PG Thread: Only Reason To Watch This Year Is KP6

[coopnyc74]

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[Thorn]

It was the first pre-season game, and while there were tough moments to watch especially on the defensive end of the floor it was one pre-season game and way to early to make all star predictions or comments about how horrible our record will be this year.

Just one game, and there were some high spots to enjoy.

More than anything I think the team needs time to gel, and to put in more effort on the defensive end of the floor. Melo does need to pass more instead of settling for contested shots but that will come.

I was just glad to have Knicks basketball back.

[god shammgod]

did horny really give them no defensive instruction and told them just go out and play ?

[F N 11]

Our defense was horrible. Plain simple. Offense looked fluid than it has in years with driving guards.

People saying dont make All Star predictions. Last year KP didnt know if he wanted to take the 3 or not. This year, well...BEAST.

thank god Jennings was good after that fall.

All in all im happy. Rose, KP, and Melo will Mesh well with time. KP/Rose pick and roll was deadly. How you gunna stop that? Rose blows by you or KP shoots over you. KP already got way more easy looks. Give it time folks. I feel Melo has to adjust though. Iso Melo is cool and all but t just makes everybody stand around. We're at our best with our guards attacking. Lets see what happens.

For some reason KOQ rubs me the wrong way on the court.

[MaseInYourFace]

I see one poster was arguing for Knicks to play LT more in order to win the game or for game to be less of a blowout. I think that's a bit much for preseason, lol. The priority first and foremost is to get guys in some kind of flow and comfortable. The next thing is those last few roster spots you are trying to define.

[god shammgod]

“We didn’t really have nothing to go off — a game plan,’’ Anthony said. “We need to protect the paint. It’s a weird team to play against without no scouting report. We know they want to shoot 40 3s and that’s not something we’ve worked on.’’

it might not be too early to join the tank if this is for real

[MaseInYourFace]

“We didn’t really have nothing to go off — a game plan,’’ Anthony said. “We need to protect the paint. It’s a weird team to play against without no scouting report. We know they want to shoot 40 3s and that’s not something we’ve worked on.’’

it might not be too early to join the tank if this is for real

Lol I see sham is warming up.

[mpharris36]

not sure why all the doom a gloom.

Defense was shaky and that is to be expected for a new team that hasn't played with each other much. They still have a month to figure out defensive rotations.

What was noticeable was KP's stroke. More arc and going straight up instead of fading back on 3 point attemps. If he gets consistent out there good look NBA.

Rose and Jennings (both a year removed from there injuries) look extremely quick. Both had a great first step and got into the paint. Both missed a few bunnies last night that they will convert more times than not.

Willy put on a good showing. Very active and crafty around the rim. Defense needs to get better for sure but he will eat into KOQ minutes if KOQ plays like he played last night (non existent).

Courtney Lee is just a solid basketball player. In the 1st qtr he really defended Harden well. He knows angles on the defensive side and he has a nice complimentary offensive game.

LT and Kuz should be solid depth at the forward position.

We really miss Noah out there. He will be our defensive backbone and if he misses a lot of time throughout the year we could be hurting.

It's one preseason game. Relax. I saw some positives in terms of the individual players. It's Horny's job to get this team playing together in about a month. We got time.

[F N 11]

Intensity will be so good with Noah manning it. Houston jst pick and popped us to death. Will be interesting to see if KP or Noah gets benched when the opposing team goes small.

[god shammgod]

“We didn’t really have nothing to go off — a game plan,’’ Anthony said. “We need to protect the paint. It’s a weird team to play against without no scouting report. We know they want to shoot 40 3s and that’s not something we’ve worked on.’’

it might not be too early to join the tank if this is for real

Lol I see sham is warming up.

thibs rolling over in his grave at that quote

[MaseInYourFace]

N'Dour had a quiet game but if you look at stats he had two steals and a +6. He's probably gonna be one of these guys who doesn't flash much in games but keeps working hard in practice that coaches will eventually trust him.

[mpharris36]

“We didn’t really have nothing to go off — a game plan,’’ Anthony said. “We need to protect the paint. It’s a weird team to play against without no scouting report. We know they want to shoot 40 3s and that’s not something we’ve worked on.’’

it might not be too early to join the tank if this is for real

Ryan Anderson has been in the league for almost 10 years. You need a coach to tell you to run him off the 3 point line?

You also need a coach to tell you a MDA team is going to run high P&R with the other players stretching the floor.

I don't care about coaches going over individual scouting reports. Its the same thing in football for the first 2 weeks. Teams don't individual scout the opponent because they are first and foremost working on there own things early in camp. But seriously regardless of if the coaches told them to do something or not these guys play basketball for a living and they don't know to get out on Ryan Anderson?

[F N 11]

N'Dour had a quiet game but if you look at stats he had two steals and a +6. He's probably gonna be one of these guys who doesn't flash much in games but keeps working hard in practice that coaches will eventually trust him.

Every big played better than Kyle O Quinn. its sad.

[Deeeez Knicks]

Rose looked good, KP looks awesome, Courtney Lee fits in great.

Jennings is a nut. Need him to play in control and be able to pick his spots off the bench. At least its only a 1 year deal. He is gonna be one of those players that is going to drive alcohol sales at the neighborhood liquor store just for me.

We really need Noah though. Our defense will be bad without him.

[KnicksFan7]

I think Rose is going to quickly see that KP is the guy to go to. They're going to run the offense through him and Melo will turn into the supporting cast.

[j4remi]

Post game thoughts: I know this ish sounds crazy, but it wasn't as bad as the box score looks. When you factor; a bunch of new guys getting used to a new system and player habits, no defensive game plan going into the game, missing the top defensive player on the roster, first game rust and James Harden going full unstoppable mode no matter how well he was defended...everything fell perfect for a blow out. But in the preseason the scores aren't as important as getting pieces into place and seeing how they'll succeed, so that's what needs scrutiny.

The Starters:
Melo: Was pretty awful. Whether he did it himself, his teammates chose to do it or the coaching staff game planned this way; Melo spent the first quarter in simple isolations that failed consistently. Defensively, he cheated middle far off his men all game long and gave up a lot of open looks. His jumper was flat most of the game even on the good looks he got. Part of the problem could be that on his first two drive attempts, he picked up offensive fouls. So he was quickly resigned to pull up jumpers, but that doesn't excuse his view narrowing to the point of not even looking for kick outs let alone passes to other guys for good looks most of the time. The one bright spot in his game was that he got one on one iso's most of the time, not much help at all. Whether that was a result of Rose/KP/Lee's presence or just that Melo wasn't being effective is another question though.

KP: The Knicks best moments mostly ran through him. His isolations were a mixed bag, all face ups into pull up jumpers for varying success (so much for post game). Simple screens or having him set the screen and fade got him open consistently though and he was lights out from three. His defense wasn't bad in the first half but the Harden PnR success rate saw KP cheating middle in the second half and Ryan Anderson absolutely feasted. I think having Noah out there should help him be more disciplined. The other thing to worry about was that he vanished for stretches where the team just let Melo or Rose isolate for multiple plays in a row...I hope he asserts himself more and more but the third quarter explosion showed how easily he can become a top target and weapon.

Rose: Tale of two halves for this guy. In the first half, he really didn't do much creating for others despite finding his way into the lane quite a bit. In the second half though, he turned the driving threat into a bunch of open looks for KP as well as a few iso's for Melo with great positioning. The key focus for me was whether or not Rose could consistently break down the D and get inside...he passed that test. He showed some real hops and explosion too. As he gets comfortable with players, he could become really effective. But being away for chunks of camp due to the trial could impede the progress in terms of developing chemistry.

Lee: Mixed bag for Courtney Lee. His defense was good and active, but Harden lit him up (being fair, he woulda done it to anyone). He seemed a bit delayed on cuts and off ball movements (but it's a new system and that's expected). He handled the ball well though and outside of one really bad telegraphed pass he also moved the ball well. He looked like a good player trying to learn a new system and situation overall.

KOQ: Not a good performance. He was more active and moved pretty well but he couldn't figure out how to stop Harden in the PnR. It didn't help him that the weak side help was non-existent though. His board work was mostly solid, his offense was extremely meh and his defensive play was a struggle. Being fair, he was the fifth option offensively with no game plan provided defensively but the effort was there...yikes.

The Second Unit:
Brandon Jennings: To sum it up in a word, pressing. He got into the lane a LOT which is promising but he tried to force both his shots and some passes along the way. He hit a nice jumper but bricked a bit also. Overall, this one felt like a player who wanted to do too much too soon. His ability to get inside and willingness to pass though were both good signs as the rust comes off.

Holiday: Great motor and a solid all around game saw this guy involved in a LOT while he was on the floor. He didn't look like a player that will take over a game but he made a brilliant chase down play, some nice passes, nice cuts...just everything you want from a role player. There's a lot of promise to his game.

Thomas: Chalk it up to rust but this game was a shining example of how Lance isn't helping a team if he can't hit three's. He got himself open plenty and was in or around a lot of plays but he didn't break the defense because his constant bricks meant cheating off of him wasn't a problem. Defensively he wasn't as visible as he normally is, but I'm not gonna kill anybody who got assigned to Harden...Harden was that good.

Willy: Great motor for a big man, picked his spots to be aggressive, had his head up with the ball to look for passes and defensively he was a bit slow footed but all around solid. This kid looks like he can get burn from day one without hurting the team as long as it's a limited role...and he's got some real upside to boot.

Sasha: I hate having to write this, but the ball moved more fluidly with him out there. He's limited in every aspect of the game except knowing where to go and when to make his moves but just that one facet of his game helps everyone else move properly...I still hate him.

The Garbage Time Unit:
Maurice N'Dour: The motor, the motor, the motor...he's all over the place in a way that nobody else was on either team (impressive considering guys like Brewer, Holiday and Ariza have great work rates). His defensive effort is all at 100% and offensively he showed a willingness to shoot, pass or attack off the dribble...but the results varied there. I think it'd be fun to see Holiday, Lance and N'Dour out there together...if you bookend with Rose and KP...that could be a really fun short spurts line-up to grab momentum off of sheer energy.

Mitchell Plumlee: I'll remember his name when he earns it. For now, outside of some emphatic blocks he looked like a serviceable big man to come off the bench for a D-League team. Hooray for the depth on the Westchester roster.

Chasson Randle: He continues to look like an NBA caliber player while playing against non-NBA caliber competition. When he gets his shot at real NBA players, that'll be the time to expand on his game. But against summer league and D-league competition, he looks like a quality guy and I'm hoping that translates as the competition ramps up.

Ron Baker: Might as well call him Hollow Man with how invisible he was...didn't do anything I got mad about but didn't do anything positive either. He had one nice double team moment, but for the rest of 6 minutes he was Kevin Bacon.

Tokoto: 3 minutes isn't enough to criticize or hype him.

Amundson: DNP in a game we got blown out from the second quarter on...and I don't mind that. We know what he is and everyone should hope that a young cat siphons off any opportunity for this guy to make the rotation.

Kuz: If anybody shined in the garbage time, it was this guy. He didn't look terrible defensively (helps to guard garbage guys) and offensively he was aggressive as they come. He got consistent looks near the basket and just stood out as a guy with a nose for scoring. Can he do it against real NBA caliber guys? No clue, especially the defense part...but I'd like to see him get some meaningful time in next game.

[MaseInYourFace]

Rose looked good, KP looks awesome, Courtney Lee fits in great.

Jennings is a nut. Need him to play in control and be able to pick his spots off the bench. At least its only a 1 year deal. He is gonna be one of those players that is going to drive alcohol sales at the neighborhood liquor store just for me.

We really need Noah though. Our defense will be bad without him.

Wow it's crazy how people see games so differently. I thought Jennings played well for most part. He's a high energy guy. It seemed to me he was a play or two ahead of most of his teammates, lol.

[MaseInYourFace]

I think Rose is going to quickly see that KP is the guy to go to. They're going to run the offense through him and Melo will turn into the supporting cast.

Man, I don't even know what to say...

[HEZI]

N'Dour had a quiet game but if you look at stats he had two steals and a +6. He's probably gonna be one of these guys who doesn't flash much in games but keeps working hard in practice that coaches will eventually trust him.

Absolutely love his energy and hustle. Would love to see him secure his roster spot and then watch him develop without the pressure of being cut and see his true skills showcased. I think he is a talented young player with skill and not just an energy hustle player like a Ronaldo Balkman.

[BeagleBoss]

Nobody got hurt so it's a W.