Damn... he played the 4th qt in that game and took 3 attempts in the whole quarter, huh?
My Posse's On Broadway: Official NY Knicks 2016-2017 Season Thread
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Youhadasparkwhenustarted
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Nm
storyteller
Superstar
Well I spent most of yesterday worried that physical Portland forwards and lights out guards would push the Knicks mentally like other physical teams with dynamic guards have and last night was a pleasant development. For the first time, the Knicks took the physical play on the chin and responded by stepping up. The defense had a gameplan and stuck to it; the bigs would show hard and chased the Blazers guards off of set jumpers into help defense...there was real TRUST out there. Rose and BJ deserve a special shout out for as tough as Lillard is; those two got physical with him and really made him work. The big question coming into the game was "can they keep it up" and that's gonna continue to be the question for a while; but at least for one night they gave a resounding yes.
Rose: You could see from the start that he was coming in with a chip on his shoulder. He attacked Lillard early before he even settled in to really playmaking. Defensively, he got cooked a few times early but came out of a time out playing physical defense and getting a quick block. From there, his defensive play really stuck strong. It wouldn't be a break down though, without mentioning his fourth quarter. Melo didn't have it in the second half; KP was the early spark but looked exhausted half way through the fourth quarter...so Rose took a handful of 1-3 pick and rolls to manufacture buckets and assists that really took us home. Other players stepped up by moving off ball, getting offensive boards, playing defense and hitting shots when Rose found them but make no mistake, he was our closer last night and punctuated it with that last jumper.
Lee: He's really been fighting his jumper for the better part of this recent stretch. That said, his FGA's are never high enough that it kills us but the open threes really have to go in periodically. He was still a contributor though with 3 assists, 4 boards and some real stand out moments chasing Mccollum and not giving an inch when he was attacked off the dribble.
Melo: Started off struggling with Harkless' physical play even on jumpers he'd been making most of the season. He still was able to hit some catch and shoot opportunities though. By the second half even those were abandoning him though. Offensively, he just didn't have it last night. Defensively, he did a pretty good job; early on he let Harkless shoot but once dude established the makes you could see Melo step up and chase harder. He iso'ed a couple of times late but it was at a time where KP had looked fatigued (even needing a TO to catch his breath) and the offense had shifted to Rose and Melo being alone on that side of the court. Even without scoring his impact was positive, he fought hard inside late and helped create a second possession or two in a game where every one counted.
KP: I want to temper my excitement but it's really feeling like KP has turned a corner with this collective of 20 and 30+ point games. What was astounding last night was how many ways he attacked off the dribble to get jumpers. There were step back threes, cross overs to fade aways and a lefty dribble from the elbow to the rack for a dunk over Plumlee. His effort on the boards has shown improvment lately. Most of all though, his defense really stood out. He let Leonard get some open looks, but that's because he showed HARD against the guards in pick and roll situations. He chased those cats into weakside helpers and the philosophy of "let Meyers Leonard try to beat you instead of Damian lillard" was the right one. His decisiveness on defense was huge. 31 and 9, with one of the most exciting runs coming to start the fourth and spark that last bit of effort from the team to close it out.
KOQ: Honestly gave a good effort and did something similar to KP on PnR's so I won't kill him for the fact that Davis really lit him up. He added 5 boards and had a really nifty assist in traffic as well. His numbers don't jump out but he's a back-up playing against starters. What he's provided has been good effort, good energy and not killing us.
Jennings: As the first half wore on, I felt like the Knicks were starting to get worn out by the Blazers physical play. Jeff let the Dexter out and picked up a T; not much changed but I think BJ really tried to respond...then the double T happened BJ REALLY turned it on. Dude played BRILLIANTLY! He didn't drive looking for the refs to bail him out; he drove with passing in mind and finished when there were no openings. He three point shooting was bad but it did force defenders to stay close, opening up passing lanes. Obviously the key here though is that his passing was incredible. He was a floor general! At one point he sent Willy away just so KP could be the screen man to keep that hot hand going. That's the sort of floor general that you want to see. That bit of faith set off a KP attack spree. Also his physicality on D didn't always translate to success but this was by and large his best defensive game to me.
Holiday: 7 points, 5 boards, 4 assists on 3 of 4 shooting in just 19 minutes. Don't ask about his defense, because you already know how he does; just one mistake being an overzealous run out that gave three free throws to Mccollum. No much to report, if I'm not expecting the team to move better when he gets out there; I'm at least not ever worried about a fall off when he replaces ANYBODY.
Kuz: Dude has been having really solid second quarter runs for a minute now but not getting much second half opportunity. In this one, Jeff gave him a shot...and what a way to respond. 10 points, 3 boards, 1 assist and 1 steal in 21 mins but his impact went even beyond the clutch makes or hustle. In the fourth when the Knicks had no answer to the PnR attack, he moved to PF and became the weakside help. His agility helped him to arrive and trap ball handlers while his height helped him disrupt the guys who put the shot up. That's right, arguably his biggest impact on the game came from a handful of defensive pursuits late...though it's hard to argue against that clutch three. Anyway, this guy needs to be a 20 mpg guy so that he can keep developing. He has upside that could turn our bench into a real weapon.
Ndour: Only got three minutes, played with good energy and good defense. It's weird how often the ball finds him and frustrating that he doesn't do more with so much serendipity but as usual, he did an okay job in a short stint.
Willy: 9 points and 4 boards on 4-5 shooting. The 4 TO's looks ugly, but at least two of those came on him setting determined screens (wouldn't be shocked if they all came that way). Those are the sorts of TO's that show he's working and they're the kind you expect him to figure out how to avoid as his experience builds. There's a clear chemistry that he has with KP on defense where one guy might get beat but the other is right there. His post play is pretty, he has good hands and he can finish in traffic. Just like Kuz; a key to our bench is going to be his development. There's not a more fun line-up than the Euro unit with BJ at the top (does he count considering his one season over there?)
Jeff: One of the best coached games for the Knicks in a long time. He tried Ndour to energize the team; when that failed he picked up a T; when that failed he rode BJ and Kuz for that energy. He drew up some really nice plays out of TO's. When Melo needed easy looks in the third, Jeff called actual plays to be run that got Melo back to back open looks. He let KP go off with the bench twice in this one. He went small ball in response to PnR attacks. Dude let the 1-3 PnR run through Rose and Melo when we needed to close. And literally all of that worked. Killer instinct confirmed fam, Jexter.
Rambis: Bunch of cats eye rolled before they even got to "bunch" I know. But let's at least give a bit of a shout out to the fact that pick and roll defense may still be shoddy but there's an identifiable game plan every night. For the most part we've had them going over screens but in this one they added a wrinkle to stop Lillard and CJ from going off. Yes the team gave up a lot of points, but the fact that you could see a defensive game plan clearly is legitimate step up that has happened every game since he got that position...except for the Wizards game.
Random: Knicks fans boo'ed Melo on like 2 iso's in the fourth quarter while watching Damian and CJ randomly jack 28-30 foot contested three's when their offense needed momentum...star players take dumb shots sometimes is all I'm saying. I'd like to see the Rose/Melo PnR complimented with some down screens for KP on the other end because the isolations for Rose and Melo late where people wanted to see KP get look...they were basically the result of floor spacing imo.
Rose: You could see from the start that he was coming in with a chip on his shoulder. He attacked Lillard early before he even settled in to really playmaking. Defensively, he got cooked a few times early but came out of a time out playing physical defense and getting a quick block. From there, his defensive play really stuck strong. It wouldn't be a break down though, without mentioning his fourth quarter. Melo didn't have it in the second half; KP was the early spark but looked exhausted half way through the fourth quarter...so Rose took a handful of 1-3 pick and rolls to manufacture buckets and assists that really took us home. Other players stepped up by moving off ball, getting offensive boards, playing defense and hitting shots when Rose found them but make no mistake, he was our closer last night and punctuated it with that last jumper.
Lee: He's really been fighting his jumper for the better part of this recent stretch. That said, his FGA's are never high enough that it kills us but the open threes really have to go in periodically. He was still a contributor though with 3 assists, 4 boards and some real stand out moments chasing Mccollum and not giving an inch when he was attacked off the dribble.
Melo: Started off struggling with Harkless' physical play even on jumpers he'd been making most of the season. He still was able to hit some catch and shoot opportunities though. By the second half even those were abandoning him though. Offensively, he just didn't have it last night. Defensively, he did a pretty good job; early on he let Harkless shoot but once dude established the makes you could see Melo step up and chase harder. He iso'ed a couple of times late but it was at a time where KP had looked fatigued (even needing a TO to catch his breath) and the offense had shifted to Rose and Melo being alone on that side of the court. Even without scoring his impact was positive, he fought hard inside late and helped create a second possession or two in a game where every one counted.
KP: I want to temper my excitement but it's really feeling like KP has turned a corner with this collective of 20 and 30+ point games. What was astounding last night was how many ways he attacked off the dribble to get jumpers. There were step back threes, cross overs to fade aways and a lefty dribble from the elbow to the rack for a dunk over Plumlee. His effort on the boards has shown improvment lately. Most of all though, his defense really stood out. He let Leonard get some open looks, but that's because he showed HARD against the guards in pick and roll situations. He chased those cats into weakside helpers and the philosophy of "let Meyers Leonard try to beat you instead of Damian lillard" was the right one. His decisiveness on defense was huge. 31 and 9, with one of the most exciting runs coming to start the fourth and spark that last bit of effort from the team to close it out.
KOQ: Honestly gave a good effort and did something similar to KP on PnR's so I won't kill him for the fact that Davis really lit him up. He added 5 boards and had a really nifty assist in traffic as well. His numbers don't jump out but he's a back-up playing against starters. What he's provided has been good effort, good energy and not killing us.
Jennings: As the first half wore on, I felt like the Knicks were starting to get worn out by the Blazers physical play. Jeff let the Dexter out and picked up a T; not much changed but I think BJ really tried to respond...then the double T happened BJ REALLY turned it on. Dude played BRILLIANTLY! He didn't drive looking for the refs to bail him out; he drove with passing in mind and finished when there were no openings. He three point shooting was bad but it did force defenders to stay close, opening up passing lanes. Obviously the key here though is that his passing was incredible. He was a floor general! At one point he sent Willy away just so KP could be the screen man to keep that hot hand going. That's the sort of floor general that you want to see. That bit of faith set off a KP attack spree. Also his physicality on D didn't always translate to success but this was by and large his best defensive game to me.
Holiday: 7 points, 5 boards, 4 assists on 3 of 4 shooting in just 19 minutes. Don't ask about his defense, because you already know how he does; just one mistake being an overzealous run out that gave three free throws to Mccollum. No much to report, if I'm not expecting the team to move better when he gets out there; I'm at least not ever worried about a fall off when he replaces ANYBODY.
Kuz: Dude has been having really solid second quarter runs for a minute now but not getting much second half opportunity. In this one, Jeff gave him a shot...and what a way to respond. 10 points, 3 boards, 1 assist and 1 steal in 21 mins but his impact went even beyond the clutch makes or hustle. In the fourth when the Knicks had no answer to the PnR attack, he moved to PF and became the weakside help. His agility helped him to arrive and trap ball handlers while his height helped him disrupt the guys who put the shot up. That's right, arguably his biggest impact on the game came from a handful of defensive pursuits late...though it's hard to argue against that clutch three. Anyway, this guy needs to be a 20 mpg guy so that he can keep developing. He has upside that could turn our bench into a real weapon.
Ndour: Only got three minutes, played with good energy and good defense. It's weird how often the ball finds him and frustrating that he doesn't do more with so much serendipity but as usual, he did an okay job in a short stint.
Willy: 9 points and 4 boards on 4-5 shooting. The 4 TO's looks ugly, but at least two of those came on him setting determined screens (wouldn't be shocked if they all came that way). Those are the sorts of TO's that show he's working and they're the kind you expect him to figure out how to avoid as his experience builds. There's a clear chemistry that he has with KP on defense where one guy might get beat but the other is right there. His post play is pretty, he has good hands and he can finish in traffic. Just like Kuz; a key to our bench is going to be his development. There's not a more fun line-up than the Euro unit with BJ at the top (does he count considering his one season over there?)
Jeff: One of the best coached games for the Knicks in a long time. He tried Ndour to energize the team; when that failed he picked up a T; when that failed he rode BJ and Kuz for that energy. He drew up some really nice plays out of TO's. When Melo needed easy looks in the third, Jeff called actual plays to be run that got Melo back to back open looks. He let KP go off with the bench twice in this one. He went small ball in response to PnR attacks. Dude let the 1-3 PnR run through Rose and Melo when we needed to close. And literally all of that worked. Killer instinct confirmed fam, Jexter.
Rambis: Bunch of cats eye rolled before they even got to "bunch" I know. But let's at least give a bit of a shout out to the fact that pick and roll defense may still be shoddy but there's an identifiable game plan every night. For the most part we've had them going over screens but in this one they added a wrinkle to stop Lillard and CJ from going off. Yes the team gave up a lot of points, but the fact that you could see a defensive game plan clearly is legitimate step up that has happened every game since he got that position...except for the Wizards game.
Random: Knicks fans boo'ed Melo on like 2 iso's in the fourth quarter while watching Damian and CJ randomly jack 28-30 foot contested three's when their offense needed momentum...star players take dumb shots sometimes is all I'm saying. I'd like to see the Rose/Melo PnR complimented with some down screens for KP on the other end because the isolations for Rose and Melo late where people wanted to see KP get look...they were basically the result of floor spacing imo.
Knicksman20
Superstar
I really like what Noah brings to our team though. A toughness & passion that's been missing for years. He's also a very goodn& willing passing big man that mentoring KP & you can't put a price on that
SadimirPutin
Superstar
A little bit of&
reaction to that quote.
I am fukking dying at that quote
Rose might show up with his own bowls to take away food...........
krazykid18
Superstar
Put it in the universe brotha
Now it is put it in the universe i been said it check the thread
Also again has anybody noticed when Lance Thomas doesn't play we are a championship team
Ironman
#Knickstape
The Professor always look forward to your game reports
Ironman
#Knickstape
I'm aware say it again gotdammnit!!
Also we're ALL aware without Lance Gotdammnit Thomas we've played a lpt better without him bricking shots everywhere. He needs to be in a suit next to Vujacic
Lowkey we eating with Robin too
Grant I don't know about brehs, he's iffy
The team is going to need Noah regardless. DEfense kinda sucked last night.
storyteller
Superstar
storyteller
Superstar
Kinda refreshing to have fan bases not fight over who got the better of who; that deal had mutual benefits to both squads imo and I'm rooting for both guys that went to Chicago.
Knicksman20
Superstar
No doubt. His presence as the center is much needed & he's always communicating out there.
Im really enjoying watching both teams. I think Rose needed a change of pace (Jimmy too on Bulls side too) so I am at peace with everything now. I really want to see him do well
