PG: Grant Looks Like Bull in PnR

[Mr_Perfect]

Who the hell is Roland Lazenby?

[TrueWarrior]

Disagree with the notion that Jerian didn't really deserve more run a long time ago.

He started to play better right after the ASB/Kurt took over, and it was noticeable to me. Yet his minutes were still being fiddled with game to game, with a few DNP-CDs thrown in. We were out of the playoff race, losing the same way with the same old players, and needed a guard just like Jerian. Nobody had a shorter leash than him, while we gave Jose/Sasha/Gallo every chance.

Jerian should have been starting for the last 2 months, but if the team won a few more games, Jose didn't get hurt, and if the vets didn't explicitly go to Kurt to get their minutes reduced... Jerian would still be posted on the bench. It took a lot for even this to happen, which is sad. He didn't even play over 30 minutes in his first 3 starts.

But even though it's a little too late, it's better late than never to know Grant's got an actual NBA player in him going into the offseason. Just a matter of how good he becomes now. I'm fine rolling with him at the 1 next year, and just going after a 2.

[Johnny Hoops]

Who the hell is Roland Lazenby?

I believe he is another one of these guys that is a Phil mouth-piece but I'm not positive.

Think Rambis but instead of coaching for Phil this guys job is to say things to the media for Phil.

[Capn'O]

Gotta love this teams spirit if this was tyson amare jr grunwald than there would be pointing fingers midway into the season lol.

This shouldn't go overlooked. Some posters like to joke about the "high character" thing, but it does make a huge difference, even in a losing season.

These are good guys. They have a bond. And say what you want about Fisher, but I think he really helped create that before he left. Either way, somehow this team feels like they are family, and I think that's one of the first steps to becoming a great team.

The talent has to catch up, but the culture really has changed and we shouldn't take it for granted. NY is a place players can come now and enjoy a positive environment and be around other guys who want to work hard and do the right things.

I'm so glad we Knicks fans don't have to talk about JR snorting coke at the club and trying to pipe 16 year old girls on Twitter during a losing season. I'm glad we don't have to watch as tension continues to build between our best players. The center we have now isn't going to quit on this team like Tyson, and if there's a scuffle during a game, nobody is pulling a Cole Aldrich and walking away from it. This is a team, and maybe when they win some more games next year, these things will be more appreciated.

Ain't no JR Smiths or Lance Stephensons in Golden State...

I think you nailed it with this, Mr. Pidto. The locker room is a healthy place and anybody who wants to play for the Knicks will have to fit in. We don't need trash destroying the team. I know many on this board are really down on the coach and many think Phil should leave, no matter whom Dolan replaces him with.

But we have a good locker room. Maybe the guy who fits in least on the court is AA, because he never seemed to play within our offense, and he never played defense. People here trash sweet Lou, but what other guy would join our team for so little $$ and take the role of "last spot on the bench and rarely play," and play that role so well? We wouldn't waste a promising rookie there, and not many guys can keep themselves ready from so far down the bench.

Jose is a "good guy" too, even though he can't really play well enough to help us any more. Sasha, for all the bad play in the first 3/4 of the season, has somehow worked himself into being an adequate bench guard. KOQ has been a disappointment, despite being a nice guy. KS has lost weight and shows flashes of talent, but I'm not sure if he can grow any ore.

DWill has found his place offensively and should continue to improve, but he still has a long way to go on defense. Cle is a mystery and I really have no idea whether he can become a DWill type of energy player or just another guy who never quite made it.

Lance Thomas, before his injury, was a valuable role player we need to keep.

Grant, with increased playing time, has begun to show us why he was a good choice and another smart move by Phil. If he could have played the way he's playing now since the beginning of the season, we'd have won at least 5 or 7 more games this year (all those games where our guard play embarrassed us). Gallo has not shown much growth over last year, but I think he remains a viable option off the bench.

KP is a delight and a wonder, and RoLo has really outperformed our expectations. Who knew he could score or pass? His game is better here than it has been with any previous team.

Melo has become the guy we always wanted, and who knew he could be so good in his role at all around scorer, facilitator, rebounder, and disher?

Then we have the issue of coach. Kurt will never set anybody on fire. His plays and substitutions in the game are questionable. I don't know how good he is at developing the kids (can anybody really know this now?). But as much as we think we want Thibs or another coach, keep in mind that there's never a guarantee that the new coach fits well with the players and our system.

Finally, doesn't anybody remember that interview with Phil posted just under a year ago, when he said that he could see our rebuild taking the entire time of his stay with us, or even longer? That he would be happy if he retired knowing we were on the way? It's way too soon to be trashing Phil. I know, signing Steve Kerr to coach didn't work. Signing Fisher to coach didn't work. Some of the free agent signings were ok but not good enough. So who would have done better given where we started?

I love this board, but I wish some of us could wait for things to play out in the longer term and react less when something is going as expected. I know we really want to win too much. I, personally, would know all the right moves to make if I were coach. But I'd be the worst coach because I couldn't give things enough time to develop and I'd be too caught up in the emotions to make good in-game decisions. I suspect a lot of us on this board would share this little handicap.

I do see a lot of what you're saying. Phil clearly targeted a group that would work well with each other and push each other. Like Pop, Larry Brown, and many great coaches before, character and group dynamics are incredibly important to Phil's philosophy. Some guys were brought in more for their long term impact on the younger players than what they brought to the table as players themselves.

With Jerian and KOQ - It seems they're being brought down to be built up in a more significant way. Both guys can take it - KOQ because of who he is given the challenges he has faced and Grant because of the family military background. Both have long contracts, as well, so the fruits of whatever development may take place will be borne here. We may see a similar vetting of Wroten next season.


I do hope a coaching search is carried out in earnest. Meet with guys like Thibs, Blatt, Messina, Brooks and get a sense if they could fit with Phils core philosophical tenants rather than the nuts and bolts of the triangle. The first three, in particular, are great coaches in their own right. I don't understand how you can evaluate who will be best with what we have if you don't even explore in earnest.

[King of Canada]

It's so messed up that we didn't give Grant more burn early just for the fact that he has skills that we statistically lacked. How's he supposed to play out the rookie jitters if he doesn't get consistent minutes?

[Capn'O]

Sasha returning is a sure thing.

[Fury]

Sasha has been an April beast

[Triple C]

The periscope with KP, Sasha and Willy next year will be lit lol

[GONYK]

Sasha has been an April beast

14/5/2 on 50/50/90

[ctorres]

[Tweet]https://twitter.com/lazenby/status/719572519532027904[/Tweet]

LOOOOOOOOOOOOOOL. Look he plays hard and that's great but he's horrible. Having someone here because they know the offense is so moronic.

What is so horrible about him if his shot is falling?

He doesn't have the legs anymore to do it for an entire season.

Are there really no other pesky defenders out there who can shoot the three and mid-range at a high clip? They don't have to be able to drive to the hoop. Just need a role playing SG/SF who can run around the court, catch a pass, make a pass, and won't make the ball stop.

Maybe Lance Thomas would have developed into the perfect starting 3&D player for us capable of playing SG through PF on both ends of the floor, but his injury set him back.

[GONYK]

LOOOOOOOOOOOOOOL. Look he plays hard and that's great but he's horrible. Having someone here because they know the offense is so moronic.

What is so horrible about him if his shot is falling?

He doesn't have the legs anymore to do it for an entire season.

Are there really no other pesky defenders out there who can shoot the three and mid-range at a high clip? They don't have to be able to drive to the hoop. Just need a role playing SG/SF who can run around the court, catch a pass, make a pass, and won't make the ball stop.

Maybe Lance Thomas would have developed into the perfect starting 3&D player for us capable of playing SG through PF on both ends of the floor, but his injury set him back.

Why does he need his legs for a full season? Ideally, he'd go back to being a third stringer.

[Jeffrey]

Say no to Sasha.

Say no to Galloway.

[will34]

[Tweet]https://twitter.com/lazenby/status/719572519532027904[/Tweet]

LOOOOOOOOOOOOOOL. Look he plays hard and that's great but he's horrible. Having someone here because they know the offense is so moronic.

What is so horrible about him if his shot is falling?

He doesn't play any defense.

[Fury]

Sasha has been an April beast

14/5/2 on 50/50/90

[BKlutch]

What is so horrible about him if his shot is falling?

He doesn't have the legs anymore to do it for an entire season.

Are there really no other pesky defenders out there who can shoot the three and mid-range at a high clip? They don't have to be able to drive to the hoop. Just need a role playing SG/SF who can run around the court, catch a pass, make a pass, and won't make the ball stop.

Maybe Lance Thomas would have developed into the perfect starting 3&D player for us capable of playing SG through PF on both ends of the floor, but his injury set him back.

Why does he need his legs for a full season? Ideally, he'd go back to being a third stringer.

This. If he's a third stringer, then he can be a valuable contributor. Any players who are better are not going to sign to be 3rd string or sit on the bench. His legs will survive a year with limited minutes.

[StephNYKurry]

[Tweet]https://twitter.com/lazenby/status/719572519532027904[/Tweet]

LOOOOOOOOOOOOOOL. Look he plays hard and that's great but he's horrible. Having someone here because they know the offense is so moronic.

What is so horrible about him if his shot is falling?

Real talk. Y'all could talk that nonsense all you want, but if Sasha gon shoot the rock well, I don't give a crap what his relationship to the triangle is.

He's shooting 46% from 3 since the calendar turned, in limited minutes, on 3 attempts.

Shooters are a high commodity in this league and it would seem that we may have one on the cheap

[GONYK]

LOOOOOOOOOOOOOOL. Look he plays hard and that's great but he's horrible. Having someone here because they know the offense is so moronic.

What is so horrible about him if his shot is falling?

He doesn't play any defense.

Not true. As a starter, he has the 4th highest DRTG on the team.

Even then, he'd be a third stringer for the minimum again.

What more is expected if he's shooting well?

[ctorres]

What is so horrible about him if his shot is falling?

He doesn't have the legs anymore to do it for an entire season.

Are there really no other pesky defenders out there who can shoot the three and mid-range at a high clip? They don't have to be able to drive to the hoop. Just need a role playing SG/SF who can run around the court, catch a pass, make a pass, and won't make the ball stop.

Maybe Lance Thomas would have developed into the perfect starting 3&D player for us capable of playing SG through PF on both ends of the floor, but his injury set him back.

Why does he need his legs for a full season? Ideally, he'd go back to being a third stringer.

I don't trust this team to do the "ideal" thing. I'd agree with you on having him as a 3rd stringer, but I was shocked with how much Vujacic actually played this year, and I worry that we'd get more of the same next season.

Then again, Vujacic might have had to get so many minutes since Galloway was not able to improve upon a very solid rookie season.

I thought Galloway had a shot at becoming a legit starting guard for us. That's a thread for another day I guess.

[BKlutch]

What is so horrible about him if his shot is falling?

He doesn't play any defense.

Not true, but even then, he'd be a third stringer for the minimum again.

What more is expected if he's shooting well.

If he's paired with a guard who can defend well (as opposed to Calderon), then his defense is probably adequate. We got killed when he couldn't shoot and the combination of Sasha and Jose gave the opposing guards free rein to drive on the basket.

[ChilledAlex]

Vujacic is twice the man on D than Calderon is, and Vujacic is cheap as crap and can shoot just as good if not better, knows triangle better. Also he is a guy who can get into opponents heads

I dont mind having him next season he also seems like a good chemistry guy

That being said I don't know if there is a place for him on roster if we are forced to have Calderon, but IMO he is way way way more valuable than him.