2010/2011 NBA Thread

[Meacon Keaton]

Alright, naiwf. I'm pretty much ready to join you on the "done for the season" train. Instead of progressively looking better, we degressed into a pile of mush. All we can do is hope we don't get stomped in the playoffs and come back firing on all cylinders next year. :-/

[ROZAY]

Just a few weeks ago I was thinking that we definitely would lock up the sixth seed, possibly make a run at the Hawks for the fifth seed and perhaps make it to the second round.

Now I'm with naiwf and Meacon. I'm sure we'll get it together next year, but right now I can't see this team surviving the first round.

[Trey]

I think you guys have a chance to get going before the playoffs. Billups has been out so that's hurt and it took Miami what, 20 games into the season before things finally started clicking with them?

[Meacon Keaton]

Yeah, but Spolestra changed his gameplan around. D'Antoni refuses to do that. He keeps the same style, and hasn't altered it with the new additions at all. He's a stubborn bastard.

[maninblack]

On the bright side, maybe Dolan will change his mind and not raise ticket prices.

A more positive look at the Knickerbockers' situation:

http://sports.espn.go.com/new-york/nba/columns/story?columnist=sheridan_chris&id=6252822

NEW YORK -- One month from now, the New York Knicks will be sitting in their locker room, preparing to play Game 3 of their first-round playoff series. And if they are sitting there tied 1-1 in that series, nobody is going to remember what's been happening this March.

So climb off the ledge and get back inside. Knock off the panic. Cool it on the doomsday hysteria.

The Knicks might seem like they are in a world of trouble, but they aren't.

And if you don't want to hear that from a sportswriter, consider this: That message is exactly the message Chauncey Billups delivered to the rest of the team in the wake of their 111-99 loss to the Orlando Magic on Wednesday night, their seventh defeat in the past eight games as they dropped one game below .500 (35-36).

"There's a light at the end of the tunnel," said Carmelo Anthony, who, like many of the Knicks, was not as downcast as one might expect from a team that seems to be sliding off a cliff. "We just need to relax, man. I think it's we're just putting a lot of pressure on ourselves. I think we're playing too tense out there on the court; everyone needs to relax and have fun.

"These times ain't going to last forever. I've been through it before, I'm sure a lot of the people in this locker room have been through it, so I'm not too concerned about it. These times are not going to last forever."

Here's the thing to remember about these new Knicks, no matter how many times they fail and falter between now and the end of the regular season: They are going to the playoffs, and they have known they are going to the playoffs since the day Anthony and Billups unpacked their bags.

So they are not playing for anything other than to develop some chemistry and cohesion, and whether they finish sixth or seventh in the conference is of little significance. There was no way they were going to move up to the fourth seed and gain home-court advantage in the first round, and there was little incentive to move up to the fifth spot because that would mean only a first-round matchup against these same Orlando Magic, who probably match up better with the Knicks than with any of the other top four teams in the Eastern Conference.

"That's not good," coach Mike D'Antoni said of the below-.500 record. "But that's not going to define the season. The pressure is only to play well. If you can't get home court, you can't get it."

D'Antoni also came right out and admitted in his first answer of the postgame news conference that Amare Stoudemire had his worst game as a Knick (a season-low 13 points on 6-for-20 shooting) because he is so tired he looked dead on his feet.

It should be noted that this was Game No. 14 in a month in which the Knicks are playing 18 games, with six sets of back-to-backs and three sets of four games in five nights.

They were supposed to have three consecutive days off next week (but instead will have to play a make-up game against Orlando at MSG on Monday), followed by one game, against the Nets, followed by another three consecutive days off March 30, April 1 and April 2.

So they still have that latter three-day break to look forward to, but until then, it's another back-to-back Friday and Saturday against Milwaukee and Charlotte, two of the teams fighting for the eighth playoff spot, before having a day off prior to playing the Magic again.

Amare Stoudemire struggled against the Magic on Wednesday, having his worst game since joining the Knicks.

They are tired, and you couldn't really understand how tired unless you yourself spent 21 of the past 23 days going to work and taking 11 airplane flights during that time span.

"This has been a brutal month, man, with the games we're playing back to back and the travel. It's been tough, and it doesn't help that you're struggling, too. But we've got some work before that [three-day break] happens," Billups said.

Recognizing the team's fatigue, D'Antoni gave the Knicks a day off Thursday to recharge their batteries.

He undoubtedly will continue agonizing over the downward turn his team has taken, and he has to start considering some rotation changes -- especially in the fourth quarter.

Against the Magic, Anthony sat out the first 4:05 as a one-point deficit grew to eight and then took another minute or two to get in a groove (he had three of his season-high nine assists in that final 7:55).

Why can't D'Antoni run him and Stoudemire out there for the entire final 12 minutes? Especially since the Knicks need all the offense they can get, especially with the way they are playing (or not playing) fourth-quarter defense. (Down the stretch, Orlando scored on 13 of its final 15 possessions.)

Why can't he come out and announce that Ronny Turiaf is going to be his starting big man the rest of the way, rather than leaving that spot in limbo?

Why can't he come out and say Landry Fields has to become more of the player he was before the trade than he has been since the trade?

Would it be too much for him to acknowledge that not having to play for a playoff spot has removed the sense of urgency that any team needs to play close to its peak?

A little brutal honesty might ease the hysteria -- a word D'Antoni himself threw out there recently, saying he understood it.

"When you struggle, people are going to take liberties at you and take blows at you and throw bombs at the team, try to divide and conquer," Billups said. "Me, as one of the leaders, I'm going to try my best not to allow that to happen."

Which was why he told his teammates to look forward a month and think of the possibilities of making sure no one remembers what happened back in mid-March.

With one win on the road in Game 1 or 2 of the playoffs, euphoria will have replaced hysteria.

And you know what? He's right.

Edited March 25, 2011 by maninblack

[Powerhart]

And after seeing the Denver Nuggets overcome that 1st Quarter deficit to the Spurs and get that last-minute win, there's no question as to who got the best out of the Carmelo Anthony deal.

[Meacon Keaton]

I think it's a little early to make the final verdict on that one, chief.

[Blaze09]

The Knicks just need a break, and it's coming soon.

[naiwf]

And after seeing the Denver Nuggets overcome that 1st Quarter deficit to the Spurs and get that last-minute win, there's no question as to who got the best out of the Carmelo Anthony deal.

You do realize that there's no way Denver can pay Chandler, Gallo, Felton and Mozgov longterm right? Chandler has already said he wants $10+ million per year, and Gallo and Felton aren't going to take discounts either. They aren't going to win an NBA title with that team and in a couple of years at least half of those guys will be gone while Carmelo is still in NY and whoever they sign with Billups' money will be playing the point or center. Beating a Duncan less Spurs team doesn't end the discussion when the Knicks aren't done constructing their roster.

[maninblack]

I think it's a little early to make the final verdict on that one, chief.

It's a popular sentiment, though, even among Knicks fans. Granted, they were based on unrealistic expectations, but just after beating Miami people were looking at the Knicks to at least last longer than the first round.

[naiwf]

The Knicks didn't make the trade for this year. They made the move with the hopes of bringing in a 3rd piece in 2012. Gallo, Chandler and Felton were not going to be here by then. We traded guys we didn't need for an elite scorer. Any Knicks fan who is against the trade and wouldn't do it again today is shortsighted. Look at the impact David Lee has had in Golden State after stat padding for a few years here. That guy is making $13+ million per and is at best the 3rd best player on a team that may win 35 games. That's where the Knicks were headed with Chandler and Gallo. If three years from now they never get a 3rd piece or out of the 1st round, then this is a contender for the worst trade of all time. The people who are trying to act like that's the case today are just idiots.

[gunnar hendershow]

Get rid of Mike _'Antoni and bring in a coach who knows what he's doing with the types of players he has, wait around a year or two to add on a third piece. With the new cap it might not be CP3 or Superman, but there's plenty of less-expensive players who can serve the role they need. A core of Amar'e and Melo will honestly be enough to compete every year as long as the right coaching and role players are in place. Denver will lose most of what they got in the trade and once George Karl retires they will lose a decided advantage at head coach. New York can build for a bright future.

[Trey]

All they need from where I'm sitting is a Marcin Gortat type of player. Billups is fine, Fields is a good defender and great rebounder, all that's missing is some depth and a starting caliber center.

[Meacon Keaton]

We've now given up 92 points to Charlotte and it's just the end of the third quarter. >_<

[naiwf]

6-28 from 3 (and counting, 2/11 in the 4th) in another loss. This team has quit. It's like watching John Starks repeat his Game 7 in the NBA Finals performance over and over again. If 'Antoni is coaching this team in October, there will be a mutiny.

[maninblack]

I think if the Knicks manage to do well in the playoffs (at least be competitive, if not actually last more than round one), then D'Antoni gets to stay on for next season.

THEN he gets future endeavored when the Knicks go 5-15.

On another note, I'm really hoping the Spurs stay healthy.

Edited March 28, 2011 by maninblack

[DMN in the House]

I wouldn't look now, but who's the hottest basketball team this side of VCU?

Oh, yeah, that'd be the Los Angeles Lakers.

Consider the switch flipped, people.

[maninblack]

But those are just regular season games! X_X

And LOL at the Knicks fans on other forums already asking that Stoudemire and Anthony be traded. Hitting the panic button already.

EDIT: The Knicks get a much-needed win over the Magic to break the slide. But does this mean they're finally becoming coherent as a team? Or they gonna slide further down the rankings when they take on New Jersey and Cleveland next?

Edited March 29, 2011 by maninblack

[naiwf]

But those are just regular season games! X_X

And LOL at the Knicks fans on other forums already asking that Stoudemire and Anthony be traded. Hitting the panic button already.

EDIT: The Knicks get a much-needed win over the Magic to break the slide. But does this mean they're finally becoming coherent as a team? Or they gonna slide further down the rankings when they take on New Jersey and Cleveland next?

Nets, Cavs, Raptors, Sixers, Nets, Pacers are the next 6. A normal playoff caliber team wins at least 4 of those games and then the Bulls/Celtics combo to finish all depends on whether those guys have their seeds wrapped up or not. The Knicks however are likely to win no more than 2 against the bad teams and may need to split or sweep the last 2 games just to lock up a playoff spot. If they had even split with all of the mediocre teams they'd lost to since the trade they'd already be in the postseason mix and could start resting guys

[Pizza]

The Knicks however are likely to win no more than 2 against the bad teams and may need to split or sweep the last 2 games just to lock up a playoff spot

If the Knicks go 0-8, Charlotte would still have to win 6 of 9 to overtake them. I know the sky is falling and everything, but the Knicks are in. The only difference the last 8 games will make is whether Chicago, Boston, or Miami sweeps them.