off of that quote, you can take the approach that D?Antoni said Shumpert can guard Rose, Wade, or James. But that?s not actually what he said.
To defend players of that caliber, you need athleticism, instincts, skills, and savvy. All of that, plus some luck, will probably get you to hold them to 43 percent shooting or worse. Throw in some help defense from teammates (on the Knicks! Haha, what a funny joke!) and you?ve got a better chance at getting them to 30% or worse. But you do need athleticism. D?Antoni?s not saying Shumpert?s going to come in and guard those guys, that?s obviously insanity. But having that kind of athleticism means Shumpert can be a defensive weapon in time.
Now, whether he?ll actually wind up getting the defensive attention he needs to become that kind of defender under D?Antoni is a separate question.
This reminds me of the time when Mike D said another foolish statement by saying that Gallinari was the best shooter he has ever seen. PUTTING EVEN MORE PRESSURE ON HIM.

Mike D needs to take a psychology class to learn that high expectations on a big stage just cause stress for a young player and cause him to fail.

Now he says Iman Shumpert can guard the best 1-2-3's in the NBA, arguably. ARE YOU SERIOUS?

Even if Shumpert has the ability, you don't say it because NOW he has to or else he is not exceeding Mike D's expectations.

Mike D is an idiot. He says and does the stupidest things as a head coach.
 

Paul1355

All Star
Indeed, if Shumpert becomes a Westbrook I feel as if we would have some tough long-term problems to deal with.

I still believe that not making use of Anthony Randolph's talents was Mike O'Antoni's biggest mistake...AR was psyched to come to NY, he talked about how he had a good season the year before and was amongst the league leaders in blocks before he got hurt and was hoping to prove himself in front of the Garden crowd and then O'Antoni decided playing Amar'e for 41 minutes a night was more important than giving Anthony Randolph playing time.

**** this coach, man.

Frankly with the way Shumpert's game projects out I wouldn't be surprised to see D'Antoni put Toney Douglas and Chauncey Billups on the floor together against Miami and let Dwyane Wade torch us for 40 points when we have an elite perimeter defender rotting on the bench...that's just how O'Antoni works.
Mike D would bench Shumpert and put in Douglas because of his love fest with a small/fast lineup...just like how he benched Darko Millicic, Jordan Hill, Shelden Williams, Mozgov, all because he wanted a more offensive lineup...he has no defensive concepts.
 
This reminds me of the time when Mike D said another foolish statement by saying that Gallinari was the best shooter he has ever seen. PUTTING EVEN MORE PRESSURE ON HIM.

Mike D needs to take a psychology class to learn that high expectations on a big stage just cause stress for a young player and cause him to fail.

Now he says Iman Shumpert can guard the best 1-2-3's in the NBA, arguably. ARE YOU SERIOUS?

Even if Shumpert has the ability, you don't say it because NOW he has to or else he is not exceeding Mike D's expectations.

Mike D is an idiot. He says and does the stupidest things as a head coach.

I agree, but it also cleverly takes the pressure off of him as well. If they don't live up to his hype they will be seen as busts. Plus, he has a talk show that will give him the stage to shine more light on his opinions. IMHO, he needs at least one ring before he runs his mouth about such things...it's a wonder why he even haves a show before a championship. :shrug:
 
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