tkf keys to the loss

[TKF]

Why is Turiaf getting soo many touches on offense?

Why are we even LOOKING at his direction when Amar'e is on the court? Especially for a pick n roll?

One factor in today's L for sure

Exactly. This is the Dantoni system for you. Same reason why Mozgov gets so many touches. The center runs the high pick and roll while shooters spread the floor. IDK why we cant run the pick and roll/pop with Gallo, Fields, and Chandler more. That would be against the Dantoni rules I guess. I kind of wish we had more of a motion offense instead of this reliance on three pointers to spread the floor for the pick and roll. It just creates alot of standing around and guys dont get involved equally.

This system looks good when we move the ball and play unselfish and are hitting shots. When our shots are off tho what happens? We live by the jumper, always have under Dantoni. We look great when we hit the jumpers but you cant rely totally on them. Especially when teams go zone on us, Dantoni acts like he has no idea what to do.

there were like 3 or 4 crucial posessions with like 4 minutes left where gallo and chandler were buried on the wings... no reason for gallo to be there.. put him at the top, let him help facilitate.. teams are not guarding turiaf.. let him roam baseline, and let gallo play up top with amare.. that gives you another legit scorer and ball handler... not a fan of buring him in the corner..

[2010]

Look, I'm not going to sit here and talk about the refs because I don't want David Stern to fine me my yearly salary. LOL

Amare: Had a good overall game. Scored inside, hit the midrange J a couple times, drew a charge, blocked a couple shots, REBOUNDED and provided help defense and hustle. He played unselfish and kicked the ball out when they converged on him. My only issue (and this is probably nitpicking) is when he created a crucial turnover trying to be the man after a timeout late in the 4th. That hurt us.

Gallo: Didn't have his best shooting day but I'll take a game like this from Gallo every day of the week. It was a cerebral game. Every 3pt shot he missed was still a good shot. He mixed it up and took in inside off the dribbe, he drew fouls and hit his free throws and he rebounded. I can't complain about Gallo.

Chandler: His shot wasn't falling tonight from the outside or off the dribble. A lot of in-and-outs unfortunately. But that didn't bother me. What did vex me was that Chandler had a bad defensive game. He was caught in between as a defensive tweener and the matchups where in the Sixers favor as he got exploited. He wasn't strong enough for Brand, and got beat off the dribble by Turner/Williams/Holiday when D'Antoni tried to feature him at the top of the key as our "chaser" on the PG. Just wasn't his day defensively today, as the Sixers don't run out a big slow-footed or jumpshooting PF that he can be a matchup problem for. A bruiser like Brand, and savvy wings like Williams/Holiday/Turner just had him looking like a ballerina all night the way they got him to go for all their pumpfakes.

Douglas: Statistically it seemed like a productive game for Douglas but he really killed us down the stretch. First he was subbed in and come in cold immediately shooting a jumpshot that he missed. He took a few other bad shots and let them affect his defense as he had a mental breakdown and slipped behind a screen leaving Holiday open for a back-breaking 3pter. D'Antoni chewed him out and rightfully so. He's a young player who wants to win but he fell victim to his own inexperience tonight. Hopefuly he'll learn from a day like today and become a bit more heady down the stretch

Mozgov: Had a good first quarter and a good start to the 3rd hitting his 15ft jumper but then started suffering a few mental breakdowns (fouls, travel, turnover) that took him out of the game. He's on a short leash so if he doesn't beast completely in the 1st or 3rd you'll rarely see him return for the 2nd and/or 4th quarters. He's being developed and brought along slowly and I have no problem with that.

Turiaf: This guy is really turning into our defensive leader and surprisingly our calming influence on the offensive end. He exhibits patience and is making the extra pass and directing where the ball should go while discouraging bad shots going up....and it's becoming contagious. Most improtantly, unlike the ghost of Jared Jeffries, when he's ignored and rolls to the paint he can actually finish. His shotblocking has been timely and dynamic.

Felton: Ran the team fluidly, both in the halfcourt and running the break. However, down the stretch he was limited by what seems to be a back that appears to be stiffening up on him frequently. Every game I see this guy grimacing after he makes a good play when the camera pans on him as he's running back downcourt. Hopefully this isn't a nagging issue. He was even laying on the floor when he checked out of the game with towels and heating pads on his lower back a la Steve Nash. Any time missed by Felton would be detrimental as Toney Douglas is not yet a true point guard capable of running a team full-time.

Fields: This guy should be finishing games for us yet I don't believe I saw him play at all in the fourth. He keyed our runs everytime we attempted to pull away from the Sixers and he had a much more impactful game than Chandler. Why was he glued to the bench when we needed a guy like him to make sounh decisions out there on the floor in the 4th???

Walker: Pretty-much useless when he his 3pt shot isn't falling

Randolph: He's coming along....SLOWLY. Hustled out there, drew a nice foul on a dunk attempt, threw another one down and tried to rebound and cause havoc. Still needs to make better decisions but lets not forget how young this guy is and how inexperienced he is regarding lack of minutes played as a professional. I'm not as down on him as most here are. Time is on our side with him and the fact that he's not seeing the floor much is almost solidifying him being a Knick the entire season because teams won't be asking for him...they'll be asking for Chandler (who we're unlikely to keep anyway), Gallinari (who I doubt we'll part with as we still need some kind of shooter) or Fields (who may ultimately end up being sacrificed).

[Rooster8]

I have faith that this team will learn from this loss. Need more practice against zone defenses though, they were out of sorts when Philly threw it at em.

[mjp4eva86]

When the shots don't fall what keeps you in games is defense...

Our Defense starts with our guard play and unfortunately Douglas and Felton were basically taken out of the game defensively because of foul trouble...

We got a good game out of Amare and decent games from Gallo and Chandler... In the end we couldn't play our kind of defensive game (which leads to blocks and transition points) late to get back in the game...

[2010]

Our guards had a poor game on both side of the ball. Sixers guards out played them, we need to get Amerie the ball more. I thought Chandler had his first poor game of the season.

We signed the bi-racial R&B singer???

[DocZaius]

I'll make sure to expect every game we play the rest of the way will be a loss. That way it is impossible to feel disappointed. But, I knew they were gonna lose today. We are 0-3 when I can't watch the game live.

[TKF]

Look, I'm not going to sit here and talk about the refs because I don't want David Stern to fine me my yearly salary. LOL

Amare: Had a good overall game. Scored inside, hit the midrange J a couple times, drew a charge, blocked a couple shots, REBOUNDED and provided help defense and hustle. He played unselfish and kicked the ball out when they converged on him. My only issue (and this is probably nitpicking) is when he created a crucial turnover trying to be the man after a timeout late in the 4th. That hurt us.

Gallo: Didn't have his best shooting day but I'll take a game like this from Gallo every day of the week. It was a cerebral game. Every 3pt shot he missed was still a good shot. He mixed it up and took in inside off the dribbe, he drew fouls and hit his free throws and he rebounded. I can't complain about Gallo.

Chandler: His shot wasn't falling tonight from the outside or off the dribble. A lot of in-and-outs unfortunately. But that didn't bother me. What did vex me was that Chandler had a bad defensive game. He was caught in between as a defensive tweener and the matchups where in the Sixers favor as he got exploited. He wasn't strong enough for Brand, and got beat off the dribble by Turner/Williams/Holiday when D'Antoni tried to feature him at the top of the key as our "chaser" on the PG. Just wasn't his day defensively today, as the Sixers don't run out a big slow-footed or jumpshooting PF that he can be a matchup problem for. A bruiser like Brand, and savvy wings like Williams/Holiday/Turner just had him looking like a ballerina all night the way they got him to go for all their pumpfakes.

Douglas: Statistically it seemed like a productive game for Douglas but he really killed us down the stretch. First he was subbed in and come in cold immediately shooting a jumpshot that he missed. He took a few other bad shots and let them affect his defense as he had a mental breakdown and slipped behind a screen leaving Holiday open for a back-breaking 3pter. D'Antoni chewed him out and rightfully so. He's a young player who wants to win but he fell victim to his own inexperience tonight. Hopefuly he'll learn from a day like today and become a bit more heady down the stretch

Mozgov: Had a good first quarter and a good start to the 3rd hitting his 15ft jumper but then started suffering a few mental breakdowns (fouls, travel, turnover) that took him out of the game. He's on a short leash so if he doesn't beast completely in the 1st or 3rd you'll rarely see him return for the 2nd and/or 4th quarters. He's being developed and brought along slowly and I have no problem with that.

Turiaf: This guy is really turning into our defensive leader and surprisingly our calming influence on the offensive end. He exhibits patience and is making the extra pass and directing where the ball should go while discouraging bad shots going up....and it's becoming contagious. Most improtantly, unlike the ghost of Jared Jeffries, when he's ignored and rolls to the paint he can actually finish. His shotblocking has been timely and dynamic.

Felton: Ran the team fluidly, both in the halfcourt and running the break. However, down the stretch he was limited by what seems to be a back that appears to be stiffening up on him frequently. Every game I see this guy grimacing after he makes a good play when the camera pans on him as he's running back downcourt. Hopefully this isn't a nagging issue. He was even laying on the floor when he checked out of the game with towels and heating pads on his lower back a la Steve Nash. Any time missed by Felton would be detrimental as Toney Douglas is not yet a true point guard capable of running a team full-time.

Fields: This guy should be finishing games for us yet I don't believe I saw him play at all in the fourth. He keyed our runs everytime we attempted to pull away from the Sixers and he had a much more impactful game than Chandler. Why was he glued to the bench when we needed a guy like him to make sounh decisions out there on the floor in the 4th???

Walker: Pretty-much useless when he his 3pt shot isn't falling

Randolph: He's coming along....SLOWLY. Hustled out there, drew a nice foul on a dunk attempt, threw another one down and tried to rebound and cause havoc. Still needs to make better decisions but lets not forget how young this guy is and how inexperienced he is regarding lack of minutes played as a professional. I'm not as down on him as most here are. Time is on our side with him and the fact that he's not seeing the floor much is almost solidifying him being a Knick the entire season because teams won't be asking for him...they'll be asking for Chandler (who we're unlikely to keep anyway), Gallinari (who I doubt we'll part with as we still need some kind of shooter) or Fields (who may ultimately end up being sacrificed).

the only problem I have with AR is that he feels he needs to score.. he should focus on defense and hustle plays, the rest will come.. He comes in taking long jumpers, not a good way to start..

[2010]

oh yeah i mentioned this during the game ... douglas didn't give walker an alley and walker was mad and yelled out 'god dammit man' and then when he was given the ball all alone at the three he didn't shoot the ball.

maybe i'm looking too much into it but that shouldn't be tolerated.

Good observation. Douglas misses alot of people on cuts/rolls to the rim and it has to be frustrating the way he plays with tunnel vision. I understand he's a scoring combo guard but there's no way he should be attempting the 2nd most shots on the team.

[DocZaius]

oh yeah i mentioned this during the game ... douglas didn't give walker an alley and walker was mad and yelled out 'god dammit man' and then when he was given the ball all alone at the three he didn't shoot the ball.

maybe i'm looking too much into it but that shouldn't be tolerated.

Good observation. Douglas misses alot of people on cuts/rolls to the rim and it has to be frustrating the way he plays with tunnel vision. I understand he's a scoring combo guard but there's no way he should be attempting the 2nd most shots on the team.

as I said since the beginning of the season, we need a back up PG in the worst way

[KnicksScholar24]

Keys to the loss.

Terrible 3-point shooting.
Terrible free throw shooting.
Terrible refereeing.

[thisiskoz]

Look, I'm not going to sit here and talk about the refs because I don't want David Stern to fine me my yearly salary. LOL

Amare: Had a good overall game. Scored inside, hit the midrange J a couple times, drew a charge, blocked a couple shots, REBOUNDED and provided help defense and hustle. He played unselfish and kicked the ball out when they converged on him. My only issue (and this is probably nitpicking) is when he created a crucial turnover trying to be the man after a timeout late in the 4th. That hurt us.

Gallo: Didn't have his best shooting day but I'll take a game like this from Gallo every day of the week. It was a cerebral game. Every 3pt shot he missed was still a good shot. He mixed it up and took in inside off the dribbe, he drew fouls and hit his free throws and he rebounded. I can't complain about Gallo.

Chandler: His shot wasn't falling tonight from the outside or off the dribble. A lot of in-and-outs unfortunately. But that didn't bother me. What did vex me was that Chandler had a bad defensive game. He was caught in between as a defensive tweener and the matchups where in the Sixers favor as he got exploited. He wasn't strong enough for Brand, and got beat off the dribble by Turner/Williams/Holiday when D'Antoni tried to feature him at the top of the key as our "chaser" on the PG. Just wasn't his day defensively today, as the Sixers don't run out a big slow-footed or jumpshooting PF that he can be a matchup problem for. A bruiser like Brand, and savvy wings like Williams/Holiday/Turner just had him looking like a ballerina all night the way they got him to go for all their pumpfakes.

Douglas: Statistically it seemed like a productive game for Douglas but he really killed us down the stretch. First he was subbed in and come in cold immediately shooting a jumpshot that he missed. He took a few other bad shots and let them affect his defense as he had a mental breakdown and slipped behind a screen leaving Holiday open for a back-breaking 3pter. D'Antoni chewed him out and rightfully so. He's a young player who wants to win but he fell victim to his own inexperience tonight. Hopefuly he'll learn from a day like today and become a bit more heady down the stretch

Mozgov: Had a good first quarter and a good start to the 3rd hitting his 15ft jumper but then started suffering a few mental breakdowns (fouls, travel, turnover) that took him out of the game. He's on a short leash so if he doesn't beast completely in the 1st or 3rd you'll rarely see him return for the 2nd and/or 4th quarters. He's being developed and brought along slowly and I have no problem with that.

Turiaf: This guy is really turning into our defensive leader and surprisingly our calming influence on the offensive end. He exhibits patience and is making the extra pass and directing where the ball should go while discouraging bad shots going up....and it's becoming contagious. Most improtantly, unlike the ghost of Jared Jeffries, when he's ignored and rolls to the paint he can actually finish. His shotblocking has been timely and dynamic.

Felton: Ran the team fluidly, both in the halfcourt and running the break. However, down the stretch he was limited by what seems to be a back that appears to be stiffening up on him frequently. Every game I see this guy grimacing after he makes a good play when the camera pans on him as he's running back downcourt. Hopefully this isn't a nagging issue. He was even laying on the floor when he checked out of the game with towels and heating pads on his lower back a la Steve Nash. Any time missed by Felton would be detrimental as Toney Douglas is not yet a true point guard capable of running a team full-time.

Fields: This guy should be finishing games for us yet I don't believe I saw him play at all in the fourth. He keyed our runs everytime we attempted to pull away from the Sixers and he had a much more impactful game than Chandler. Why was he glued to the bench when we needed a guy like him to make sounh decisions out there on the floor in the 4th???

Walker: Pretty-much useless when he his 3pt shot isn't falling

Randolph: He's coming along....SLOWLY. Hustled out there, drew a nice foul on a dunk attempt, threw another one down and tried to rebound and cause havoc. Still needs to make better decisions but lets not forget how young this guy is and how inexperienced he is regarding lack of minutes played as a professional. I'm not as down on him as most here are. Time is on our side with him and the fact that he's not seeing the floor much is almost solidifying him being a Knick the entire season because teams won't be asking for him...they'll be asking for Chandler (who we're unlikely to keep anyway), Gallinari (who I doubt we'll part with as we still need some kind of shooter) or Fields (who may ultimately end up being sacrificed).

lot of good things in this post...

i appreciate the effort amare is showing despite not being as dominant as i know hed like to be on offense earlier in the season...

when gallo plays outside in... hes very effective... just sucks that we really need his outside shooting...

totally agree with chandlers defense tonight.. he couldnt seem to find somewhere comfortable... the quicker sixers were getting him on the perimeter... and the stronger ones were getting him down low...

douglas had a tough night... made some tremendous moves offensively... and grabbed steals like he does... but other then that... not a strong or particularly smart game from douglas...

mozgov... fine with the leash... and appreciate the signs hes showing... if this guy can be developed.. we may have a very good player in the future... has things to improve on... but i just like the way he looks on the court...

ive been saying that turiafs passing has been one of his biggest surprises... along with his ability to roll to the hoop and finish...

felton... dont understand the bashing that hes getting... his play in transition was great.. his shot wasnt falling.... was it his back... who knows... but the guy is running the team out there... and if you watch whats going on with the pick and roll... teams are rolling with amare... when felton takes it hard to the rim or kick out to a shooter... hes being savvy in the pick and roll... its when he tries forcing it to amare... where were getting burned... its tough when our shooters arent keeping the defense honest... but especially against the zone late today... the pick and roll is not what we shouldve been running anyway...

fields... love the kid.. but those two fouls were huge... 6 free points... love what hes doing out there... but in that one minute he negated all the positives today..

walker... even when his three isnt falling... hes better then roger mason jr...

randolph... like mozgov... i think were taking the right approach with him... anything good ill take as a positive... and leave it at that...

[2010]

Why is Turiaf getting soo many touches on offense?

Why are we even LOOKING at his direction when Amar'e is on the court? Especially for a pick n roll?

One factor in today's L for sure

Because they are leaving him wide open. Even still, Turiaf is far from the problem here. The constant the entire season is our wings will need to bury their open shots from outside.

[thisiskoz]

oh yeah i mentioned this during the game ... douglas didn't give walker an alley and walker was mad and yelled out 'god dammit man' and then when he was given the ball all alone at the three he didn't shoot the ball.

maybe i'm looking too much into it but that shouldn't be tolerated.

Good observation. Douglas misses alot of people on cuts/rolls to the rim and it has to be frustrating the way he plays with tunnel vision. I understand he's a scoring combo guard but there's no way he should be attempting the 2nd most shots on the team.

ive harped on this a little before... on if you watch closely... with the magic of hd on a big tv... whats even more frustrating... is that often it appears that he "sees" the guys... he just doesnt have the confidence to make the pass...

[duetta]

When both Felton and Douglas picked up their 4th foul in the 3rd, I was wondering who comes in if they both foul out? Rautins?

[TheBluest]

oh yeah i mentioned this during the game ... douglas didn't give walker an alley and walker was mad and yelled out 'god dammit man' and then when he was given the ball all alone at the three he didn't shoot the ball.

maybe i'm looking too much into it but that shouldn't be tolerated.

Good observation. Douglas misses alot of people on cuts/rolls to the rim and it has to be frustrating the way he plays with tunnel vision. I understand he's a scoring combo guard but there's no way he should be attempting the 2nd most shots on the team.

I've been saying this for a while now since Pres. When he plays like he did against Chicago yeah you almost can't say anything but gosh he's such a gunner and he would piss the hell out of me if I were his teammate. He allows no rhythm for teammates unless he's involved as an option on the play. All he does is looks for picks beyond the arc so he can fake inside to pop back out for a 3 or penetrate if the defender is trailing. He'll pass maybe once in a while on a PNR or on a suicide.

Also he is the team's "Second Option" right now. If he wouldn't have got in foul trouble some may say maybe we win but surely he puts up close to 20FGA again. I don't see how a player who comes off the bench puts up 20FGA but hey this is D'AnToni's crazy and wacky system we have here.

[KnicksScholar24]

Chandler: His shot wasn't falling tonight from the outside or off the dribble. A lot of in-and-outs unfortunately. But that didn't bother me. What did vex me was that Chandler had a bad defensive game. He was caught in between as a defensive tweener and the matchups where in the Sixers favor as he got exploited. He wasn't strong enough for Brand, and got beat off the dribble by Turner/Williams/Holiday when D'Antoni tried to feature him at the top of the key as our "chaser" on the PG.

Are you serious? Chandler defended pretty much all 5 positions today and did a solid job at it. There is no other player on the Knicks who could have done that. A defensive tweener? What a ridiculous concept.

If anything I didn't like about Chandler's game today was too many 3-point attempts and not enough rebounding. Although, it's harder to get into a rhythm when you playing time is sporadic.

A problem the Knicks had was that they were smart enough to adjust to what Williams and Holiday were doing. The pump fake and/or the sweep under shot that they drew foul after foul on. Some of the Knicks guards need to incorporate that into their game, so that they can get some points form the charity stripe when their offensive sputters out like it did at the end of the game.

There also wasn't enough Felton/Amar'e two-man game towards the end. Maybe it was because of Felton's sore back. The season is young, so hopefully they use it more as the season goes along. The Knicks need a strategy to get buckets down the stretch, and the Felton/Amar'e two-man game is probably the most potent weapon, especially if Felton kicks it out to a solid perimeter shooter if he can't dish it to Amar'e or get to the basket himself.

Another thing I noticed is that Fields wasn't on the court at the end. This guy needs to play 30-35 MPG. He does so much, and is too efficient to sit down the stretch. Hardly any weaknesses to his game.

[2010]

Chandler: His shot wasn't falling tonight from the outside or off the dribble. A lot of in-and-outs unfortunately. But that didn't bother me. What did vex me was that Chandler had a bad defensive game. He was caught in between as a defensive tweener and the matchups where in the Sixers favor as he got exploited. He wasn't strong enough for Brand, and got beat off the dribble by Turner/Williams/Holiday when D'Antoni tried to feature him at the top of the key as our "chaser" on the PG.

Are you serious? Chandler defended pretty much all 5 positions today and did a solid job at it. There is no other player on the Knicks who could have done that. A defensive tweener? What a ridiculous concept.

If anything I didn't like about Chandler's game today was too many 3-point attempts and not enough rebounding. Although, it's harder to get into a rhythm when you playing time is sporadic.

A problem the Knicks had was that they were smart enough to adjust to what Williams and Holiday were doing. The pump fake and/or the sweep under shot that they drew foul after foul on. Some of the Knicks guards need to incorporate that into their game, so that they can get some points form the charity stripe when their offensive sputters out like it did at the end of the game.

There also wasn't enough Felton/Amar'e two-man game towards the end. Maybe it was because of Felton's sore back. The season is young, so hopefully they use it more as the season goes along. The Knicks need a strategy to get buckets down the stretch, and the Felton/Amar'e two-man game is probably the most potent weapon, especially if Felton kicks it out to a solid perimeter shooter if he can't dish it to Amar'e or get to the basket himself.

Another thing I noticed is that Fields was on the court at the end. This guy needs to play 30-35 MPG. He does so much, and is too efficient to sit down the stretch. Hardly any weaknesses to his game.

No need to go to war with me. I am a Chandler supporter. Yet and still, I must provide impartial analysis and I'm just calling the game as I saw it. Chandler got beat multiple times by multiple players today. There is no shame in that. This team is just not a good matchup for him.

[Hoops4Life06]

Nice keys...But the whistle really did NY in today. That whistle totally took Toney and Felton out of the game. Toney's whole game is predicated on ball pressure and steals...once he got that 5th foul he was useless, this is where Mike should have played Fields more as Chandler was ineffective today too. Tough loss, but again I saw some really good things from this team today. Two things are certain Toney Douglas though, he is not a pg and he can not play with foul trouble.

I have add these positives, it is so good to see a Knick pg actually getting in the paint offensively and Landry Fields might be the smartest player NY has had in 15 years. That kid can flat out play!

[2010]

Nice keys...But the whistle really did NY in today. That whistle totally took Toney and Felton out of the game. Toney's whole game is predicated on ball pressure and steals...once he got that 5th foul he was useless, this is where Mike should have played Fields more as Chandler was ineffective today too. Tough loss, but again I saw some really good things from this team today. Two things are certain Toney Douglas though, he is not a pg and he can not play with foul trouble.

I have add these positives, it is so good to see a Knick pg actually getting in the paint offensively and Landry Fields might be the smartest player NY has had in 15 years. That kid can flat out play!

Landry Fields is so smart he even knows how to properly argue with the refs!

After he got duped on those two pumpfake 3pt attempts by Williams he complained (the right way) to the ref. In a way that will garner respect from the official and possibly get the benefit of the doubt the next time.

[KnicksScholar24]

Go to war with you? I'm just stating the premise is ridiculous. A player can be a tweener on offense, but if a player is incapable of defending multiple positions, they would be asked to defend all 5 positions on the court. There is a reason Gallinari only plays the SF position, or why Felton doesn't defend SF and PFs.

I am also providing impartial analysis. I didn't see him being outmatched by many players. Brand would have scored regardless of who was defending him. Williams and Holiday were getting pass NY's PGs and getting them up in the air. Therefore those players were able to accomplish these things because of their skill, not because Chandler was ill-equipped to defend them properly. If anything his defensive versatility should be seen as a positive than a negative, in terms of tonight's game.