KnixinSix wrote:The KnicksFix wrote:GettinitDone wrote:This team got lots of issues on defense
Safe to say if Leon had had a crystal ball and seen Mikal would be below average defensively he wouldn't have done the trade, Nova Knicks be damned. I also think since coming here, Mikal has been ok but not "overly excited" about playing with JB and Josh... my theory is people grow... Mikal is still single, while Josh and JB have wives and kids... when you get married and especially have kids your focus, priorities, sense of humor, convos, life perspectives change. I think the convos that used to make them close aren't the same anymore, and Mikal is closer to other players who are single too like OG, or Finney Smith on the Nets.
How has he regressed so much on defense??
I don’t know if it has to do with all of the maturation of relationships or the simple fact that he thrived when he played defense on the wings and in one on one. He was never asked to guard point of attack and that’s why he looks like a fish out of water. But the coaching staff and Thibs is too stupid to realize any of this.
Right now Thibs system is failing because he has one defense essentially that works best for him. And that D needs an elite rim protecting 5. Either get the 5 ASAP or get a different coach.
Switch and play up on the screens instead of drop coverage. Problems solved. It's not any one individual causing our defensive issues. It's the system. Period. End of story.
We have been waiting all season to have a healthy bench and that happened two games ago. We are 1-1 since then. We will have to wait another month to get Mitch back. That's a problem. We need to go get Kessler but, Ainge is the problem. Maybe we can get Richards at least. Trusting Mitch to stay healthy is a tremendous risk. We need someone else to help out.
All of our defensive issues are from injuries and scheme. If Thibs can't figure it out, find someone who can. I didn't even mention how terrible his offense is either because we have the talent on that end. He just runs them into the ground.
tl;dr? Thibs is the problem.