OfficiaL '16 NYK offseason thread, Melo goes to bodega in bathrobe and Olympic hat

[kingfoamnyc]

We have more wins than more than half teams out West but still not top 8 in the East :x

Knicks luck

 

[youngin33]

East is way better top to bottom than recent years. Think it will serve us well in the long run playing and beating better teams.

 

[ballinsam23]

gotta give it up to Melo for playing great during this last stretch

 

[lver of jordan]

gotta give it up to Melo for playing great during this last stretch

Indeed

 

[sonoftony]

only saw the the whole second qtr, I had to take a midterm. But glad we got something going now. Let gooooo

 

[dmvisrnb]

I knew that this game was a huge one.  I had a feeling that the Knicks were either about to turn the corner and show up and win the game.  But in the back of my mind, I was worried they were gonna disprove my high hopes about them and get blown out again

.  They had lost twice to Miami this year.  Not to mention, on the back end of a back to back on the road.  

  This win right here tells me everything that I need to know.  The Knicks are definitely on the right path.  Fisher has improved his decision making which is appreciated, because I feel that so far this year, his performance as coach has caused us to lose many of the games that we have blown.  We lead the league in 3Pt Defense.  Our defense is good. We have good numbers around the board performance wise...and then we still lose a lot of games.  I know that this Knicks team is much better than a .500 team.  That is a joke.  The great news is, they finally seem to now be understanding how good they can be and as their roles become more defined and solidified, they are all understanding better how to thrive individually and as a unit.  They know they recently whipped Chicago (before that collapse the other night) and can play them anytime.  They just whipped the Hawks home and home.  They just beat Miami in Miami.  The Wizards can't beat them in a series.  Neither can Detroit.  They know they can beat Boston.  Pacers and the Raptors.  They almost beat Cleveland without Melo, and Cleveland had a full roster, before mentally collapsing.  This is a talented team that can compete with any team in the East when they play the right way, and when Fisher plays the right players at the right time.  Shortening the rotation to 9-10 at all times is imperative, and that's what he has been doing.  I don't want to see Sasha or Seraphin on the floor unless there is an injury, a blow-out, or foul trouble...period.  Check this article out from tonight.  Some great quotes in here...

MIAMI — The questions have come in recent days about the progress made as the Knicks reached their 17th win Tuesday night. But the number was a hollow comparison, matching the rebuilt team against the worst squad in the franchise’s long history.  So as they took the court at American Airlines Arena on Wednesday it wasn’t the win total that was nearly as important as proving that they can play with the better teams in the Eastern Conference. And with a 98-90 win over the Miami Heat before a national TV audience the Knicks may have shown just how far they have come.

This win would have been impressive under any circumstances, easily handling a Heat squad which already had beaten them badly twice this season. But it came on the back end of back-to-back games that began with Tuesday’s win in Atlanta. The Knicks took a rested Heat team that had won three straight games and nearly went wire-to-wire, building up leads of as many as 15 points and surviving every Miami run.

“We’re winning these games,” Carmelo Anthony said. “What it tells me is when we play the way we should be playing we can beat any team that’s out there. We’re showing that in these past couple of games. We just got to keep that up.”

“Players are smarter than we give them a lot of credit for at times,” Knicks coach Derek Fisher said. “They’re more prideful and take this job more seriously than people think. I thought after the Chicago game, not necessarily what I said, but how they felt about it themselves was a real turning point. I think that the guys are at least starting to feel like we can be at least as good as anyone when we bring the right effort, the right mind-set. It’s been indicative the last few nights and we have another game on this road trip to see how it goes.”

The Heat seemed determined to shut down rookie Kristaps Porzingis and they accomplished that, forcing him into a 3-for-10, 12-point performance, repeatedly taking the ball right at him on the other end and posterizing him more than once. But Anthony put on an efficient 9-for-12, 25-point show to lead the way and Robin Lopez picked up the slack for Porzingis, also hitting 9-of-12 for a season-high 19 points.

There were plenty of chances for the Knicks to fold, worn down by Tuesday’s win, playing again on the road. In the third quarter Porzingis suffered a handful of humbling plays - missing on a dunk as he soared from just inside the foul line and then absorbing the brunt of a Chris Bosh dunk just before the end of the period that put him on the floor.  But the Knicks still led 71-59 entering the fourth quarter and every run the Heat made the Knicks had an answer. They now carry a three-game winning streak into the final stop on the current road trip, Friday in San Antonio.

“The feeling was that (Chicago loss) wasn’t us, that team that played that fourth quarter,” Porzingis said. “That wasn’t us. I think it still sits inside us and we just want to be a better team. These last three games are showing we want to take the next step and sacrifice to be a better team.”

The Knicks took 47-39 lead into the half despite getting a scoreless 9 minutes and 29 seconds from Porzingis as he was hit with a pair of quick fouls and misfired on his only field goal attempt. Anthony led the Knicks with 12 points on 5-of-6 shooting, but the Knicks shot 56.8 percent as a team. Robin Lopez was 4-for-5 and the nicks starters were a combined 14-for-20 from the floor.  It was all the more impressive because Miami came in with three straight wins and seemed intent early on blocking everything the Knicks threw up — swatting away four shots in the first quarter alone.

“We said from the beginning we were going to be growing as the season goes,” Jose Calderon said. “Even like that (Chicago loss), we learned from some mistakes we made. We played some good basketball at times. But when we do it all the time we compete against everybody. We showed that. That’s got to be our theme. Every game we’ve got to try to compete until the end. If we do that we’re going to be able to have a chance to win basketball games.”

So we go into San Antonio on Friday vs. a team that has won 21 straight games at home.  We have nothing to lose.  We need to just compete and go from there.  In game 1, we played San Antonio closely and kept it around 8-12pt deficit the entire game, even cutting it to 6 before we collapsed.  Melo wasn't in form yet and Kawhi strapped him.  4-17.  I don't see that matchup looking like that this time around.  I just hope they compete and continue to prove that they are a solid team who can make some noise in the East.  

After all, we're only 2 games out of the 8th seed.  4 games back from the 3 seed!  Anyone who may have thought the season was over and that we aren't gonna make the playoffs is def TRIPPIN 

.  Patience is everything...

 

[nick.]

that's a lot of words

 

[acemaster193]

Great W last night lets keep that streak going!!

 

[johnnyredstorm]

that's a lot of words

son thinks he's gr8

 

[nick.]

only 2 games out of a playoff spot & 5 games out of the 2 seed

there's still a lot of basketball left to play. my goal of 40 wins is still possible

 

[lver of jordan]

Anything is possible my brother

 

[Hank Scorpio]

40 wins would be quite the accomplishment for this ball club, but I don't see it happening.

Loved what I've been seeing from KP lately. The kid doesn't back down from anyone. He faced two of the premier big's in the NBA last night, and held his own. Some people may say he got owned, but it says a lot when you've got the attention of Whiteside and Bosh.

BTW, I stole that last comment about KP from the fiance. She made that observation, not me

To be fair though, she's never heard of Whiteside before.

 

[johnnyredstorm]

40 wins would be quite the accomplishment for this ball club, but I don't see it happening.

Loved what I've been seeing from KP lately. The kid doesn't back down from anyone. He faced two of the premier big's in the NBA last night, and held his own. Some people may say he got owned, but it says a lot when you've got the attention of Whiteside and Bosh.

BTW, I stole that last comment about KP from the fiance. She made that observation, not me

To be fair though, she's never heard of Whiteside before.

We get it b. You have a fiance. And watch Knicks games with her.

 

[flyeed]

Lmao

 

[Hank Scorpio]

We get it b. You have a fiance. And watch Knicks games with her.

Keep hugging that pillow at night, b








J/K

 

[johnnyredstorm]

We get it b. You have a fiance. And watch Knicks games with her.

Keep hugging that pillow at night, b








J/K

Read the last page, Flyeed got at me saying the same thing

 

[nick.]

"I love his confidence," Anthony said of Porzingis during a postgame interview on ESPN. "I love how humble he is as a person. He wants to learn, he wants to get better. He's in the gym; he's a gym rat, and that's one thing that I love. I'll go to war with him any day."

Melo/KP is already better than Melo/Amar'e ever was

 

[johnnyredstorm]

#TradeMelo
He's bad for KP
He's jealous of KP
He's fat

 

[Air Pope]

#TradeMelo
He's bad for KP
He's jealous of KP
He's fat

He is also overweight

 

[nick.]

[SAS] I have people tellin me Melo wants OUT of NEW YAWK after this debacle of a draft. He feels HOODWINKED by PHIL JACKSON. And then to top it off he traded TIM HAWDAWAY JOONYA. [/SAS]

 

[donewithjs]

I'm really beginning to think that chick JRS is talking about is really what he fantasizes about doing with Melo. And he's so excited about these thoughts that he writes them in here to share with us. But he's not ready to admit it's Melo yet and that the stories are just fantasies.

 

[Hank Scorpio]

Melo/KP is already better than Melo/Amar'e ever was

Thought the same thing.

 

[lver of jordan]

"I love his confidence," Anthony said of Porzingis during a postgame interview on ESPN. "I love how humble he is as a person. He wants to learn, he wants to get better. He's in the gym; he's a gym rat, and that's one thing that I love. I'll go to war with him any day."

Melo/KP is already better than Melo/Amar'e ever was

WAY better

 

[johnnyredstorm]

I'm really beginning to think that chick JRS is talking about is really what he fantasizes about doing with Melo. And he's so excited about these thoughts that he writes them in here to share with us. But he's not ready to admit it's Melo yet and that the stories are just fantasies.

I'd let Melo bang her so I could watch and take notes.

 

[Hank Scorpio]

I'd let Melo bang her so I could watch and take notes.

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