Will Knicks jump Hawks?

[Superiorblogman]

Yes they will because they have more talent with 2 All NBA Players and a borderline all-star. We are no bigger than they are either and we don't have anymore depth because Toney Douglas is just as good as Jamal and plays better defense. I think they should pass the Hawks. I think the NBA is somewhat rigged and the Hawks and Knicks will be the 4/5 Playoff Series and will get a lot of hype because half of New York lives in ATL. Atleast you wan't have to give tickets away to the playoffs. :thumbsupsmileyanim:

[Atlantaholic]

It's possible, with the way we have been playing I don't think it's inconceivable. I wouldn't bet on it though, we have a nice cushy lead and NY has no depth.

[lethalweapon3]

I'm actually more worried about my Sixers than I am about the Knicks (who aren't helping their cause so far tonight). Of the three (ATL/NYK/PHI), though, the Knicks will probably be seen as the biggest scare for the Top 3 (MIA/BOS/CHI) come playoff time.

~lw3

[Diesel]

Now that the Knicks have acquired Carmelo Anthony and Chauncey Billups do you think that has improved the Knicks enough to overtake the Hawks in the Eastern Playoff seeding? I will admit that I like Kirk Hinrich but I was a little disappointed that the Hawks did not acquire another player (Harris, Sessions, Reggie Evans, etc) and I personally think they overpaid (just a little!). With that being said I do think the Hawks will improve thanks to Hinrich's passing and defensive skills. I think and am hoping that we will see Hinrich get the other Hawks players much more involved than Bibby has done this season.

Chemistry is something.

[ngc7]

Cleveland just beat the knicks...not worried about them at all

[lethalweapon3]

Related question after tonight's Knicks game: Will Cavs Jump Wizards? (and Raptors?)

~lw3

[MaceCase]

They've allowed two of the worst offensive teams in the league to score 108 and 115 points respectively.....defense may be an even bigger issue than we thought.

[Superiorblogman]

I guess if we are going to judge the Knicks off of tonight alone then we should judge ole "Lateral Move" Hinrich off of tonite alone also.

[CWebb]

I guess if we are going to judge the Knicks off of tonight alone then we should judge ole "Lateral Move" Hinrich off of tonite alone also.

You're annoying :whistling: Sure you know it ! Hope you'll enjoy the game though .

[benhillboy]

Cleveland just beat the knicks...not worried about them at all

Exactly.

[Buzzard]

You're annoying :whistling: Sure you know it ! Hope you'll enjoy the game though .

He made a good point though. Miami was barely better than a .500 team at the start of the season. Passing judgment on them this early because of two games is so premature it is mind boggling. Knicks will not play D, they did not play D before the trade. But Billups is still every bit as good a defender as Hinrich, who we seem to be so thrilled about, and Billups scores and dishes better.

If all the Knicks got was Melo and not Billups, I would not think they were that much better than us. But to discount Billups, while we get all psyched about Hinrich, is once again fans overvaluing one of our own, while seriously discounting a opponents value.

Those of you that are so hyped about Hinrich, go over to the Pistons, Nuggets, or Knicks board and see what their fans think of a Hinrich for Billups trade. I am sure they would appreciate a good laugh.

[RedDawg#8]

Billups aint the same as when he won a ring, isn't he like a year older than Nash too?

But besides defense, the reason the Knicks may struggle is their personnel doesn't match D'antoni's system with a player like Anthony who is probably the least athletic superstar in the league. He is slow and barely likes to run, he needs more Iso than Joe to get his stats, he takes the ball out of Stoudemire's hands more and they both actually like the same shots inside the arc. It'll be interesting if their coach adjusts to their style or tries to get Anthony to run and gun

[High5]

He made a good point though. Miami was barely better than a .500 team at the start of the season. Passing judgment on them this early because of two games is so premature it is mind boggling. Knicks will not play D, they did not play D before the trade. But Billups is still every bit as good a defender as Hinrich, who we seem to be so thrilled about, and Billups scores and dishes better.

If all the Knicks got was Melo and not Billups, I would not think they were that much better than us. But to discount Billups, while we get all psyched about Hinrich, is once again fans overvaluing one of our own, while seriously discounting a opponents value.

Those of you that are so hyped about Hinrich, go over to the Pistons, Nuggets, or Knicks board and see what their fans think of a Hinrich for Billups trade. I am sure they would appreciate a good laugh.

Billups has always been overrated defensively thanks to that Detroit front court, and that was 3-4 years ago. Hinrich is a better defender for sure. I'd love our chances against the Knicks. Now that we don't have a liability at point we can focus more of our efforts on Melo and Amare.

[MaceCase]

Billups aint the same as when he won a ring, isn't he like a year older than Nash too?

But besides defense, the reason the Knicks may struggle is their personnel doesn't match D'antoni's system with a player like Anthony who is probably the least athletic superstar in the league. He is slow and barely likes to run, he needs more Iso than Joe to get his stats, he takes the ball out of Stoudemire's hands more and they both actually like the same shots inside the arc. It'll be interesting if their coach adjusts to their style or tries to get Anthony to run and gun

This is it really, Felton could be counted on to give you 44minutes of balls to the wall uptempo offense on any given night considering their poor depth. They haven't improved their guard depth and brought in a player in Chauncey that can give you 36min max at a slower tempo and with less facilitation. Their offense has devolved from pick and rolls with knockdown shooters all over the perimeter to a more iso based game. It also hurts them more that they traded away their 3 best positional defenders for Melo. D'Antonis system may not scheme for defense but Felton, Chandler and especially Gallo could get you a stop one on one with their man, Chauncey can at times but Melo most definetly cannot. They are now a team that is not as efficient offensively and they've allowed the two worst scoring offenses to drop an average of 110 on them when on any other night they'd struggle to get 80.

Sure Chauncey would look better with us than Kirk but then we have 3 other guys in our starting lineup that can give you 5 assists each, the Knicks don't have that. Chauncey is more of a scorer and now Amar'e will be forced to get more of his own offense and then him and Melo are not known for their passing. It's just too late in the season and the pieces don't match well enough for them to mesh over the stretch run and make any noise in the playoffs. Come next season though is when I'll legitimately worry about them but right now they are likely to be under .500 come April.

[Buzzard]

Billups has always been overrated defensively thanks to that Detroit front court, and that was 3-4 years ago. Hinrich is a better defender for sure. I'd love our chances against the Knicks. Now that we don't have a liability at point we can focus more of our efforts on Melo and Amare.

OK, so the reason Melo and Amare torched us in that past is because of our PG and not because they are all world scoring options. I get we are better at the point, but Hinrich will have his hands full with Billups and stopping Melo and Amare is not something even the Lakers, Spurs, or Celtics can accomplish on any type of consistent basis.

This is pretty much what I mean when I say we overvalue our own. Melo and Amare are both top five scoring leaders this season but no problem, I am sure Marvin, Josh, and Horford will dominate them just because of Hinrich. I do not like our chances against the Knicks, 1st round coin flips are to iffy for my taste. If Josh and JJ are hitting their jumpers we can win, if not, NY wins.

[High5]

OK, so the reason Melo and Amare torched us in that past is because of our PG and not because they are all world scoring options. I get we are better at the point, but Hinrich will have his hands full with Billups and stopping Melo and Amare is not something even the Lakers, Spurs, or Celtics can accomplish on any type of consistent basis.

This is pretty much what I mean when I say we overvalue our own. Melo and Amare are both top five scoring leaders this season but no problem, I am sure Marvin, Josh, and Horford will dominate them just because of Hinrich. I do not like our chances against the Knicks, 1st round coin flips are to iffy for my taste. If Josh and JJ are hitting their jumpers we can win, if not, NY wins.

Don't twist my words, I never said anything about stopping or dominating Melo or Amare. It's just the simple matter of better defense at the top creates stronger defense everywhere else. Melo and Amare have always been helped by their guards having free reign.

[Buzzard]

Don't twist my words, I never said anything about stopping or dominating Melo or Amare. It's just the simple matter of better defense at the top creates stronger defense everywhere else. Melo and Amare have always been helped by their guards having free reign.

Whether this is pure conjecture or not is irrelevant. Melo is playing with the same pg he has been playing with, so by your aurgument nothing should change with his game. Meanwhile Amare is playing with that same pg now that by your above statement has helped Melo all these years. Then you have this fact, Lawson is starting over Felton but at the sametime Lawson was not good enough to beat out Billups.

I am trying to wrap my head around how Hinrich is going to help us with Amare and Melo, while discounting Billups, which is what you implied. Yet all the facts point to Billups being a better PG than Felton while also being Melos Robin while in Denver. Your argument does not add up, but maybe their chemistry in NY will suffer for some reason. Wishful thinking IMO. They are not quite the Heats big three but they are awful close.

[lethalweapon3]

The Knicks need to be more concerned about the Pacers. And the Sixers. And the Bobcats. All of whom are now closer to the Knicks in the East standings than the Hawks. They're closer to the 9th seed than the 5th. We'll see how they respond at Miami on Sunday and at Orlando on Tuesday.

If neither team makes it above the 5th seed, then any matchup in the playoffs is good news for both, because it means both underdogs at least made it to the second round.

~lw3

[Buzzard]

The Knicks need to be more concerned about the Pacers. And the Sixers. And the Bobcats. All of whom are now closer to the Knicks in the East standings than the Hawks. They're closer to the 9th seed than the 5th. We'll see how they respond at Miami on Sunday and at Orlando on Tuesday.

If neither team makes it above the 5th seed, then any matchup in the playoffs is good news for both, because it means both underdogs at least made it to the second round.

~lw3

I just think Billups is the key to them passing us and to me he is the player everyone is overlooking in this trade. So far after just two games, 23.5ppg, 8apg, 4.5rpg vs in Denver 16.5ppg, 5.3apg, and 2.5rpg. Chauncey was the player Denver reportedly, by their own GMs admission, wanted to hold on to. I think its fast becoming pretty damn apparent why.

[High5]

Whether this is pure conjecture or not is irrelevant. Melo is playing with the same pg he has been playing with, so by your aurgument nothing should change with his game. Meanwhile Amare is playing with that same pg now that by your above statement has helped Melo all these years. Then you have this fact, Lawson is starting over Felton but at the sametime Lawson was not good enough to beat out Billups.

I am trying to wrap my head around how Hinrich is going to help us with Amare and Melo, while discounting Billups, which is what you implied. Yet all the facts point to Billups being a better PG than Felton while also being Melos Robin while in Denver. Your argument does not add up, but maybe their chemistry in NY will suffer for some reason. Wishful thinking IMO. They are not quite the Heats big three but they are awful close.

Come on. I don't want to be mean, but this is flying right over your head and you're reading things that aren't there. Something has changed: We have Hinrich instead of Bibby. Meaning Billups shouldn't be able to carve us up like he has in the past. Meaning Melo and Amare will have to work harder for their points. It's as simple as that. I believe that extra defensive help is more than enough considering they have no way of stopping our guys. Chandler was their best wing defender and Mozgov (sadly) was their best post defender.