Post by dk7th on Nov 26, 2009 12:12:58 GMT -5
the knicks have two agendas that are in direct conflict with each other. the primary focus for the first part of the season-- the trade deadline is december 15th i believe-- is to showcase veterans whose contracts are up at the end of the season. walsh and d'antoni are constrained by these circumstances to sacrifice the first 20+ games of the season (until december 15th that is) in order to get whatever they can in return while unloading bloated contracts of overrated losing players.
the next agenda is of course to play the young players who will be a part of the team next year and beyond. playing them together would present a clearer picture of what a free agent might expect simply by imagining them playing alongside these young players. and management would be able to find out if these players would be able to gel and cohere properly. but right now they are casualties of the first agenda. that aspect of the season should begin after the trade deadline and if we still have many veterans they will n ot be getting the majority of the minutes they are now and the will surely be on a shorter leash if they underperform. not that they aren't underperforming anyway.
this leads to the question of loss of morale, which i attribute to the mismanaging of the conflicting agendas. it seems clear that the agendas are being mixed insofar as the wrong groups or mixes of players are being thrown together. it makes me think that the overall strategy in terms of a plan is being adhered to but the in-game tactical decisions are absolutely self-defeating.
were the season to start over again i would have given all the trade bait expirings and put them on the floor. a lineup of duhon, hughes, lee, harrington, and perhaps milicic or curry with robinson and jeffries off the bench as the sixth and seventh man would have made better sense. they may even have had more wins by now.
hill, chandler, gallinari, and douglas would be getting just spot minutes.
in other words two separate line-ups might have made more sense, especially since it would last only theoretically until december 15th. then you reverse the line-ups: start douglas, gallinari, chandler, hill, and milicic.
since chandler and gallinari are getting the most minutes with the veterans each is now exhibiting the detrimental effects of playing alongside them. their weaknesses seem to be amplified with each passing game, especially chandler.
the next agenda is of course to play the young players who will be a part of the team next year and beyond. playing them together would present a clearer picture of what a free agent might expect simply by imagining them playing alongside these young players. and management would be able to find out if these players would be able to gel and cohere properly. but right now they are casualties of the first agenda. that aspect of the season should begin after the trade deadline and if we still have many veterans they will n ot be getting the majority of the minutes they are now and the will surely be on a shorter leash if they underperform. not that they aren't underperforming anyway.
this leads to the question of loss of morale, which i attribute to the mismanaging of the conflicting agendas. it seems clear that the agendas are being mixed insofar as the wrong groups or mixes of players are being thrown together. it makes me think that the overall strategy in terms of a plan is being adhered to but the in-game tactical decisions are absolutely self-defeating.
were the season to start over again i would have given all the trade bait expirings and put them on the floor. a lineup of duhon, hughes, lee, harrington, and perhaps milicic or curry with robinson and jeffries off the bench as the sixth and seventh man would have made better sense. they may even have had more wins by now.
hill, chandler, gallinari, and douglas would be getting just spot minutes.
in other words two separate line-ups might have made more sense, especially since it would last only theoretically until december 15th. then you reverse the line-ups: start douglas, gallinari, chandler, hill, and milicic.
since chandler and gallinari are getting the most minutes with the veterans each is now exhibiting the detrimental effects of playing alongside them. their weaknesses seem to be amplified with each passing game, especially chandler.