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"State of the Knicks" Mid-season analysis thread

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Re: "State of the Knicks" Mid-season analysis thread 

Post#41 » by moocow007 » Tue Jan 22, 2013 6:57 pm

sol537 wrote:anyone else notice how JR Smith and 'Melo are trying to hero-ball their way to the All-Star game and MVP, respectively, and how Woodson is enabling them? 'Melo has been chucking at close to 40% lately and JR has been worse.

It's almost like D'antoni's chuck and duck system all over again when we didn't have a PG on the floor. These last 12-15 games reminds me of the D'antoni era. I'm sure I'm not the only one.


Could be but with Felton out it's kinda like what Anthony was "forced" into last season...trying to do too much with the ball too often to try to generate some offense. Great if he was Lebron but not otherwise.
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Re: "State of the Knicks" Mid-season analysis thread 

Post#42 » by seren » Tue Jan 22, 2013 7:14 pm

sol537 wrote:anyone else notice how JR Smith and 'Melo are trying to hero-ball their way to the All-Star game and MVP, respectively, and how Woodson is enabling them? 'Melo has been chucking at close to 40% lately and JR has been worse.

It's almost like D'antoni's chuck and duck system all over again when we didn't have a PG on the floor. These last 12-15 games reminds me of the D'antoni era. I'm sure I'm not the only one.


Quite honestly, I don't.

What I see is Kidd/Pablo failing to execute pick and rolls and anyone buy Melo/JR doing practically nothing on the offensive end. It is normal that it looks like MD's system as just like then right now we are playing without PG play.
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Re: "State of the Knicks" Mid-season analysis thread 

Post#43 » by moocow007 » Tue Jan 22, 2013 7:15 pm

seren wrote:
sol537 wrote:anyone else notice how JR Smith and 'Melo are trying to hero-ball their way to the All-Star game and MVP, respectively, and how Woodson is enabling them? 'Melo has been chucking at close to 40% lately and JR has been worse.

It's almost like D'antoni's chuck and duck system all over again when we didn't have a PG on the floor. These last 12-15 games reminds me of the D'antoni era. I'm sure I'm not the only one.


Quite honestly, I don't.

What I see is Kidd/Pablo failing to execute pick and rolls and anyone buy Melo/JR doing practically nothing on the offensive end. It is normal that it looks like MD's system as just like then right now we are playing without PG play.


Yeah I agree. Hopefully Felton returning changes that some.
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Re: "State of the Knicks" Mid-season analysis thread 

Post#44 » by j4remi » Tue Jan 22, 2013 7:19 pm

Random stat I looked at on a whim...
http://sports.yahoo.com/nba/players/370 ... EyB6PLPKB4

Melo hasn't shot worse than 41% from the field in games where he played 35 mins or less...He had one 41% game and every other time his minutes were well managed he's posted about 44% from the field or better. Just to take the exercise further, I didn't count but in the games where he hits that 36 minute mark or more he he's been below that mark about half the time...which isn't good.

Just food for thought.
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Re: "State of the Knicks" Mid-season analysis thread 

Post#45 » by ORANGEandBLUE » Tue Jan 22, 2013 7:20 pm

Even before Felton went down, we were playing a lot of hero-ball, with Felton being probably the biggest culprit in the weeks leading up to his injuries. I think Woody lets too much slide in terms of bad shots.
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Re: "State of the Knicks" Mid-season analysis thread 

Post#46 » by Knicker23 » Tue Jan 22, 2013 7:22 pm

I'm just not sure what this team is. They have lost all identity they had.

And what's worse.. A large part of early success has to be tied to 3s falling at high rate -- which can't simply be "got back on track" with practice... So it makes you question, was THAT the aberration, and this play is more along the lines of normal play for this team?

There are many other factors; injuries, Felton out etc.... But that doesn't excuse a lot of the spark this team had out of the gate that have been nonexistent; starts.. defense intensity.. offensive efficiency... At what point do we wonder whether the defense will ever return to what it was? Injuries, schedule, etc isn't an excuse..

The longer this drags out, the more you have to think what they are now is more a product of what they are... Their not great on defense, not great on offense... but have a very good player in Melo, and a team good enough surrounding him that can put themselves in a position to win on most nights...

Which is still night and day from blowing teams out by +10 each game.. Which wasn't obviously going to be sustained.. but outside of Melo putting up huge numbers early on, this team doesn't look like it can blow anyone out.
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Re: "State of the Knicks" Mid-season analysis thread 

Post#47 » by blumatic » Tue Jan 22, 2013 7:33 pm

seren wrote:
sol537 wrote:anyone else notice how JR Smith and 'Melo are trying to hero-ball their way to the All-Star game and MVP, respectively, and how Woodson is enabling them? 'Melo has been chucking at close to 40% lately and JR has been worse.

It's almost like D'antoni's chuck and duck system all over again when we didn't have a PG on the floor. These last 12-15 games reminds me of the D'antoni era. I'm sure I'm not the only one.


Quite honestly, I don't.

What I see is Kidd/Pablo failing to execute pick and rolls and anyone buy Melo/JR doing practically nothing on the offensive end. It is normal that it looks like MD's system as just like then right now we are playing without PG play.


I just dont think they have the speed. In a PnR. The threat is the Roller and the Ball hanlder. The ball handler must score to keep the defenders honest. Generally the means using that pick to blow by defenders. Kidd and Pablo get met at the rim with ease. Felton can score around trees. When healthy (I think his bad shooting and lay up missing was a result of two bruised hands that he played through).

On a side note. Amare is moving very well. I mean running up and down the court. He looks lightest on his feet since April 2011. He's getting some bounce back. Defense and team defense coming along, I just want some rebounds.
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Re: "State of the Knicks" Mid-season analysis thread 

Post#48 » by blumatic » Tue Jan 22, 2013 7:43 pm

Knicker23 wrote:I'm just not sure what this team is. They have lost all identity they had.

And what's worse.. A large part of early success has to be tied to 3s falling at high rate -- which can't simply be "got back on track" with practice... So it makes you question, was THAT the aberration, and this play is more along the lines of normal play for this team?

There are many other factors; injuries, Felton out etc.... But that doesn't excuse a lot of the spark this team had out of the gate that have been nonexistent; starts.. defense intensity.. offensive efficiency... At what point do we wonder whether the defense will ever return to what it was? Injuries, schedule, etc isn't an excuse..

The longer this drags out, the more you have to think what they are now is more a product of what they are... Their not great on defense, not great on offense... but have a very good player in Melo, and a team good enough surrounding him that can put themselves in a position to win on most nights...

Which is still night and day from blowing teams out by +10 each game.. Which wasn't obviously going to be sustained.. but outside of Melo putting up huge numbers early on, this team doesn't look like it can blow anyone out.


Melo has to lead this team defensively. Im not talking about being the best defensive player, but he has to bring it harder. What happened to those clothesline blocks. Diving for loose balls. He did make a statement that he has to be careful not to injure himself because he is too important to the organization. I can understand that but you gotta inspire you team defensively. Make plays pick up the energy. If Melo doesnt demonstrate energy and fight on defense, the team wont go far.
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Re: "State of the Knicks" Mid-season analysis thread 

Post#49 » by ctorres » Tue Jan 22, 2013 7:49 pm

HakeemKnicks wrote:
GONYK wrote:
ctorres wrote:Was going to make this its own thread, but decided to just post it here.

In our 14 losses:
- Only ONE loss has been a blowout (103-131 to Houston)
- Besides that, only TWO other losses have been by 10 or more points (95-105 to Memphis, 96-109 to Houston)
- The other 11 losses have all been decided by ONLY three possessions or less!

See for yourselves... http://www.basketball-reference.com/tea ... games.html

I'm not saying it's not a weakness that we've struggled to finish games, but think about it for a second. It's incredibly hard to blow the Knicks out, let alone actually beat the Knicks. Just about every loss we've had has been a close game. We may lack execution towards the end of some games, but we've been in almost every single game (except ONLY three, and even a 10 point loss isn't much!). I mean, Miami has lost 6 of their games by 10+ points, 4 of them were blowouts, 2 having been to the Knicks!

In conclusion, I think the Knicks are doing fine because outside of Houston and Memphis, every loss we've had has been hard fought and could have gone either way. That to me is a sign of a team that's on the right track. Posters here keep saying that the rest of the league has us figured out, but the reality is that most of those teams have barely scraped by against us.


Solid point, but that doesn't account for games like the 2 against Chicago where we got our ass handed to us and made "too little too late" comebacks to get the game under 10. There were a few more games like that.

Teams that consistently lose close games show lack of execution.

It's a solid point, but I don't really think it is the badge of honor you make it out to be.


I don't believe this post is used as a "badge of honor" but more of a reminder that we are for the most part in these games.

I mostly took for it that we aren't executing the way we should to close out games and these are problems that aren't out of the stratosphere of being corrected.


This is correct. Regardless of some of the lulls, the effort has been there to win every game except the two Rockets games, though the Rockets games could have been a case where they're just the absolute worst matchup for us.

Execution is something that can be worked on in practice, as well as finding consistency in a lineup/rotation. Effort is something that comes from within, something that a coach has to inspire. You can give Woodson credit for that. Doc Rivers is struggling to do it and he's supposed to be at least a top 5 coach in the NBA. Celtics have FOURTEEN losses by 10+ points, most of them blowouts!

That Bulls game would have been hard to win even if we would have brought our A game from the beginning. Still, with better execution at the end, we could have pulled off an upset.

We're not that far off from getting back to another winning stretch. Even after losing so many close games, this team still has not lost its composure. The players give a crap, hate losing, and know they should be better than they already are. If there's one thing I know about this team mid-season is that they're enjoyable to root for.
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Re: "State of the Knicks" Mid-season analysis thread 

Post#50 » by AmazingJason » Tue Jan 22, 2013 7:51 pm

We need to get healthy, bottom line. What makes us roll is Melo and Felton, with JR coming off the bench. When you can throw out Chandler, Camby and Wallace in the frontcourt and Shump on the perimeter, that's what makes us elite because of the shutdown defense. We need all of those elements to be truly elite...
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Re: "State of the Knicks" Mid-season analysis thread 

Post#51 » by sol537 » Tue Jan 22, 2013 7:55 pm

I think we need to build a defensive identity and make that our M.O. going into the playoffs. Chandler and Shumpert are elite defenders. 'Melo is a solid defender at the "4" and OK at the "3". Kidd is solid if he plays 20 minutes a night. Felton is also pretty solid and plays tougher in big games. JR is good sometimes and has lapses at other times. Rasheed and Camby can D it up nicely and so can Brewer.

Start: Chandler, Melo, JR, Shumpert, and Felton.
Bench: Wallace, Amare, Brewer, and Kidd.

The only guy out of that group who is not a good defender is Amare, but even he has shown glimpses. Having one guy out of nine who is not a great defender can be lived with (see Boozer/Bosh). Defense is how we'll get back to our winning ways. Defense is what championship and playoff basketball is all about. Offensive flow and momentum comes from defensive stops.
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Re: "State of the Knicks" Mid-season analysis thread 

Post#52 » by Striders » Tue Jan 22, 2013 10:40 pm

Knicker23 wrote:I'm just not sure what this team is. They have lost all identity they had.

And what's worse.. A large part of early success has to be tied to 3s falling at high rate -- which can't simply be "got back on track" with practice... So it makes you question, was THAT the aberration, and this play is more along the lines of normal play for this team?

There are many other factors; injuries, Felton out etc.... But that doesn't excuse a lot of the spark this team had out of the gate that have been nonexistent; starts.. defense intensity.. offensive efficiency... At what point do we wonder whether the defense will ever return to what it was? Injuries, schedule, etc isn't an excuse..

The longer this drags out, the more you have to think what they are now is more a product of what they are... Their not great on defense, not great on offense... but have a very good player in Melo, and a team good enough surrounding him that can put themselves in a position to win on most nights...

Which is still night and day from blowing teams out by +10 each game.. Which wasn't obviously going to be sustained.. but outside of Melo putting up huge numbers early on, this team doesn't look like it can blow anyone out.


I actually agree with all this.

Personally, I've been spending most of this season trying to see what the difference is between this team, and the one from pre-Linsanity. As you've said, we lost our defensive identity that was probably the most exciting part of this season, and instead just have a "super" version of D'antoni's last team.

I'm also a bit frustrated at how easily this team gets riled up. We lack the mental toughness to have grind out affairs in the playoffs.
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Re: "State of the Knicks" Mid-season analysis thread 

Post#53 » by Manhattan Project » Wed Jan 23, 2013 1:48 am

Chandler: A little bit of a roller coaster ride to start the season, but as of late has really rounded back into form. Another double double performance by him thus far to start the season, sporting an excellent field goal percentage again. His tap outs have allowed him to average eleven boards a game. The one thing that I really love about him is that he always seems to show up for the big games. I do believe we need to try and find him a little more on the pick and roll, I expect this to happen once Felton gets back.

Melo: Simply playing like a stud and proving that we made the right choice with the trade. The one critique that you can have with him is that he needs to stop bitching constantly with the refs. Of course that's easier said then done because with his headband he's looking like Adebisi a lot of the time.

JR: Playing like we all hoped he would last year, his shooting has returned to his normal percentages. JR has come up huge repeatedly for us already this year and arguably our second most important player. Offensively he can get off any shot which is crucial when we start playing one on one ball. JR when his game is on he is creating for others, crashing the boards and playing stellar perimeter defense. Love having him on this team.

Felton: The one thing you have to give credit to Felton in this season thus far is his willingness to play through injuries. The other is when we start getting stagnant on offense, he is usually the one to start taking charge. His shooting has been a little worse this year than his normal, but he is the bulldog that we all know he is. His game was looking quite smooth with Chandler and we all know what he can do with Amar'e. With the return of Iman and Amar'e, hopefully he will start taking some better shots. Been good thus far though.

Kidd: Everything and more for us. He's still shooting over 40% from three, even after his blistering start. Kidd has brought leadership that we desperately needed on this team. He can still crash the boards, can still get steals at a great rate. His minutes have been a little high and hopefully with the return of Shumpert we won't have to run him out there consistently over thirty minutes. Kidd looked quite comfortable playing the two for us and his game really only slowed down a bit when he was asked to play the point guard role full time.

Novak: His three ball has dipped from 47% to 44% and people act like the world is falling. That's his role out there, to stretch the floor. He will never be a defensive stud nor will he be battling for boards. A role player is someone who has a defined role, his niche is to shoot the three. I think Novak is doing a solid job and I have no qualms with him. Is his defense where Id like it to be? No. Do I wish he grabbed more boards? Yes. Is that the player he is? No.

Sheed: I was loving what he was doing with our second team unit. He was that floor general playing that Chandler role on defense. His shooting started to come around and was starting to hit the three. He really wasn't teaching anyone how to post up, but damn he was still putting in that work. I pray that he's not lost for the season because he was worth more to us than a lot of people realize.

Copeland: What else can you ask of him? When his number was called he has answered every single time. When Melo got hurt or suspended he has poured in the points. His game is awkward, his defense is unrefined and he can't really dribble. However much like Novak, his role is to score. He can score from anywhere on the court and has shown no fear if asked to carry on a bigger load. He is something I expect to be an excellent spot start or go to if were in a scoring drought.

Shumpert: Can't wait for him to get his legs back underneath him. It's been two games but you can tell that he hasn't really lost any of that athleticism that made him a terror on the perimeter. We need to see what he can do with his shooting and if it's improved at all from last year. Also with the intriguing lineups that we can throw out there, how often will he look to create for others instead of looking to score.

Brewer: Came out of the gate playing great basketball, his three's were falling and seemed to be our only player who cut to the basket. He played some solid perimeter defense and didn't mind doing any of the grunt work. Of course a few months later he finds himself out of the rotation playing just sporadically, but I still really like this signing. We didn't sign him for his scoring, but someone we can bring in and play that defense. With Brewer, Shumpert, JR and Felton we have a bunch of guards who can play defense on the perimeter. This still to me is a signing that will pay off come playoff time if we need a body to throw out there and play defense.

Pablo: Master of the 2K steal, he has been a real good backup. It took him a little while to get the feel of the NBA, but you can see that is no more. Now his biggest challenge is when to look for his shot or when to create. He forces turnovers by being a pesky defender, he pushes the ball at times and runs a smooth pick and roll game at times. He to me is someone who will be a better second half player as he gets more acclimated with the team and the NBA.

Kurt: Played the goon role just fine and was asked to start a few games that he had no business starting. It was sad at first because his shot was off and I just wasn't used to Kurt missing... ever. Over the past three weeks, there have been games in which he collects dust and others he logs ten minutes. His shot is back, he grabs a few boards and has even gotten some blocks. For a 8-10 minute player, Kurt is doing fine when his number is called.

Camby: Really sucks losing him to injury. Much like Sheed, he was nice to have on the court. I really liked the prospect of him and Chandler starting, because they showed in a few of the games the ability to lock down the paint. His shot was off, but he was looking to pass more often than not. With injuries to both Sheed and Camby, those are two defensive generals that we're deprived of right now. Right now all we can do is depend on the veteran leadership.

White: When he started, he didn't embarrass himself. Usually reserved for garbage minutes, White has grabbed some boards and made a few assists. He's shown that he has the three point shot and really only takes good looks. Much of this is due to the fact that it's garbage time, but he has shown that he belongs in the league.

Amar'e: Nine games into his comeback, I think he's progressing quite nicely. He has accepted his role on this team and it's better for us and his knees. He's doing a decent job on the boards and his defense is better than it was last year. However the best thing he has going for him are these two things, the first is that he is getting to the line at an impressive rate. Five FT's while playing twenty minutes is a nice rate that I really hope that he keeps up. The other thing that I really like is that he doesn't have to hold back on his fouls, we don't have to worry about getting into foul trouble making any excuse for a defensive lapse inexcusable. His legs are still getting back underneath him and over the past three games he has looked a lot better. For us to really make a second half push, he will be pivotal. We all know that happens when Melo is off and we're searching for that guy to pick it up. Amar'e will be our guy, Amar'e has the ability to really alter the game. When he's getting to the line, dunking on the opposing team he has the ability to shift the momentum. His defense needs to keep getting better from day to day, hopefully we have Sheed/Chandler/Woodson/Camby lecturing him day in and day out.

Overall you got to be happy with this team, we have performed good. Considering the injuries we've had you got to expect a better second half than the first. I don't think team's have figured us out at all, when our shooting is off we tend to still keep it close with our defense. I think this team finally has some stability, something that can't be overlooked. It's been such a long time that we've had some consistency with the coaches, a locker room that gets along and a star player that isn't beefing with his coach.

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Re: "State of the Knicks" Mid-season analysis thread 

Post#54 » by seren » Wed Jan 23, 2013 3:30 pm

Couple of things that are seriously discouraging:

1) We can't get a full performance out of Amare. Getting only bench performance from your max player is a huge disadvantage that you need to make up somewhere else.

2) JR going back to being JR. Shooting an awful 28 percent from three and taking six a game after a great start brought back the reality. You can't have JR playing 40 mpg and expect to win consistently. His role should be a 25 mpg change of pace guard off the bench that you ride when hot and you sit when cold.

3) Injuries to big men. I was expecting to get serious contribution from Camby. It hasn't happened yet which puts us at great disadvantage in the front court.

4) Felton. I hope it was the injuries but he was awful during December. We need him after seeing that Chandler on offense doesn't work when he is off the floor.

5) Brewer. Another disappointment after a good start.

6) Novak. See 5.

Overall, if we expect this team to win consistently, things have to go to normal. What is normal? Amare playing like it is 2010 giving us star contribution. Camby giving us what he gave last year, ie great rebounding from the bench and a true Chandler backup. Felton giving us consistent shooting and pick and roll play along with defense. Shump playing like prime Joe Johnson. If these happen, we can move JR to his bench role and we won't have to rely consistent contribution from bit players like Brewer and Novak.
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Re: "State of the Knicks" Mid-season analysis thread 

Post#55 » by seren » Wed Jan 23, 2013 3:32 pm

Manhattan Project wrote:JR: Playing like we all hoped he would last year, his shooting has returned to his normal percentages. JR has come up huge repeatedly for us already this year and arguably our second most important player. Offensively he can get off any shot which is crucial when we start playing one on one ball. JR when his game is on he is creating for others, crashing the boards and playing stellar perimeter defense. Love having him on this team.


You can't expect to win a championship with JR being the second most important player on your squad.
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Re: "State of the Knicks" Mid-season analysis thread 

Post#56 » by brigadierjerry » Wed Jan 23, 2013 3:59 pm

thugger,

good post on what the knicks need to work on. i am curious as to what was ur and other knick fans expectations for the knicks before the season started?

my expectations for this year was have a strong showing in 2nd round with a possibility of reaching ecf. i still,think that is a possibility provided team is healthy enough going into playoffs
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Re: "State of the Knicks" Mid-season analysis thread 

Post#57 » by Fat Kat » Wed Jan 23, 2013 4:16 pm

brigadierjerry wrote:thugger,

good post on what the knicks need to work on. i am curious as to what was ur and other knick fans expectations for the knicks before the season started?

my expectations for this year was have a strong showing in 2nd round with a possibility of reaching ecf. i still,think that is a possibility provided team is healthy enough going into playoffs


Some were more optimistic than others. This thread is an indicator of the boards feeling in September.

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Re: "State of the Knicks" Mid-season analysis thread 

Post#58 » by E-Balla » Wed Jan 23, 2013 4:42 pm

I've seen a bit of people bashing Carmelo's shot selection but it has been superb. If you look at the numbers use needs to shoot a lot more. He's not getting calls inside at all.

This month he's shot 6.4 attempts at rim per game (Lebron is around 6.6 for comparison). He shoots 7.5 shots in the paint per game (another high mark). He shooting a high 17.9 jumpshots a game BUT those are being shot way more efficiently than his shots at rim and in the paint. He's only 48% in the paint this month and he has a 49% eFG% outside the paint. Basically the reason he's fallen off is that he can't finish at the rim (he's 47% at rim this month. Felton was over that and league average is 64%). Basically DO YOUR JOBS REFS. He's never been this bad at rim before and honestly it's been his lack of calls. Until he starts getting free throws he'll be more efficent on jumpshots.
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Re: "State of the Knicks" Mid-season analysis thread 

Post#59 » by E-Balla » Wed Jan 23, 2013 4:55 pm

PS not saying he needs to shoot more but just saying he's fine where he's at. Most we could hope for on his part is that he has a need to shoot less and our offense stops relying on him so much.
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Re: "State of the Knicks" Mid-season analysis thread 

Post#60 » by E-Balla » Wed Jan 23, 2013 5:06 pm

What this team needs right now is Felton (he's back next game right?). Melo is averaging 32/6/5 without him with a 112 ORTG (nothing short of amazing). But 41 mpg and 36 usg% (basically he's doing everything for us) is going to wear him out. With Felton taking the pressure off he focused on scoring more and was way more efficent in the paint.

Other than that we need Camby/Amare/Shump in shape. As a backup big he's Camby would boost our D, Shump has already boosted our D (we've went from 18th to 15th in D in 2 games with him), and Amare is helping with the earlier freethrow (or lack of freethrow) problems. Actually if Amare starts hitting the boards (at least) he'll be a big boost. His D is killing us though (last I checked he had the lowest defensive +/- on the team).

Also I love how he's fixing the rotation. Hasn't been a big issue since Shump came back.

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