[frostno98]

This is going to be insane if they do. Novak and JR Smith coming off the bench to shoot only 3's. Going to be very scary for the East.

http://www.nydailynews.com/sports/ba...icle-1.1023816

[meader99]

No chance against a healthy Bulls or heat team.

[dlunc3]

lol

[onlooker]

Title contenders.

[sportsfanatic]

knicks might make the post season but they aren't title contenders.

[Ralphie1412]

this is the second thread about whoever gets JR is a title contenders. Its no wonder you people usually lose in gambling. Are you F'ing serious? JR SMITH?! He can shoot you out of any game, doesnt matter when he gets hot.

[BigDofBA]

Lol. Just like the Nuggets are back....lol.

JR Smith sucks.

[therealdealau]

JR Smith ain't really such a good in for the the Knicks...do the Knicks really need an inconsistent streaky shooter? Do they really need JR Smith running the floor for a pull up 3 with 20 seconds left on the shot clock? All this talk about D'antoni's offense about letting players do what they want "free" offense, I just don't think thats good for a guy like JR Smith who will happily shoot 1-10 from 3 one night and then bomb 6 in a row the other night...the Knicks need consistency.

[KingJD31]

No chance against a healthy Bulls or heat team.

Heat prob not bulls not going nowhere

[zsr]

Lol unreal.

[ttwarrior1]

miami wont have an answer for melo, amare, lin, jr smith, t chandler

and don't forget the role players on the knicks are better than miami.

[meader99]

Role players? In a playoff series I'll gladly take the heats big 3 against any role players the Knicks can throw out there.....Hell I'll take the Bulls big 1 against the Knicks.

[zsr]

All kidding aside the Knicks do matchup really well with Miami in a 7 game series. We all know the playoffs are about match ups.

[WalkingLuckCharm]

Cool, more instability to a team

[kfranz31]

that is the missing link

[loungee]

miami wont have an answer for melo, amare, lin, jr smith, t chandler

and don't forget the role players on the knicks are better than miami.

This thread was made with sarcasim in mind, right? The only way he is a game changer is in a negative way. Let me ask you this: why did it take an undrafted, second year player to pull the Knicks together and start winning WITHOUT their 2 "superstars"? Look how much NY struggled when Amare came back, barely beating a bad Toronto team. All of a sudden, you think Melo is going to change his game when he comes back, shying away from the ISO plays and one-on-one plays he's done for 9 years? You really think J.R. Smith, one of the biggest headcases in the league, will come to NY and become a model citizen, a clam and normal player, and become a passer? There would be, and already are, shoot-first, pass-last type players on the Knicks. I'm a die-hard Bulls fan, born and raised, and I hate the Heat, but this post alone made me chuckle like a 13 year old boy playing with himself for the first time. It is an absurd, uneducated, and to be honest, dumb opinion that seems to be traveling all over SBR lately. With or without J.R. Smith, at best, the Knicks are the 4th-5th best team in a weak, very top heavy Eastern Conference. C'mon man.. absurdity likes this doesn't need to be floating around here.

[ttwarrior1]

how did the big 3 do last year????

they lost because of there role players, not lebron like people think

basketball is a team sport, not 3 on 3

[ttwarrior1]

amare struggled first game back and they won, catch my drift and he played well in the 4th quarter. 1st game back dude, chill out.

Im not a knicks fan, im just good at picking out who i think can win it all.

Miami still needs another player, probaly cheat and get a star at trade deadline , trading away future picks

[meader99]

how did the big 3 do last year????

they lost because of there role players, not lebron like people think

basketball is a team sport, not 3 on 3

They rolled through the East. Probably just like they will do this year, although the Bulls will probably push them to 6 games in the ECF instead of 5.

[meader99]

And the Heat did add role players Battier and it appears Cole is a sparkplug off the bench. Add that to the fact that Haslem was hurt in the playoffs last year and I'd say the Heat will be just fine with their "role players."

[High3rEl3m3nt]

Worst thing the Knicks could do is add another piece to the puzzle and force everyone back to square one. There's already going to be some growing pains once Melo's back...I do think that Lin's role could inspire Melo to get it together.

[hawley]

When was the last time a team that played no D a title contender?

[dlunc3]

All kidding aside the Knicks do matchup really well with Miami in a 7 game series. We all know the playoffs are about match ups.

who plays defense in NY for this to be a good matchup?

[dlunc3]

amare struggled first game back and they won, catch my drift and he played well in the 4th quarter. 1st game back dude, chill out.

Im not a knicks fan, im just good at picking out who i think can win it all.

Miami still needs another player, probaly cheat and get a star at trade deadline , trading away future picks

yea im sure you had dallas winning it all last yr

[zsr]

There defense isn't as bad as advertised and not as bad as last year.

This is assuming they get smith which I doubt, I think he'll go to LA.

Smith can defend wade, Lebron and Melo will cancel each other out, amare and bosh will cancel each other out. obviously Lebron and bosh > amare and melo but the scoring will cancel out.

Tyson is having an unbelievable season and will be a huge mismatch for Joel in the pick and roll, and he'll probably end up guarding bosh.

Now, obviously I dont think the Knicks will beat them in a 7 game series, but I do think it would be closer then most people think. If Lin keeps playing how he is it will be a series. Him running the pick and roll is dangerous and his PER has been insane and in Lebron range.

[ttwarrior1]

yes, tyson chandler and there roll players, i believe if u do a search i had dallas.
Dirk is my fav player, too bad they arent' too good this year.

[loungee]

amare struggled first game back and they won, catch my drift and he played well in the 4th quarter. 1st game back dude, chill out.

Im not a knicks fan, im just good at picking out who i think can win it all.

Miami still needs another player, probaly cheat and get a star at trade deadline , trading away future picks

Ok, so I wasn't trying to be a dick but I was trying to get my point across that Smith is, and always will be, a non-factor as far as putting a team "over the hump." He is not the answer in NY, or anywhere, and personally, I believe he would be the absolute worst signing for the Knicks with Melo and Amare already there. Me first.. that's the type of players they are. Just like Smith. 3 me first, over their careers, on one team WILL NOT work.

There defense isn't as bad as advertised and not as bad as last year.

This is assuming they get smith which I doubt, I think he'll go to LA.

Smith can defend wade, Lebron and Melo will cancel each other out, amare and bosh will cancel each other out. obviously Lebron and bosh > amare and melo but the scoring will cancel out.

Tyson is having an unbelievable season and will be a huge mismatch for Joel in the pick and roll, and he'll probably end up guarding bosh.

Now, obviously I dont think the Knicks will beat them in a 7 game series, but I do think it would be closer then most people think. If Lin keeps playing how he is it will be a series. Him running the pick and roll is dangerous and his PER has been insane and in Lebron range.

I want to make this perfectly clear, as I stated before, before I proceed with my statement: I am a die-hard Bulls fan, born and raised. With that being said, are you high?

a.) Smith can't defend Wade. He may be quick but he lacks in defensive skills. I'd rather take Affalo for defense, and he's about as useful on D then Boozer.

b.) Lebron and Melo cancel each other out? That is a ridiclious statement. I hate LeBron. I can't stand him for more reasons than I care to list. But to say they are a "wash" is mind-boogling. Melo is not even a top 10 PLAYER in the league. Offensively, yeah, maybe. Overall? Absolutely not. There is no wash here. LeBron is (god I hate saying anything good about him) is a better offensive player then Melo, better defensive player then him, better lawn dart player then Melo, better crochet player then Melo.. he's better then Melo in every aspect of life. There is no wash.

c.) Maybe, just maybe, Amare and Bosh cancel each other out. Personally? Bosh has proven the last 2+ years he is better then Amare (perhaps sometimes not statistically). Amare was a product of a Nash/D'Antoni system, and that's why he had such inflated numbers. We can call it even on this one, that is fine. But then I will point you to points a and b.

d.) Chandler was a great signing for the Knicks for his obvious defensive abilities. Offensively? A bit challenged. Haslem and Chandler you could almost call a wash too (since apparently Amare and Bosh are a wash).

e.) A quick note now for my team, the Bulls, against this Knicks "team": Rose is, obviously, better then anything the Knicks have. You wanna talk about bench though right? CHI has the best bench in the league, bar none. There is no argument, and especially with a healthy Rip. Against the Knicks? Simple (and I'll use ESPN depth chart). Rose >>> Lin (offensively and defensively); Rip>Fields (defensively, 60-40 offensively); Deng>Melo (defensively, 60-40 offensively); Boozer=Amare (both terrible on defense and good on offense); Noah=Tyson (defensively but Noah is better offensively of late).
So i'll clear this up: Bulls are better or tied at almost every starting postiion AND their bench is miles ahead of the Knicks.

In conclusion (jesus this is along), MIA and CHI are both miles ahead of the Knicks. And I think this myth should be laid to rest, despite Linsanity, and the not top 10 "superstars."

[zsr]

I'm also a diehard bulls fan.

Melo is a top FIVE offensive player in the league and has the best clutch time stats in the last 6 years, Unreal how underrated he is. Hes a serviceable man to man defender, as is Lebron. Melo gets a bad rap because of his lazy rotations. Man to man he's above average. Were not talking about who's a better all around player here, there scoring will average out.

Chandler is shooting 70%. Read that again. Averaging a double double and leading the league in field goal percentage. Chandler is obviousy significantly better then any of Miamis centers and would defend bosh as well.

The Knicks were missing one thing, a legitimate point guard. If Lin keeps up his performance there's no question the Knicks will be a tough out for anybody.

BTW, if you read my post I didn't say they would beat Miami, just that it would be closer then people think.
Not going to get into the bulls debate because my post was referring to a series with Miami.

[SportsMushroom]

really? the heat with the big three+preseason+82 games together and still didnt manage to win it

you think a horrible new york knicks team will be a contender when they had no preseason and a shortened regular season together while at the same time are still building the team midseason?

this isnt a video game son, good teams need time to gel together and bad teams need time to become good teams first, it doesnt happen over night

[DemoralizdDreamr]

title contenders

[hawley]

who cares if Chandler is shooting 70% when he averages 6 shots per game

Read that again. 6 shots per game. and when your shots are put backs and alley oops you should shoot 90% not 70%

[face]

who knows if jr smith is still even good (he used to be o.k., not great) anymore? he's been in china.

[jsmithj88]

really? the heat with the big three+preseason+82 games together and still didnt manage to win it you think a horrible new york knicks team will be a contender when they had no preseason and a shortened regular season together while at the same time are still building the team midseason? this isnt a video game son, good teams need time to gel together and bad teams need time to become good teams first, it doesnt happen over night

which sort of makes lin's rise even more surprising
the dude didnt get a training camp, they cant practice and he prolly didnt know most of the plays

[KingJD31]

who plays defense in NY for this to be a good matchup?

13th in nba in d is not bad

[loungee]

13th in nba in d is not bad

Just because their 13th in the league in opp. PPG doesn't make them a good defense either. They're in the bottom half (and in some cases the bottom third) in opp. shooting %, eFG%, 2pt % and true shooting %.