Prokorov wrote:Pistolpete1947 wrote:MrDollarBills wrote:I'm actually pretty okay right now, the losing is disappointing especially when we have games that are close, but it doesn't bother me really. I guess either I'm numb, or i just expect to have rough patches like this with this team. I think we'll have better stretches than this during the year especially with Lin back.
I can understand not having a lot of optimism after all last year was rough. I used to be a big Knick's fan but they kept losing by double-digits and it got to the point where I couldn't watch them anymore just too depressing. So I can definitely see where you're at because I was there. Then Linsanity happened and the Knicks ,who had lost 11 of their last 13 games (with Carmelo and Amare), won 7 straight without them putting them back in the playoff race. Not saying it'll happen again as the coach and the team makeup are very different - but Lin is better now - and so I hope.
Its a combination of 3 things:
1) the franchise cleaned house and its year 1 of a long patient rebuild. Nets fans are onboard with this because of how bad the prior rebuilt went and see things being done the right way now. the GM/Coach players said its about development right now, so losses arent really all that discouraging... especially with how well young guys have looked so far and how hard the team has played. I'm always excited to win, but losses dont bother me unless the team shows low effort, which i have yet to see.
2) the talent isnt there yet and thus expectations are low (for net fans at least, maybe not lin fans). Losses dont sting as much when you expect/predict a 20-30 win season. expectations get even lower when the little talent you have is out with injuries(Lin, RHJ)
3) there is massive improvement from last year. guys care. they want to be here. guys are developing and playing modern ball. lopez move to a three point shooter so seamlessly is remarkable for instance. so from last year to this year alot of good to focus on beyond our record.... i think this is the biggest one, since lin fans were mostly not net fans last year and dont see this improvement. they mostly looked at stats and maybe expected lopez to be a better player/defender and though him and lin would make us a 40 win team
Yeah, losing would piss me off if there was low effort or guys didn't care (like how it was when D-Will was here giving everyone cancer), but that's not the case. When we lose, it's not due to a lack of effort. Either we couldn't make certain plays down the stretch, or in the event of games where we're blown out its due to the fact that the other team's talent level is superior in pretty much every way and the 3pters aren't dropping.
So I can deal with that much better than I did in years past.
And seeing Lopez become a legit 3 point threat is probably the most fun we've had around here in years. Those bombs really get the crowd going, and on the road when he hits them its even better. there was one game this season (we lost, but still) where Lopez knocked down two threes and a short lull came over the noise in the arena because the opposing crowd was stunned
that felt good to see.
