Don't sell them short.. Knicks can take the #1 seed

[truth serum]

I still think Lin is a better player than Felton with more upside, but Felton has better chemistry with this team and everyone is on the same page. It's still early and I'm sure some adversity will be coming so let's just see how the season plays out before the "I told you so" threads.

What upside? They guy is scoring 11ppg on 35% shooting? Lin is struggling and I think we should all admit that he's not as good as we all thought he was last season. Numbers don't lie.

As for Felton - the guy was selected #5 for a reason. When he's in shape, he's a very good, two-way PG. He's not just the "better fit", he's the better player right now and it's not even close.

You should know that numbers don't always tell the whole story. Harden joined that team the day before the season started and their whole system changed and is still being reworked now that McHale has taken a leave of absence. Lin is not being used to maximize his strengths. He is being used as a spot up shooter now and Harden is the guy running the offense. He's playing good defense though and is not turning the ball over like last season.

Hey... Lin's cool. Good player. Crafty player. Fast, can finish at the rim, good vision.. yadda yadda yadda.

But Felton's better. Felton, right now, is showing that he is one of the better point guards in the league. The same feeling people had during his last stint in NY where he was on the path to a possible all-star appearance before trade rumors derailed his and Gallinari's season. He had a couple of down years after we shipped him elsewhere, but here in NY, he plays with a passion. He has dedicated himself to the game, got himself in shape and is proving himself yet again. Lin is not of the same caliber. Just my opinion, but one that I hold firmly.

Felton is bigger, stronger, just as fast, more under control, much better defensively and can shoot from the outside and mid-range. Jeremy Lin's strengths? The pick and roll and dribble penetration... and Felton is no slouch there either. Most importantly, I think Felton is more of a pure point guard all at the same time. He's moving the ball and picking his spots almost flawlessly. He's no Chris Paul or Steve Nash with his dishing, but neither is Jeremy and I really don't see any reason at all to call Jeremy a better player than Ray, even if we're just comparing Lin's 7 games of "Linsanity" to the 6 Felton has played for us this season. At the end of the day, I have more trust in Felton with the ball in his hands and I think the Knicks made the absolute best choice, through and through. Hopefully it's just a matter of a few more games before Knicks fans can move away from the Jeremy Lin thing all together.

[fdr2012]

You should know that numbers don't always tell the whole story. Harden joined that team the day before the season started and their whole system changed and is still being reworked now that McHale has taken a leave of absence. Lin is not being used to maximize his strengths. He is being used as a spot up shooter now and Harden is the guy running the offense. He's playing good defense though and is not turning the ball over like last season.

For one, the argument that Lin is "not being used to maximize his strengths" is a cop-out. Good players can play at any system. Second, Lin was terrible in pre-season before Harden was even traded. Look, Lin is simply not a starting caliber PG. That should be pretty obvious at this point. He can't shoot, his handle is very weak and he's horrible defensively. This is coming from a guy who wanted him back.

And the only reason he's turning the ball over less is because he's handling it less. There is no way NYK are 6-0 with Lin instead of Felton, and its not about "fit", it's about Felton being a vastly superior player.

[NYKat]

It takes a lot to support the team, through thick and thin, with every one in the basketball world trashing the organization, and proudly defending the team, while being called a homer, and delusional, etc. etc. when the evidence was there all along. I salute those posters never bailed on the team and the players, and repped that NY jersey hard when the rest of the world laughed at you.

That's a real fan.

It's ryde or die time NY, lets keep it going

[Quick Kick]

For one, the argument that Lin is "not being used to maximize his strengths" is a cop-out. Good players can play at any system. Second, Lin was terrible in pre-season before Harden was even traded.

thank you. And even if he wasnt being "used to his strengths", he still shouldnt be THAT godawful. Tired of hearing that weak ass excuse.

[NY2TheBay]

Love the positivity and no doubt we can take the number 1 seed. Miami is struggling a little and wade will take time to get back to full strength. Mami's defense and specifically giving up the 3 ball is their achilles heel right now and that happens to be our strength, see opening night.

We must continue to improve and not worry about the media, hype and other teams standings get in the way of focus to the ultimate goal which is a championship.

No. 1 seed is nice but the ring is our ultimate goal.

Keep the positivity flowing its infectious.

[DLTGWH]

Of course anythings possible. The season could also end early, along with humanity if you belive the Mayans.

But realistically the number 2 seed seems like a more attainable goal.

Jeremy Lin is a Rocket. Its no longer our official duty as fans to apologize or make excuses for him. So stop with the nonsense. If hes not who you thought he was, you're not the only one, but its time to join us in the real world, and move on.

[fdr2012]

thank you. And even if he wasnt being "used to his strengths", he still shouldnt be THAT godawful. Tired of hearing that weak ass excuse.

You can't be taken seriously when you post completely homerish comments. The reality is that Lin right now is terrible. Probably the worst starting PG in the league. He's not the only PG in the league "not used to his strengths" and he's not the only PG in the league who isn't perfect to his team's system. Still, nobody is playing as bad as he is.

You can't just ignore reality and the reality is that Lin sucks ATM, and when I say "sucks", I mean to the point of being outplayed by Toney Douglas.

[Bill Bradley]

thank you. And even if he wasnt being "used to his strengths", he still shouldnt be THAT godawful. Tired of hearing that weak ass excuse.

You can't be taken seriously when you post completely homerish comments. The reality is that Lin right now is terrible. Probably the worst starting PG in the league. He's not the only PG in the league "not used to his strengths" and he's not the only PG in the league who isn't perfect to his team's system. Still, nobody is playing as bad as he is.

You can't just ignore reality and the reality is that Lin sucks ATM, and when I say "sucks", I mean to the point of being outplayed by Toney Douglas.

Literally nothing in your post is true. Lin has not played horribly and in no way, shape, or form has been outplayed by Douglas. Why not mention he is among the league leaders in steals and has played good defense? Because you haven't watched any of his games. And do you not think it makes a difference when a PG who is used to having the offense run through him is turned into a SG overnight? How has Steve Nash looked in LA under a new system where he doesn't dominate the ball? It has been a handful of games and Lin is at the beginning of his learning curve, trying to adapt to what is essentially a change in position that is his biggest area of weakness. This is basically his first year as a full time starter. You're being ridiculous.

[fdr2012]

Literally nothing in your post is true. Lin has not played horribly and in no way, shape, or form has been outplayed by Douglas. Why not mention he is among the league leaders in steals and has played good defense? Because you haven't watched any of his games. And do you not think it makes a difference when a PG who is used to having the offense run through him is turned into a SG overnight? How has Steve Nash looked in LA under a new system where he doesn't dominate the ball? It has been a handful of games and Lin is at the beginning of his learning curve, trying to adapt to what is essentially a change in position that is his biggest area of weakness. This is basically his first year as a full time starter. You're being ridiculous.

I've seen Houston play. Lin can't keep anybody in front of him and he doesn't fight through screens. He's a terrible defensive player and his man always breaks down the D. The only thing he's very good at is steals, but that does little to mitigate the other deficiencies.

Again, Lin is playing flat-out horribly. You can see it watching games and you can see it in his numbers. Douglas has actually outplayed him in several games. Denying how horrible Lin has played is nothing more than ridiculous homerism.

Steve Nash is 40, and good players are good players, regardless of position or "system". It's his first and probably his last year as a full time starter. There are so many holes in his game, that he has no business starting in this league.

[NYKat]

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2012/w ... z2CQaQoGYs

Houston Rockets (4-4)

It's hard to ignore Jeremy Lin's slow start while his former team is doing so well in his absence. The Lin vs. Raymond Felton debate drew some attention last month thanks to Deron Williams, but it appears, at least at this point, that Williams was right about preferring the latter (stats per 36 minutes):

Lin: 11.3 ppg, 6.4 apg, 2.6 tpg, 35.3 FG%, 27.6 3P%, 14.56 PER
Felton: 17.4 ppg, 7.2 apg, 2.8 tpg, 42.2 FG%, 40.7 3P%, 17.9 PER

Teammate James Harden continues to be the talk of the league, but Lin's troubles stand out just as much. The Rockets' floor general ranks 30th among starting point guards in scoring and 31st in shooting. He's shooting just 28 percent in his last three games and shot the most notable air ball of the season. It's scary to think of how happy James Dolan must be right now.

[NoLayupRule]

Yeah, you heard it here first. This team is good enough to do it. And I'm not saying the Knicks are a better team than the Heat are, but it seems no matter how confident we get about this group throughout this off season, with all the great personnel moves the FO has made and all the talk about the gelling and the camaraderie we're seeing amongst the guys.. everyone still sees the 2 seed as the Knicks' ceiling just because the Heat are the champs. Poppycock!

Chicago has been the 1 seed the past two years and I think this Knicks squad is better than both of those teams were. I think there's a chance the Heat hit some lulls this year as well, being the defending champs, maybe relaxing a little bit when the schedule gets tough which could be somewhat necessary for a team that relies so heavily on its stars.

As for the Knicks, our team has every reason to stay hungry all season long and they also have the depth and firepower to keep them afloat. Deep roster, veteran leadership, highly motivated players 1-15, a highly motivated, defensive-minded coach, and a sh*t ton of talent in general. A very underrated roster right now. Bosh said it himself. And of course Miami has all of these same qualities and then some. I'm just saying, the Knicks are right there with them without all of the expectations which makes it possible that NY finishes with more wins. Why the hell not? I wouldn't be surprised at all to see the Knicks hit the playoffs with home court advantage. I WOULD be surprised to see them land outside of the top 3. Simple as that.

Obviously, I really believe in this squad, and while there will be many of you who flame me for this post, we can and WILL bump this thread in April '13 and see what's what! So put that in your pipe and smoke it!!

popycocking and pipe smoking indeed!

great post
why not aim high? we have no reason to feel inferior to any team in the NBA right now
stay healthy and go for the division win. then aim for the ECF, then the Finals. then, dare we dream, the first title in my lifetime!!!

[msg4k90]

even though i know I shouldn't listen to stephen a smith when he's on the radio..i do and he is so wrong...

he said the nets are better than the knicks if they don't have amare. i feel like right now the knicks are waayy better than the nets with or without him. he hates mike d'antoni because supposedly mike doesn't focus on defense. yet he likes the nets, but the nets are terrible defensively. i don't get it. he understands that defense can get you far into the playoffs but still believes in the nets.

he tried to downplay the game miami loss and said wade and lebron didn't want to play that game. c'mon now. a loss is a loss and the way the knicks defeated miami you can't take anything away from the knicks. you can't make excuses for a team's loss. if a player decides to not show up then you should criticize their effort even if they are a star.

[TheToothFairy]

Nets have no interior defense