2012-2013 NBA Season

[Hammer]

i dont know... theyre a funner team to watch, and amare is clearly a better ball player without him. the records with and without him are basically similar though (2 games over .500 before him, 2 games under .500 with him, i believe).

a better team probably, but a less talented team. too many times though, ive watched melo shoot us out of games. i think you need a player like him to be your closer in crunch time of tough games vs boston, la, the like... but for the first 46 minutes, id like to see him play more within the system, and keep the team aspect going. then he can be melo in crunch time.

i will say this though... amare was a legit mvp candidate last year before the melo trade, in the pick n roll offense. its become a pick n roll offense again... id like to see the shaolin dynasty add amare for a week or two without melo, and see how that goes.

and yea... toney douglas is terrible. his defense is not as good as shumperts, so his strength isnt even really a strength anymore... and he hasnt had any of those ridiculous toney shooting days aside from xmas, if memory serves. he was like our new nate, 1-12 over 3 games, then explodes for 30 points on 6-9 shooting from deep. except he hasnt had any of those 6-9 shooting games yet. bill walker is pretty much the same player though... i think those two will trade each others minutes, whoevers looking better in practice i suppose.

[Kingdom]

If Lin proves to not be a fluke and I doubt he's going to be a 25 and 8 guy the rest of the way, BUT, if he effectively manages the game and gives them what they need as a PG.. that team can't function without a PG. The Lakers can float without one, the Knicks just can't. Move Shumpert to SG/SF and maybe some minutes as a PG to rest Lin..


I feel weird that we're discussing in detail...Jeremy Lin.

[Hammer]

the points will never stay up, but i can see him still doing 8 dimes a game... the system is made for high pg numbers. 12-14 points, 7.5-8 dimes doesnt seem out of the realm of possibility... if hes not a fluke, and if melo doesnt take over the flow of the offense again. thats still the biggest question, what happens to the offense when melo comes back. i think amare coming back will make it more explosive... i can see melo killing the flow again though. plus amare coming back, lets them go big... lin and shump in the back court, novak, amare and chandler as the bigs. you can even throw jeffries out there as a big... i like novak stretching the floor on the offensive end though. and with lin and shump as defenders (lin looked decent enough last night), you can cover up novaks weakness on the defensive end.

lins jumper is kinda mediocre, but hes really deceptive quick, he can get anywhere he wants on the floor. and yea, id like to see it consistently... but he did it against deron and wall, two of the faster pgs in the game (though admittedly, two who arent the most enthused defenders on the planet). i think he can keep it up, as at least a solid pg... he wont shoot us out of games, that alone is a battle we've been fighting all year with iman and toney.

[Kingdom]

What the Hell is Memphis wearing?

[DirtyKash]

[Porter]

Lin-sanity takes over Toronto with a buzzer beater from the north pole.

[Hammer]

hes still got plenty of holes in his game... he cant go left, mediocre free throw shooter... but holy shit, hes got balls of steel. and the team trusts him, after shump missed that jumper and chandler got the oboard, they gave it right back to lin. and the and 1 3 point play at 1:05 to tie the game... hes a tough kid. wait til he starts getting calls too, because he gets no respect (and rightfully so, hes only played 6 games). he gets hit in the mouth at least 4 times a game, and gets no call... let alone all the slaps and shit while hes dribbling. hes small, hes gotta build up his strength... especially on the defensive end, he cant get over screens and thats how calderon ate us up early in the game... but man, hes got no fear.

shumpert won that game though... he was absolutely lock down on calderon in the 4th quarter. i dont know how much of the game theyre gonna show on highlights, or who actually watched the full game... but man, shump was insane on the defensive end. that steal down 5 with 1:30 to go, set the tone. he just picked calderons pocket, slammed it home, cut it back to 3. then chandler gets a block, and the lin and 1 follows that up.

8 turnovers though... passing was a bit sloppy. they doubled him almost the entire game too, and that led to him getting pick pocketed a couple times early (i also thought he was too passive to get amare going early, he passed up 2 layups early to get amare jumpers). he had 5 turnovers in the first half, got a little better in the 2nd... only really one bad turnover in the 2nd half, the pass he missed to the cutting amare that wouldve cut it to 2 (at the time). still... 26 points, 11 dimes... and again, alot of dimes were left on the floor, because we have no consistent shooters.

[Kingdom]

27-11. But Calderon went nuts too, however, I don't expect Knicks to play D. Great game for Lin.

Lincerely awesome.

[Hammer]

27-11. But Calderon went nuts too, however, I don't expect Knicks to play D. Great game for Lin.

Lincerely awesome.

meh, i lost track of his points with all the missed free throws down the stretch.

and we play defense... thats how we won the game. 24-12 in the 4th quarter... shumpert and jeffries are great on the defensive end, and chandlers lost a step, but he still gets it done well enough.

[Kingdom]

Shut up, it's the freaking -Raptors-

[Hammer]

we did it to the timberwolves too !

[Porter]

Ricky Rubio better keep playing at a high level to help the Wicky Ricky Wicked Rubioes, damnit.

[Kingdom]

we did it to the timberwolves too !

I am not saying anything against Lin.

I am just pointing out you guys manned up and had to come back against inferior teams, and in the case of Toronto, far far far far inferior teams.

[Hammer]

I am not saying anything against Lin.

I am just pointing out you guys manned up and had to come back against inferior teams, and in the case of Toronto, far far far far inferior teams.

and i wasnt saying anything for lin... i think we can play defense for stretches at a time, because of shump and jeffries. and thats how we beat minnesota and toronto, lins heroics just put a pretty bow on it... though when i threw the minnesota part in this afternoon, it was a joke.

if lin wasnt currently in the midst of the greatest stretch by a basketball player ever (arguably)... i dont know how far inferior any team in the league would be to the knicks right now. our rotation... lin, fields, walker, jeffries, chandler, novak, bibby and now amares back... doesnt exactly inspire fear.

[love_that_reefer]

ESPN is now ruining Lin for me like they did Tebow! Goddamnit ESPN!! Why do you suck so goddamn bad!