Steve Novak's Defense

[AmazingJason]

Novak's dad was his high school basketball coach for 4 years. That's probably why he's fundamentally sound on the defensive end

[Retired_Doc]

There is nothing wrong with Novak's defense. In fact he improves every single game.

I was a big advocate of MDA playing Lin before he ever did. And I was always in favor of Novak getting major minutes. And I STILL think Novak should play at least 25 min per game. Reduce Amare's minutes considerably and replace him with Novak.

If Novak played 35 min a game he'd be the leading scorer in the league. He's just THAT good of a shooter.

[rayray2]

He's defends better than amare lol

His offense is better than Amare's too.

From 82games, I was SHOCKED seeing this stat.

NY's Offense: Pts per 100 Poss.
Novak on the floor = 107.3
Amare on the floor = 100.4

NY's Defense: Pts per 100 Poss.
Novak on the floor = 99.3
Amare on the floor = 104.6

With Novak playing, NY out sources the other team by 8 points. With Amare playing, NY is out scored by 4 points.

Wow, that is a shocking statistic! WHAT a differential!

Hello Novak. Goodbye Amare.

I gotta wonder what the Amare-apologists will say now??

...that novak started playing when lin came around and amare was on the floor with that mess of a roster we had at the start of the season? i don't even like amare but cmon people use your head.

[MaseInYourFace]

Guys who have played in SA are usually decent defenders at minimum. I think many just assumed he was a one dimensional shooter who can't play any D at all. Its a stereotype.

[RealHusky]

I am a huge Steve Novak fan because he can play. Outside Lin, he is probably my favorite Knick. The other guys I really like are Shump and Chandler because both are great defensive players and that's a very underrated skill.

I been watching Novak since he played at Marquette. The kid can flat out shoot. I was very surprised NBA teams never gave this guy the opportunity to shine. I remember when he was first drafted by Houston they did not get him the ball much or let him shoot. It only took years and finally a PG like Lin to help him show off his shooting ability.

I would have no problem is Novak play 25 to 30 mins a game with Amare playing the rest. He would make both Lin and Davis' jobs much easier. If he is not hot, put Amare in. If he is hot, by all means ride him as long as possible each game.

[Dudedude88]

I want to see him get more then 20 min a game AT least. !! Antonio rarely plays Novak for some reason... He always picked Walker instead of him. This was back when Linsanity was beginning. Last night Dantonio lwas talking to some fan in the crowd right after his novak subsitution. Then the "WE WANT NOVAK" chants started to erupt. I don't know why he took him off when he was hot.

Amare even said it in one of his interviews that he doesn't feel that fit. Let Amare get 20-25 min per game. That's enough minutes to get him fit by playoffs. D'Antonio can't keep treating Amare like a baby. He needs to change his game.

[Retired_Doc]

I am a huge Steve Novak fan because he can play. Outside Lin, he is probably my favorite Knick. The other guys I really like are Shump and Chandler because both are great defensive players and that's a very underrated skill.

I been watching Novak since he played at Marquette. The kid can flat out shoot. I was very surprised NBA teams never gave this guy the opportunity to shine. I remember when he was first drafted by Houston they did not get him the ball much or let him shoot. It only took years and finally a PG like Lin to help him show off his shooting ability.

I would have no problem is Novak play 25 to 30 mins a game with Amare playing the rest. He would make both Lin and Davis' jobs much easier. If he is not hot, put Amare in. If he is hot, by all means ride him as long as possible each game.

YES!

[MigrainePatrol]

I think if Novak attended "Sparta", he might just add more to his game. It's behind the scenes stuff that we don't see, and I know this guy can dribble and play some back to the basket but it's getting conditioned enough to do it in a game that sets apart the outside ready to launch a 3 to a all around game. He can do it if he wanted to, nothing is holding him back.

[playteamball]

He's defends better than amare lol

His offense is better than Amare's too.

From 82games, I was SHOCKED seeing this stat.

NY's Offense: Pts per 100 Poss.
Novak on the floor = 107.3
Amare on the floor = 100.4

NY's Defense: Pts per 100 Poss.
Novak on the floor = 99.3
Amare on the floor = 104.6

With Novak playing, NY out sources the other team by 8 points. With Amare playing, NY is out scored by 4 points.

I'm not surprised. Lin's +/- has suffered since Stat got back in the starting lineup. I like Stat, but think at the moment Jeffries or Novak would be more valuable in the starting lineup.

[DRoberstonNYY]

lets be honest, anybody's defense looks good next to amare's.

[frothbrain]

all i know is that bum gee tried to take it to novak all night and ended up bricking shot after shot.

[stuporman]

Not strong enough to guard 4s too slow to guard 3s but he works hard at it even if he's limited physically. Plus he's on the floor with a defensive oriented group so some of his deficiencies at it get covered up by the others on the floor with him.

[KnicksGod]

Not strong enough to guard 4s too slow to guard 3s but he works hard at it even if he's limited physically. Plus he's on the floor with a defensive oriented group so some of his deficiencies at it get covered up by the others on the floor with him.

Yes.

Time to realize that we have some plus defenders on this team. Chandler and Tyson are excellent defensively. Jeffries too. JR gets after it better than I realized. Lin is quite pesky. Fields has his moments.

[RealHusky]

Not strong enough to guard 4s too slow to guard 3s but he works hard at it even if he's limited physically. Plus he's on the floor with a defensive oriented group so some of his deficiencies at it get covered up by the others on the floor with him.

Yes.

Time to realize that we have some plus defenders on this team. Chandler and Tyson are excellent defensively. Jeffries too. JR gets after it better than I realized. Lin is quite pesky. Fields has his moments.

I like to see Novak play a lot more minutes than he is given now. If Amare can't get his 15-18 footer back on track, put Novak out there by all means. He is much more of a threat on the floor than Amare is currently. His defense is not any worse than Amare's. I would love to see this guy get more minutes cause he already proved he can deliver. By roaming the 3 point line, he also forces the opposing SF or PF to go out with him to free up the lane. Both Lin and Davis would do even better with Novak spacing the floor.

[boomann21]

His offense is his defense. While they taking two's he steady getting three's. Three points win out on two points every Time........Every Time!!