Acy and the Knicks

[MaseInYourFace]

and the fact that acy is only shumps age should make everyone super happy

Dude looks old. It's the beard though.

[Thorn]

I went to the game up in Syracuse on Tuesday night and sat court-side right next to the Knicks bench...was a great experience.

Sitting that close gave me a different look at the game being able to watch the guys warm-up and also see the interaction of the players as well as the ish talk that happens in the NBA...which is very entertaining.

Here are a couple of my takeaways from this:

- For warm-ups it was interesting to see Kurt Rambis going through all of the post positions and post screens with Dalembert/Smith on the weak side of the triangle - this carried over in the game. Smith had a couple nice behind the back bounce passes off of the weak side in the second half. Stoudemire was also getting killed for not being able to make that pass out of the weak side post...the Knicks made 2 turnovers when he was on the weak side.

- In the same light Coach Fischer was working with JR on all of the wing work in the triangle...so it was good to see this breakdown by position of the triangle offense.

- Stoudemire (and I am a fan of him as I know how hard he works) was a mess on both ends of the courts. He gets in the way on the offense and also (as we know) doesn't understand help D at all. Players on the bench were talking about it the whole time and what he was doing wrong.

- Kurt Rambis does a lot of talking/coaching to the players during the game and calls a ton of the plays and Coach Fischer does the most talking during the Time-outs...

- Shumpert seems to be the vocal leader on the team...I know that seems out of place but he was telling everyone what they were doing right and wrong on both offense and defense. He also when on the bench was like another player on the court as he was telling everyone where to move on D.

- Acy was funny as hell (I will get to that in a second). I think a lot of ppl are not liking the "Experiment" of Acy playing a lot of minutes or starting but he is doing a ton of intangibles on the court. Going after the loose balls, fighting like crazy on the boards, setting great picks on offense and also hitting the open jumper. The best part of the night was when Acy would D-up Noel he woudl try to get in his head. At one point Noel was trying to back down Acy and he was having none of it. Clearing him out of the post. He did get called for the foul but Acy followed by saying "You too little down here" and "This is a man's game". This created the bench to continue to make fun and take jabs at Noel. Noel didn't want to go inside the rest of the night...these are little things that Acy brings and has that 90's Knicks mentality much like a mason or Oakley.

- The one thing I noticed and have not really been able to see was the transition D out of the Triangle offense. This is also a key point of the offense because it does not allow teams to get out on the break. I am not sure if it was certain sets on offense (Stoudemire, Larkin v. Shump, Calderon) but when Stoudemire and Larkin were in the offense was horrible and the sixers were getting fast break points. Sixers scored 27 fast break points in the game and again I think that they were mostly against the Stoudemire and Larkin rotation.

- Larkin was another guy that looks lost...he is a speed guy at the point and that is how he scored most of his points in college with speed and dribble penetration, but this system does not suit him at all. He doesn't make a good entry pass and does not run off the screens well. I was surprised to see this as I thought he could bring something to the team.

- Chemistry - the one thing I will say is that it seems like the team has some great chemistry, joking with each other and also being able to tell each other when they did something wrong. Time will tell if this lasts but it was great to see close-up.

All in all this team has me excited that we can do great things. I think the start will be a little shaky but that should turn quickly and we will be a competitive team barring any big injuries of course.

Great post, thank you.

I firmly feel we need to play the guys who fit the system, who get it, and who work hard.

So far this year I have Jason Smith and QA in front of Amare in all of my most recent depth charts.

[Brooklyn_Yards]

Great stuff OP! Confirms a lot of what of is being seen and said in regards to STAT. Amare just doesn't fit in with this system ATM. He's too slow and has a hard time letting the ball go. Thank goodness it's his last year with us.

[Deeeez Knicks]

Great post.

Every team needs a guy like Acy to do the little things. Maybe Bargs and Amare can put up better "Stats", but what a guy like Acy brings will help a team win more games. Melo and the triangle need those intangible guys. Its probably on reason why last season was such a disaster. We got rid of some of our intangible players for an empty stat player like Bargs and got much worse.

[aromeoj]

it's still too early but i just hope they don't go too long trying to make amare fit in.

It has already started...falling out of favor with the coaches being abel to trust him on the floor and you can see it in his teammates face.

[aromeoj]

Really great post, I may have to throw it out there as a Mass Dispatch post of the week just because it's pretty unique as a view point.

I love hearing about Rambis and Fisher schooling players at their specific roles. Not surprised about Shump at all to be honest, he's always been a vocal and energetic guy and he was actively studying the triangle as soon as possible so his knowledge is there (it shows every time he takes the court).

Stat to me just looks like he's still thinking. He made the right cuts at times (albeit with teammates clearly pointing things out) but they were late. On defense I'm resigned to his hopelessness and just hope that he tries hard.

Everybody loves Acy here, so you won't see pushback or much hate. My biggest complaint about him is poor passing, but even that is passable because of his intangibles and hard work. I think he's just the type of player New Yorkers embrace, so he should be good.

Great transition D talk, I haven't paid much attention to it in the first games and now I'll have to really dial in on it.

Larkin needs time and growth. His athleticism and motor can't be taught but developing a jumper and getting his decisions under control can be...so I'm really hopeful for him, I thought his play in the fourth quarter was a huge improvement over earlier in the game and in previous games. He looked more relaxed.

Thanks...very different seeing it this close or just watching on TV...so many intricacies you do not pick up...

[aromeoj]

Who is not liking Acy?

There was a post a couple days ago where ppl were saying we need to just play Jason Smith more and leave Acy be...

[Deeeez Knicks]

it's still too early but i just hope they don't go too long trying to make amare fit in.

It has already started...falling out of favor with the coaches being abel to trust him on the floor and you can see it in his teammates face.

Yeah, between the Amare trade rumors this summer, acquiring other big men, Acy starting…I think the writing is on the wall for Amare. I don’t think he will be a big part of what we do. Plus Phil had said years ago that Amare/Melo weren't a good fit.

[Capn'O]

This was what I was getting at with the young guys being "leaders" in a previous thread. Guys like Acy are so critical for keeping a group light and close. That group a few years back with Shump/Fields/Novak/Lin had such great energy and you could tell the rest of the guys fed off of that*. It's great to hear that Shump is among this group of young leadership. He was developing that early in his career but seemed to lose it all last season.


*FWIW - Acy and Fields had that sort of connection in Toronto as well.

[NOOB77]

Who is not liking Acy?

There was a post a couple days ago where ppl were saying we need to just play Jason Smith more and leave Acy be...

I think it was play Jason Smith more and Amare and Bargs less lol Looking at it just based on play not contract or how they played in the past my 5 man big rotation would be....

Smith/Acy/Wear
Dally/Cole/Smith

I put Acy on the second team because I think that is where is energy would be better used...

Shump would be our defense energy guy on the first team....

On the second team you have no energy guys which is why I think the second team is so awful right now. We are running out

Larkin/Prigs
THjr
JR Smith
Smith
Amare

There is no defense and no energy in that line-up. That is the reason why I think swapping Smith out with Acy on the first and second teams makes the most sense.


Calderon/Prigs
Shump/THjr
Melo/JR
Smith/Acy
Dally/Amare (with is was Cole instead)

[Capn'O]

Stat to me just looks like he's still thinking. He made the right cuts at times (albeit with teammates clearly pointing things out) but they were late. On defense I'm resigned to his hopelessness and just hope that he tries hard.

This is what I see. The question is how long do we give him to figure it out?

Part of the answer is " quite a bit longer than now." But at some point he either gets it or he doesn't.

[Bklyn&company]

A Stat fan, but I really hope we don't waste to much time with trying to fit him in...I'll rather give the minutes to Cole with Jason Smith and Acy in front.

Dally/Barg/Cole/D.J
JSmith/Acy/Stat
Melo/JR/Early
Shump/THjr
Calderon/Pablo,Larkin (split time)

Waive Outlaw (if possible)

Wear, Calloway - D-league

[Thorn]

Who is not liking Acy?

There was a post a couple days ago where ppl were saying we need to just play Jason Smith more and leave Acy be...

Jason Smith DOES need to play more, but I do not think the two are tied together.

In my mind we DO need to play Smith more, I think Smith should start or at the very least play a tond of minutes.

I also feel we should have a hustle guy on our roster like QA.

Then,,, and finally... I think both should play more than Bargs or Amare.

[Walzon]

Acy is going to be our version of reggie evans

[Dkillanyk4lyf]

It hurts me to say this because I respect the dude so much, but you guys are right amare needs to go.

[GatorShea]

Cool post. As much as I respect stat and all his hardworking and passion, but he is too much of a liability out there. Hopefully we can trade him to the 76ers this season. Just too many big bodies and I don't see stat in this teams future anyways.

He will even bring his own booze.

[GONYK]

Acy is going to be our version of reggie evans

No he won't. Their games aren't really similar.

I always said he was more of a Jerome Williams type player. Junk Yard Dog

[NoLayupRule]

I love that Phil has done a lot to bring in role players who are actually role players

as opposed to a guy like Bargs who is basically a role player but doesn't know it


Acy, Josh Smith, Aldrich, Larkin if he can develop, even dally and calderon

these guys know their roles and embrace them

Acy is gonna give us some great games and some stinkers. Some refs are gonna pick on him and he's gonna have games he can't stay on the floor. WHich is why I think he needs to come off the bench. Smith may be the starting PF at this point

[j4remi]

Stat to me just looks like he's still thinking. He made the right cuts at times (albeit with teammates clearly pointing things out) but they were late. On defense I'm resigned to his hopelessness and just hope that he tries hard.

This is what I see. The question is how long do we give him to figure it out?

Part of the answer is " quite a bit longer than now." But at some point he either gets it or he doesn't.

Absolutely, my position for now that I'm sticking with is 10 games into the season. At that point, we can re-evaluate him. If we're winning despite him and he's coming along slowly but at least progressing, well maybe we give him some more time. On the other hand, if he shows no development or isn't progressing fast enough and we're losing at that point...we can't afford to keep working on it because I still want a playoff team this season.

[Capn'O]

Stat to me just looks like he's still thinking. He made the right cuts at times (albeit with teammates clearly pointing things out) but they were late. On defense I'm resigned to his hopelessness and just hope that he tries hard.

This is what I see. The question is how long do we give him to figure it out?

Part of the answer is " quite a bit longer than now." But at some point he either gets it or he doesn't.

Absolutely, my position for now that I'm sticking with is 10 games into the season. At that point, we can re-evaluate him. If we're winning despite him and he's coming along slowly but at least progressing, well maybe we give him some more time. On the other hand, if he shows no development or isn't progressing fast enough and we're losing at that point...we can't afford to keep working on it because I still want a playoff team this season.

That sounds reasonable. Of course, all can be revisited at later points, as well.