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Basketball / Moving Forward
« on: August 05, 2018, 06:28:55 PM »"With all ofLA’s playmakersthe Knicks point guards, Hardaway’s skill set could be a valuable option as someone to get the ball to out in transition, on cuts, or from deep."
Ah, the dawg days of summer...
Charlie Ward likes our point guards.
http://nypost.com/2018/08/04/ex-knicks-guard-sees-trait-that-can-make-kevin-knox-a-star/
Yes, I saw that piece. Was very lifted by Ward's insights about KK's father and his spiritual/athletic pedigree.
Charlie was very undervalued as a Knick. His (and Houston's) evangelical predilections rubbed many Knicks fans the wrong way, and he was not the second coming of Tiny Archibald/Tim Hardaway Sr. offensively.
But over time he became a dependable three point shooter, and was an effective facilitator, defensive stalwart and one tough little motherfucker (if one might characterize a 6'3" Heisman winning quarterback as...little).
I have shared this particular story countless times, but it bears repeating. I will always cherish my memory of Ward establishing position just to the right of the paint, a few feet above the baseline, and fearlessly holding his ground while absorbing an offensive foul from Shaquille O'Neal, who had built up a full head of steam, and simply obliterated Charlie.
Who got the call.
"If holding Hardaway spoils our starphucking expoditions, it could be a blessing in disguise long term, pushing the opening of our contention window back to 2021 or 2022, but ultimately making it more sustainable with homegrown talent getting a chance to mature together into major roles."
GETTING A CHANCE TO MATURE TOGETHER.
I am in no rush to expedite, nor to preclude the process, by rushing headlong into the free agent scrum, a la Donnie Douche Bag deconstructing our roster, and jettisoning all of our assets and youth in a pyrrhic pursuit of LeBron and Melo.
There is something to be said for a stable, patient, purposeful path forward, step by step, inch by inch. Obviously, Brad Stevens and Danny Ainge deployed more than just youth and draft picks, but they did not unduly rush things, stockpiled assets, and at key junctures in the process, added veteran free agents and made trades that rebounded in their favor, as their young players matured and blossomed together in Coach Stevens' purposeful, forward-thinking modern system.
As an acolyte of Pat Riley, David Fizdale projects a nice combination of charm and toughness, and while supportive of his youth, and something of a charmer therein, one never loses sight of the fact that he DEMANDS ACCOUNTABILITY and as he is wont to assert, I AIN'T GIVING NOBODY NOTHING--THEY HAVE TO EARN IT.
As such, defense, Defense, DEFENSE.
Are defenders made or are defenders born?
Debate amongst yourself.
Still, one thing which seems manifestly demonstrable to me, is that on a very fundamental level, DEFENSE REPRESENTS A SHARED COMMITMENT.
So the fact that in Robinson, Ntilikina and Porzingis (let alone, until further notice, Thomas, Lee and Noah) we have a cadre of long, tall, big wingspan YOUNG athletes with a genuine defensive pedigree and enormous upside, bodes well moving forward for players such as Kanter, Hardaway, Knox, Hezonja and Burke, who are genuinely gifted offensively, but have a considerable amount to prove on the defensive end of the ball, both individually and as a coherent collective. If sharing is caring on offense--ball movement and good screens, cutters and movement and motion, IT IS EVEN MORE CRITICAL ON DEFENSE. For years the Knicks have been seemingly committed to complicated, infuriating help schemes, where there was less emphasis placed on man a mano responsibilities. Of course help, having your brother's back, is critical to any successful, coherent defensive scheme, but it starts with personal responsibility, and physical commitment to getting over screens and making even the most gifted offensive juggernauts work, and WORK HARD for everything they get, and to pay a physical price in terms of no layups, no EZ Pass lines through the paint, and the cumulative effect of how fatigue factors in come the fourth quarter.
If our defense is keying our offense, as was the case under Holzman, Riley and Van Gundy, and if our young points can reflect the toughness and efficiency and leadership shown by the likes of Frazier and Ward, be our 2018-2019 Knicks a playoff or lottery team, and if the Knicks fans can chant DE-FENCE and have it translate on the court to EFFORT and TENACITY, I will consider myself well-served as a fan.
As for all of these schemes regarding salary cap space, I respect where some of you are coming from, but speaking only for myself, I do not give a tinker's damn.
If we are able to reel in good young #1 and #2 picks from the draft, and offer one max contract in 2019-2020, I will consider myself well-served.
However, let me make it perfectly clear, that I AM NOT MARRIED TO THE INSTANT GRATIFCATION OF A FREE AGENT.
The right player, the right skill set, the right age, the right position, the right commitment? All for it. Al Horford? A veteran game changer for the Celtics.
But, if as Facil suggests, we are destined to move forward with what we have, and perhaps forced to suck it up and wait for Lee and Noah and Thomas's contracts to expire, then SO FUCKING BE IT.
PS: And as a footnote, while Mills and Perry have not tipped their hands regarding possible trades, buyouts, stretch provisions, etcetera, it is my sincere hope that...and I mean this...we retain all of our vets unless a deal comes along that is so advantageous it simply knocks our socks off. Our youth needs the benefit of veteran mentoring; Thomas for Knox, Hezonja and Vonleh; Lee for Hardaway and Dotson and Ntilikina and Mudiay and Trier; and in particular, NOAH for Kanter and Porzingis and Robinson and Kornet. While Noah has struggled with health issues, his original contract was ill-conceived, and the chemistry between him Coaches Hornacek and Rambis was unfortunate on both sides, it is worth remembering what a dominating defensive presence, and rebounder, gifted passer and opportunistic pick and roll/screen man he was in his salad days. Looking at a defensively challenged talent such as Kanter and the intoxicating raw clay that is Mitchell Robinson, it makes a world of sense to me, to afford them the benefit of Noah's heady, teamwork/oriented experience as a top-tier defender. People need to stop obsessing over his contract. Fuck it. That train has long left the station. And given, $18.5-19.3 million is a considerable sum to pay for a back-up center/player-coach, but again, what's done is done, and I fail to see the desperate race to divest ourselves of his contract. We can always stretch him and open up a roster spot in 2019-2020, or perhaps, having re-established his value as a role player to a contender, entertain a trade with in the final year of his expiring year of his contract. There is not need to demonize Noah for being a dubious signing, nor to bite our fucking nose to spite our face. Anyway, I am in a distinct minority here, but I would love to see Mitchell Robinson have the benefit of Noah leaning on his ass in practice for one full season, and mentoring him in the finer MENTAL ASPECTS of being a defensive presence above and beyond his palpable athletic gifts, much as Kevin Knox can only benefit from career role-player/defensive stalwart Lance Thomas showing the uber-talented big wing how to make an enduring impact as something more than an offensive weapon, but as a fully rounded, multi-dimensional leader.