As any Knicks fans or basketball fan who’s watched just about any Knicks game so far this season knows Amar’e Stoudemire has not been the player he was last year or at any point in his career.

There are a multitude of reasons for the poor play that we’ve seen Amar’e exhibit so far.

They are as follows:

1. Lack of a true point guard

2. Lack of spacing for Amar’e to work with

3. Almost non-existent use of the Pick and Roll (his forte)

4. More of his shots coming from out of his high percentage range

The start to this season for Amar’e has essentially been a perfect storm of everything that could have possibly gone wrong.  Though his shot attempts are down compared to last years they are actually in line with the rest of his career.  What is down in a glaring way is his FG percentage.  Amar’e coming into this year had 6 straight years of above 50% FG percentage if you skip over his injury plagued 05/06.  That FG percentage is a direct result of everything mentioned above and is also why his scoring average has dipped below 20 a game so far for the first time in 8 seasons. (more…)

By Michael Naclerio

GRADE B:

While the Knicks drafted players who fill two of the team’s holes last night – center and guard/size and defense – it still remains to be seen whether they did so in the most effective manner. Buying into the second round was a wise decision but the player they nabbed might not even see playing time under Mr. Mike “I hate Rookies” D’Antoni. With the 17th pick, the Knicks elected to pass over Chris Singleton of Florida State, who was considered by many to be the premier defensive player in the draft. Instead, they opted for George Tech combo guard Iman Shumpert. As the draft got closer, the noise that Donnie Walsh and Co. had become enamored with this guard’s defensive and offensive abilities kept getting louder and louder. (more…)

Via NY Post:

“Having moved into the sixth seed, the Knicks are on a five-game winning streak, and Anthony is on a tear — a 3-point shooting tear. Mike D’Antoni’s speedball system is turning Anthony into a 3-point shooting machine.

The numbers are staggering. Anthony already has made two more 3-pointers in 24 games as a Knick than he did in Denver during his 50-game run (44-42).

Anthony, a mid-range monster his whole career, is lighting it up as a Knick with a 3-point shooting percentage of 44 percent, compared to his 33.3 percentage in Denver. His career 3-point percentage is a mediocre 32 percent…

Naysayers of acquiring Anthony railed he would not fit in well as a Knick because he’s not a good 3-point shooter. Anthony said he’s been practicing the shot extra, with encouragement from the coaching staff.”

Two weeks ago the Knicks seemed lost.  Their defense was awful.  There was no fluidity to their offensive game.  They flat out could not seem to win.  And when your team includes Amar’e Stoudemire and Carmelo Anthony, but you can’t seem to buy a win, the first place people look is the head coach, Mike D’Antoni.  Many began to question not only whether he’d be the coach of the future for the Knicks, but even whether he’d last till next season if the Knicks didn’t turn things around.

Well, the Knicks have turned things around.  They have won 5 games in a row, and re-taken the 6th spot in the eastern conference from the 76ers.  One would think that such a streak would buy D’Antoni some breathing room.  But the rumors of a coaching change have not subsided.  In fact, some have begun to speculate about who his replacement might be.  And already, a big name has come to the forefront: John Calipari. Warning, this rumor was ‘reported’ by Peter Vescey so take that for what it’s worth.

It is time to take a collective deep breath Knick fans.

Let us start by saying that we are not trying to pretend that it feels good to root for this team right now.  Nor are we under the false impression that everything is alright in KnicksLand.

We are simply saying, let’s be patient.

We know, we know.  You’ve been patient for the past decade. (more…)

Via NY Post:

Center Earl Barron became a free agent when he was not re-signed by Milwaukee yesterday, but Walsh said he would pass for now despite the Knicks’ center woes. According to a source, Walsh likes Barron, but doesn’t want to sign him because D’Antoni won’t play him over Jared Jeffries or Ronny Turiaf.

Last night, after the Knicks dropped another game to an arguably lesser opponent, ESPN Radio and SNY sports personality Brandon Tierney (@BrandonTierney on Twitter) went off on Carmelo Anthony and the new look Knicks.

For those comparing the Knicks struggles to the Heat’s early season woes, Tierney argued that “Miami’s early struggles are not a fair barometer” because “Lebron has always made those around him better, and for the most part, Carmelo has never truly impacted those around him, positively.”  BT added, “there is not a single other aspect of his game that sniffs elite,” suggesting “there is a real chance this does not work, and that it fails in a big way.” (more…)

Despite a comfortable 21 point win over the Memphis Grizzlies last night, it is clear that Knicks’ coach Mike D’Antoni is starting to feel the weight of this city on his shoulders.  He knows that expectations are very high after the Knicks were able to acquire Carmelo Anthony to pair with MVP candidate Amar’e Stoudemire.

And while most Knicks fans would understand not winning an NBA championship this year, they would certainly expect that this team would be a strong playoff team.  Instead, the Knicks are just 7-6 since acquiring Anthony.  While D’Antoni won’t admit he’s feeling the pressure, his comments to Knicks fans indicate he’s clearly hearing the murmurs of frustrated Knicks fans.

As we predicted after Tuesday’s loss to the Pacers, NY Daily News’ Frank Isola is already crafting his latest novel.  This drama involves a largely unproven offensive-minded coach and a seasoned basketball manager at odds with the sycophant son of a billionaire who happens to have gifted a basketball team to his idiot offspring.

Here’s an excerpt from Isola’s latest work:

Dolan, though, went all-in three days before the trading deadline and made a deal that, according to sources, neither Walsh nor D’Antoni endorsed…

The Knicks are 6-6 since acquiring Anthony, including two losses apiece to Cleveland and Indiana. According to NBA.com’s John Schuhmann, Stoudemire and Anthony have played 335 minutes together, and during that time, the Knicks are a plus-1 in points scored.

It’s a small sample, and under normal circumstances, there would be no reason to panic. Only this is not a normal situation. Dolan put his neck out to make the Anthony trade.

Dolan has always wanted to be like his idol, Dallas owner Mark Cuban, and getting Anthony has been his signature moment. That’s a tough spot for D’Antoni, who liked the pre-Melo Knicks with Danilo Gallinari, Wilson Chandler and Raymond Felton.

Mike D’Antoni talks about the fact that defense needs to improve but simply cannot offer what went wrong defensively. Most glaringly was his response to questions regarding Danny Granger’s game winning shot:

Q:  Is there anything else defensively you would have rather seen or could have been done?

A:  You mean defensively?  I guess I’d like to see him miss it.  You can’t double in the middle of the floor like that.  So you get man up and hope he misses.

But as Tommy Dee astutely points out, in that situation Shawne Williams  has to “push up” and force Granger left there.  Similarly, during the telecast Walt Clyde Frazier mentioned the notion of forcing a player to his weak-side a number of times, but D’Antoni doesn’t get it.  He can’t see it.

Instead, he talks about the fact that team defensive needs to get better.  He even goes as far as admitting (without necessarily realizing) that they don’t make defensive adjustments during the game (cue minute 1:28 above).  It is clear that something is missing, and at this point, it seems more than fair to ask why is this coach hoping instead of coaching?