Acy and the Knicks

[aromeoj]

I went to the game up in Syracuse on Tuesday night and sat court-side right next to the Knicks bench...was a great experience.

Sitting that close gave me a different look at the game being able to watch the guys warm-up and also see the interaction of the players as well as the ish talk that happens in the NBA...which is very entertaining.

Here are a couple of my takeaways from this:

- For warm-ups it was interesting to see Kurt Rambis going through all of the post positions and post screens with Dalembert/Smith on the weak side of the triangle - this carried over in the game. Smith had a couple nice behind the back bounce passes off of the weak side in the second half. Stoudemire was also getting killed for not being able to make that pass out of the weak side post...the Knicks made 2 turnovers when he was on the weak side.

- In the same light Coach Fischer was working with JR on all of the wing work in the triangle...so it was good to see this breakdown by position of the triangle offense.

- Stoudemire (and I am a fan of him as I know how hard he works) was a mess on both ends of the courts. He gets in the way on the offense and also (as we know) doesn't understand help D at all. Players on the bench were talking about it the whole time and what he was doing wrong.

- Kurt Rambis does a lot of talking/coaching to the players during the game and calls a ton of the plays and Coach Fischer does the most talking during the Time-outs...

- Shumpert seems to be the vocal leader on the team...I know that seems out of place but he was telling everyone what they were doing right and wrong on both offense and defense. He also when on the bench was like another player on the court as he was telling everyone where to move on D.

- Acy was funny as hell (I will get to that in a second). I think a lot of ppl are not liking the "Experiment" of Acy playing a lot of minutes or starting but he is doing a ton of intangibles on the court. Going after the loose balls, fighting like crazy on the boards, setting great picks on offense and also hitting the open jumper. The best part of the night was when Acy would D-up Noel he woudl try to get in his head. At one point Noel was trying to back down Acy and he was having none of it. Clearing him out of the post. He did get called for the foul but Acy followed by saying "You too little down here" and "This is a man's game". This created the bench to continue to make fun and take jabs at Noel. Noel didn't want to go inside the rest of the night...these are little things that Acy brings and has that 90's Knicks mentality much like a mason or Oakley.

- The one thing I noticed and have not really been able to see was the transition D out of the Triangle offense. This is also a key point of the offense because it does not allow teams to get out on the break. I am not sure if it was certain sets on offense (Stoudemire, Larkin v. Shump, Calderon) but when Stoudemire and Larkin were in the offense was horrible and the sixers were getting fast break points. Sixers scored 27 fast break points in the game and again I think that they were mostly against the Stoudemire and Larkin rotation.

- Larkin was another guy that looks lost...he is a speed guy at the point and that is how he scored most of his points in college with speed and dribble penetration, but this system does not suit him at all. He doesn't make a good entry pass and does not run off the screens well. I was surprised to see this as I thought he could bring something to the team.

- Chemistry - the one thing I will say is that it seems like the team has some great chemistry, joking with each other and also being able to tell each other when they did something wrong. Time will tell if this lasts but it was great to see close-up.

All in all this team has me excited that we can do great things. I think the start will be a little shaky but that should turn quickly and we will be a competitive team barring any big injuries of course.

[NBA Fan 1234]

Awesome post, dude. Thanks for that .

Maybe Amar'e CAN end up helping the team by being used as an example of what NOT to do on both ends of the court? I'm super happy about Shump. He looks so much happier / free / like he's got a weight off his shoulder than he did in previous years.

Was a fan of Acy's energy before this, but lol at "You too little down here." Gonna start using that if the intramural league ever starts up

[aromeoj]

Awesome post, dude. Thanks for that .

Maybe Amar'e CAN end up helping the team by being used as an example of what NOT to do on both ends of the court? I'm super happy about Shump. He looks so much happier / free / like he's got a weight off his shoulder than he did in previous years.

Was a fan of Acy's energy before this, but lol at "You too little down here." Gonna start using that if the intramural league ever starts up

We all couldn't stop laughing at it...fans that heard and the bench

[2010]

Acy had an interview segment that aired at one point during the game. In which he spoke about how he studies film and tries to find a weakness to exploit in whomever he guards. I think in doing his homework he found that Noel is not a fan of physicality and that you may be able to get inside his head.

Mike Breen in particular lauded him for his preparation saying how some guys just don't do their homework. Clyde even chimed in that sometimes players fail to realize when A player is left-handed; or right-handed but can't go left.

[MaseInYourFace]

I went to the game up in Syracuse on Tuesday night and sat court-side right next to the Knicks bench...was a great experience.

Sitting that close gave me a different look at the game being able to watch the guys warm-up and also see the interaction of the players as well as the ish talk that happens in the NBA...which is very entertaining.

Here are a couple of my takeaways from this:

- For warm-ups it was interesting to see Kurt Rambis going through all of the post positions and post screens with Dalembert/Smith on the weak side of the triangle - this carried over in the game. Smith had a couple nice behind the back bounce passes off of the weak side in the second half. Stoudemire was also getting killed for not being able to make that pass out of the weak side post...the Knicks made 2 turnovers when he was on the weak side.

- In the same light Coach Fischer was working with JR on all of the wing work in the triangle...so it was good to see this breakdown by position of the triangle offense.

- Stoudemire (and I am a fan of him as I know how hard he works) was a mess on both ends of the courts. He gets in the way on the offense and also (as we know) doesn't understand help D at all. Players on the bench were talking about it the whole time and what he was doing wrong.

- Kurt Rambis does a lot of talking/coaching to the players during the game and calls a ton of the plays and Coach Fischer does the most talking during the Time-outs...

- Shumpert seems to be the vocal leader on the team...I know that seems out of place but he was telling everyone what they were doing right and wrong on both offense and defense. He also when on the bench was like another player on the court as he was telling everyone where to move on D.

- Acy was funny as hell (I will get to that in a second). I think a lot of ppl are not liking the "Experiment" of Acy playing a lot of minutes or starting but he is doing a ton of intangibles on the court. Going after the loose balls, fighting like crazy on the boards, setting great picks on offense and also hitting the open jumper. The best part of the night was when Acy would D-up Noel he woudl try to get in his head. At one point Noel was trying to back down Acy and he was having none of it. Clearing him out of the post. He did get called for the foul but Acy followed by saying "You too little down here" and "This is a man's game". This created the bench to continue to make fun and take jabs at Noel. Noel didn't want to go inside the rest of the night...these are little things that Acy brings and has that 90's Knicks mentality much like a mason or Oakley.

- The one thing I noticed and have not really been able to see was the transition D out of the Triangle offense. This is also a key point of the offense because it does not allow teams to get out on the break. I am not sure if it was certain sets on offense (Stoudemire, Larkin v. Shump, Calderon) but when Stoudemire and Larkin were in the offense was horrible and the sixers were getting fast break points. Sixers scored 27 fast break points in the game and again I think that they were mostly against the Stoudemire and Larkin rotation.

- Larkin was another guy that looks lost...he is a speed guy at the point and that is how he scored most of his points in college with speed and dribble penetration, but this system does not suit him at all. He doesn't make a good entry pass and does not run off the screens well. I was surprised to see this as I thought he could bring something to the team.

- Chemistry - the one thing I will say is that it seems like the team has some great chemistry, joking with each other and also being able to tell each other when they did something wrong. Time will tell if this lasts but it was great to see close-up.

All in all this team has me excited that we can do great things. I think the start will be a little shaky but that should turn quickly and we will be a competitive team barring any big injuries of course.

Great stuff man.

Feels good to have an actual system and something that forces guys to think and react not just take spots on the floor and wait.

[god shammgod]

it's still too early but i just hope they don't go too long trying to make amare fit in.

[j4remi]

Really great post, I may have to throw it out there as a Mass Dispatch post of the week just because it's pretty unique as a view point.

I love hearing about Rambis and Fisher schooling players at their specific roles. Not surprised about Shump at all to be honest, he's always been a vocal and energetic guy and he was actively studying the triangle as soon as possible so his knowledge is there (it shows every time he takes the court).

Stat to me just looks like he's still thinking. He made the right cuts at times (albeit with teammates clearly pointing things out) but they were late. On defense I'm resigned to his hopelessness and just hope that he tries hard.

Everybody loves Acy here, so you won't see pushback or much hate. My biggest complaint about him is poor passing, but even that is passable because of his intangibles and hard work. I think he's just the type of player New Yorkers embrace, so he should be good.

Great transition D talk, I haven't paid much attention to it in the first games and now I'll have to really dial in on it.

Larkin needs time and growth. His athleticism and motor can't be taught but developing a jumper and getting his decisions under control can be...so I'm really hopeful for him, I thought his play in the fourth quarter was a huge improvement over earlier in the game and in previous games. He looked more relaxed.

[ITGM]

Great anecdotal post, OP. I enjoyed reading your observations of Shump; it appears he's taken to the Triangle offense and is already excelling at Fisher's defensive philosophy. Shump seems poised for a breakout season.

- ITGM

[MaseInYourFace]

I really like Acy so far. Fingers crossed. He does have some of that 90's knick roughneck swag. Brings that same energy Kenyon brought. He's a glue guy. Just goes all out. If he can show a consistent jumper Knicks might have lucked out.

[mpharris36]

Great anecdotal post, OP. I enjoyed reading your observations of Shump; it appears he's taken to the Triangle offense and is already excelling at Fisher's defensive philosophy. Shump seems poised for a breakout season.

- ITGM

NO GIF???????

[mpharris36]

it's still too early but i just hope they don't go too long trying to make amare fit in.

I might be evil but possibly the best thing for the knicks is for him to just get hurt. If we aren't cutting him and we can't trade him its the only way to free up minutes to players who will contribute more.

ok ok I get it, I shouldn't wish injury on anyone but I can't help it.

[Knicksfan20]

Cool post. As much as I respect stat and all his hardworking and passion, but he is too much of a liability out there. Hopefully we can trade him to the 76ers this season. Just too many big bodies and I don't see stat in this teams future anyways.

[MaseInYourFace]

I think out of respect for his (Amar'e) career trajectory he should be given a chance to see if he can fit in since he claims to be completely healthy now. I'm willing to give him a couple of months.

[KnicksGod]

Great post.

[god shammgod]

I think out of respect for his (Amar'e) career trajectory he should be given a chance to see if he can fit in since he claims to be completely healthy now. I'm willing to give him a couple of months.

a couple of months is the season. the knicks aren't good enough to survive a couple of bad months and bounce back. and while some people might think it's fine and we'll just get a top pick, that's unlikely. they'll try to win games and you kind of have to plan to really suck nowadays. plus you want to be somewhat good to attract free agents. we haven't even really seen bargs yet which i doubt will help. i don't know what they plan to do exactly but there are some real concerns.

[ORANGEandBLUE]

Who is not liking Acy?

[j4remi]

I think out of respect for his (Amar'e) career trajectory he should be given a chance to see if he can fit in since he claims to be completely healthy now. I'm willing to give him a couple of months.

a couple of months is the season. the knicks aren't good enough to survive a couple of bad months and bounce back. and while some people might think it's fine and we'll just get a top pick, that's unlikely. they'll try to win games and you kind of have to plan to really suck nowadays. plus you want to be somewhat good to attract free agents. we haven't even really seen bargs yet which i doubt will help. i don't know what they plan to do exactly but there are some real concerns.

I'm givin' 'em 10 games. I think Bargs has a better shot to fit the system but the fact that he hasn't even made it on the floor makes me that much more forgiving of Amare. He deserves a shot, but the leash needs to be short.

[MaseInYourFace]

I think out of respect for his (Amar'e) career trajectory he should be given a chance to see if he can fit in since he claims to be completely healthy now. I'm willing to give him a couple of months.

a couple of months is the season. the knicks aren't good enough to survive a couple of bad months and bounce back. and while some people might think it's fine and we'll just get a top pick, that's unlikely. they'll try to win games and you kind of have to plan to really suck nowadays. plus you want to be somewhat good to attract free agents. we haven't even really seen bargs yet which i doubt will help. i don't know what they plan to do exactly but there are some real concerns.

God the clock is running, I started it since training camp. Lol. He's already like a month in.

[moocow007]

Acy had an interview segment that aired at one point during the game. In which he spoke about how he studies film and tries to find a weakness to exploit in whomever he guards. I think in doing his homework he found that Noel is not a fan of physicality and that you may be able to get inside his head.

Dennis Rodman was the master of this...knowing how to use the opposing players weaknesses against him, frustrating and otherwise trying to throw the other guys game off kilter. That's how a 6'8" guy can do what he did on the defensive end almost always against guys that are bigger than him.

[nyk97]

and the fact that acy is only shumps age should make everyone super happy