The Knicks are just a bunch of scared boys with only a handful of real men on this team. When this group of guards and small forwards face a group of skilled basketball players they bitch up and there is no other way to describe it.
So afraid of being beaten off the dribble or getting contact the guards don't play tight defense or fight through screens. The small forwards are so afraid of playing against athletic bigs they force jump shots because they don't want any part of going mano a mano.
The only chance the Knicks had to be competitive today against the Hawks was to do exactly what got them the five game winning streak they enjoyed against lesser opponents. By slashing to the hoop for easy baskets and fouls, moving the ball around until the best shot became available and playing the passing lanes to get easy steals or place themselves in position where they could contest the next pass or the shot.
Other than Turiaf, Stoudemire and Landry this team gets intimidated very easily and only see themselves capable of nothing more than hoisting desperate three point attempts. When you are bitch made like the majority of these guys there is no amount of practice or experience to that can overcome it. They'll be soft until they die.
The Knicks Lose Again, Hawks 99 - Knicks 90 and it wasn't nearly that close
Saturday, November 27, 2010
Tuesday, November 16, 2010
At Least They Tried
The Knicks lose again, Denver 120 - 118 Knicks however, there were some promising signs.
The Knicks attacked the rim with gusto which led to lots of easy baskets and drew enough fouls to force the Nuggets to respect them.
They still didn't shoot particularly well from beyond the three point line, got out hustled a bit on the boards at times and were way to cavalier from the free throw line which was the cause of them losing tonight. However, I think that collectively they now understand the style of play that will make them competitive against the better teams and able to easily beat the mediocre teams of the league.
When Gallinari grows up a bit and learns how to contribute in other ways when his shot isn't falling the Knicks will be a .500 team. But not until then.
Landry Fields was impressive again.
The Knicks attacked the rim with gusto which led to lots of easy baskets and drew enough fouls to force the Nuggets to respect them.
They still didn't shoot particularly well from beyond the three point line, got out hustled a bit on the boards at times and were way to cavalier from the free throw line which was the cause of them losing tonight. However, I think that collectively they now understand the style of play that will make them competitive against the better teams and able to easily beat the mediocre teams of the league.
When Gallinari grows up a bit and learns how to contribute in other ways when his shot isn't falling the Knicks will be a .500 team. But not until then.
Landry Fields was impressive again.
Sunday, November 14, 2010
This is a dumb team
The Knicks lead after the first quarter by attacking the basket on offense and crashing the boards. It was a surefire formula for victory over the Rockets that couldn't miss. Which is probably why the didn't stick with it for the remaining three quarters of the game.
Let's face it. This is a dumb team. Any excuse to toss up a three point shot and not box out on defense this team will take.
It's not a matter of this team not knowing how to win, they clear did in the first quarter. The problem is they don't want to win if they can't show off their skills shooting from the perimeter and Amare' can't show off his ball handling skills and ability to create his own shot off the dribble.
At some point a player with a high basketball IQ would understand that when his shot wasn't falling and the other team's big men were scoring that it was his job to penetrate and attempt to draw fouls to get the opponent's best players in foul trouble. Unfortunately there are no such players on the Knicks and D'Antoni seems completely unable to teach.
The Knicks will be back in the lottery after this season because they will not be in the playoffs. On the bright side, Landry Fields is doing his best to contend for rookie of the year.
The Knicks Lose Again, Rockets 104 - Knicks 96
Let's face it. This is a dumb team. Any excuse to toss up a three point shot and not box out on defense this team will take.
It's not a matter of this team not knowing how to win, they clear did in the first quarter. The problem is they don't want to win if they can't show off their skills shooting from the perimeter and Amare' can't show off his ball handling skills and ability to create his own shot off the dribble.
At some point a player with a high basketball IQ would understand that when his shot wasn't falling and the other team's big men were scoring that it was his job to penetrate and attempt to draw fouls to get the opponent's best players in foul trouble. Unfortunately there are no such players on the Knicks and D'Antoni seems completely unable to teach.
The Knicks will be back in the lottery after this season because they will not be in the playoffs. On the bright side, Landry Fields is doing his best to contend for rookie of the year.
The Knicks Lose Again, Rockets 104 - Knicks 96
Friday, November 12, 2010
The Knicks Must Love Getting Their Asses Kicked
Even when playing teams with worse records if the New York Knicks can't hit greater than 40% from the three point line they simply will not win. But pretty soon no one will have a record worse than the Knicks.
The Knicks guards will not take the ball to the basket and draw fouls on other teams big men. The Knicks big men will not put a back in the chest of the man they are guarding to box out and control the backboard. The Knicks as a team refuse to punish players who come near the basket they are defending.
The Knicks have poor fundamentals, no hustle, no pride and are a bunch of softees. This city deserves players who have some fight in them but unfortunately it looks as if this current group of Knicks love getting their asses kicked.
The Knicks lose again, Timberwolves 112 - Knicks 103
Wednesday, November 10, 2010
Not An Ounce of Toughness
When this season is over and the Knicks haven't made the playoffs again hopefully D'Antoni will beg out of his contract and Dolan will grant him his release.
This team needs a coach with spirit and not just a jump shot philosophy. A coach that will demand that defense is a priority. A coach that will understand how beating the Knicks in their own building is a running joke amongst players, coaches and general managers in this league. A coach understands that its the Knicks against everyone in the world and the team must play with the mindset to destroy its opponent not simply win.
Except for the occasional night or quarter when the Knicks are on fire from the three point line this is one sorry basketball team. It is now apparent the there isn't an ounce of toughness or grit on this basketball team. There is no pride or fight. Not a scrap of shame or anger and not the brightest group of players.
The Knicks Lose Again
Golden State 122 - Knicks 117
This team needs a coach with spirit and not just a jump shot philosophy. A coach that will demand that defense is a priority. A coach that will understand how beating the Knicks in their own building is a running joke amongst players, coaches and general managers in this league. A coach understands that its the Knicks against everyone in the world and the team must play with the mindset to destroy its opponent not simply win.
Except for the occasional night or quarter when the Knicks are on fire from the three point line this is one sorry basketball team. It is now apparent the there isn't an ounce of toughness or grit on this basketball team. There is no pride or fight. Not a scrap of shame or anger and not the brightest group of players.
The Knicks Lose Again
Golden State 122 - Knicks 117
Tuesday, November 9, 2010
What a gutless performance
The Bucks came into the game with the plan to play Bogut one on one with Stoudemire with little help and take away the three point shot. Since the D'Antoni system has no backup when three point shots aren't being made or attempted the Bucks were able to put a beatin' on the Knicks that you can best believe will be the formula for every opponent of theirs for the rest of the season.
What a gutless performance by the Knicks.
Except for a monster dunk by my favorite Knick Landry Fields, who mark my words is the second coming of Scottie Pipen, I would have been better off watching American Dad and Family Guy which have been in my Hulu queue for the past few days.
Oh and I wish I hadn't started this blog because I have a feeling that I am going to be forced to write a whole lot of these stupid posts this year.
Bucks 107 - Knicks 80
What a gutless performance by the Knicks.
Except for a monster dunk by my favorite Knick Landry Fields, who mark my words is the second coming of Scottie Pipen, I would have been better off watching American Dad and Family Guy which have been in my Hulu queue for the past few days.
Oh and I wish I hadn't started this blog because I have a feeling that I am going to be forced to write a whole lot of these stupid posts this year.
Bucks 107 - Knicks 80
Monday, November 8, 2010
Pump Fakes? Really?
With no Andre Iguodala you would think that the Knicks would have had this game in the bag but no. They found away to lose which was utterly ridiculous.
Despite what some fools in this city may think this loss had nothing to do with Amare Stoudemire not "taking over the game". Amare had a solid game. Solid enough for the Knicks to have won without last minute heroics which he has shown early this season he is incapable of right now as he finds his way in this system and around this current group of players. The Knicks lost simply because they are stupid and have poor fundamentals.
The Sixers aren't good and have no real three point shooters except for Nocioni who struggled yesterday so why the Knicks thought it was a good idea to be suckered time and time again into going for pump fakes was unbelievable.
The farther a player is from the basket the more difficult his shot becomes. The Sixers did nothing to prove from the guard position yesterday that they were capable of beating the Knicks with jump shots but they knew how to employ pump fakes and the Trickerbockers couldn't contain themselves. If anyone of the Knicks are reading this let me offer a definition that I found on Wikipedia for you in case you guys never saw this before.
"A pump fake is a feigned attempt at a jump shot, restrained before the feet leave the ground. The pump fake is a fundamental move in basketball, used to cause defenders to jump (known in basketball slang as "lifting" the defender), or be shifted off-balance. Its main applications are in the low post area, where a player is much more likely to have his or her shot blocked. On the perimeter, it is useful in creating open lanes to the basket by "showing" the ball enough to entice a defender to attempt to block or steal it, allowing the dribbler to penetrate easily." -Wikipedia
Got it now guys? Now hopefully you won't allow lesser opponents to whoop you in your own house with such fundamental tomfoolery. There is time for the Knicks to get smart and improve their fundamentals, but only if they want to. Good game Amare.
Oh, my bad. Philly over the Knicks 106-96
Despite what some fools in this city may think this loss had nothing to do with Amare Stoudemire not "taking over the game". Amare had a solid game. Solid enough for the Knicks to have won without last minute heroics which he has shown early this season he is incapable of right now as he finds his way in this system and around this current group of players. The Knicks lost simply because they are stupid and have poor fundamentals.
The Sixers aren't good and have no real three point shooters except for Nocioni who struggled yesterday so why the Knicks thought it was a good idea to be suckered time and time again into going for pump fakes was unbelievable.
The farther a player is from the basket the more difficult his shot becomes. The Sixers did nothing to prove from the guard position yesterday that they were capable of beating the Knicks with jump shots but they knew how to employ pump fakes and the Trickerbockers couldn't contain themselves. If anyone of the Knicks are reading this let me offer a definition that I found on Wikipedia for you in case you guys never saw this before.
"A pump fake is a feigned attempt at a jump shot, restrained before the feet leave the ground. The pump fake is a fundamental move in basketball, used to cause defenders to jump (known in basketball slang as "lifting" the defender), or be shifted off-balance. Its main applications are in the low post area, where a player is much more likely to have his or her shot blocked. On the perimeter, it is useful in creating open lanes to the basket by "showing" the ball enough to entice a defender to attempt to block or steal it, allowing the dribbler to penetrate easily." -Wikipedia
Got it now guys? Now hopefully you won't allow lesser opponents to whoop you in your own house with such fundamental tomfoolery. There is time for the Knicks to get smart and improve their fundamentals, but only if they want to. Good game Amare.
Oh, my bad. Philly over the Knicks 106-96
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