Playoff hopes are dwindling, but I would expect no less from a team that gave Kelvin Cato big 4th quarter minutes tonite. Some observations:
-Well, after jumping on the Mardy bandwagon yesterday, I had to grimace along with Mike Breen when Collins over dribbled, making a pass to Curry too late and comitting the turnover that started Detroit's fatal run.
-I gotta say I like the wierd zone the Knicks threw at the Pistons during the second quarter. Not sure how to describe it. Clyde called it a 2-1-2, which I guess it was, but really it was a 2-3 that kinda morphed into a 3-2 as the middle guy down low would slide up. While a 2-3 zone puts you in good position to double down in the low post, this defense was designed, I assume, to double Webber/Wallace on the high post, where they create havok with their terrific passing skills. I liked it, and I think it vexed the Pistons a bit.
-I love Pistons basketball. Aside from maybe San Antonio and Dallas, no team looks as professional as the Pistons, always seeming to be able to get off the shot they want when they want it. Tonite though it looked like they just arrived after hotboxing the team bus. True, they are looking forward to the playoffs, but until the end there, this was a wholly different team. I will say though that the Knicks defense (*cough* Mardy Collins *cough*) helped.
-Nate Robinson showed once again how dangerous a scorer he is capable of being. Still, I counted along with Breen (best play-by-play guy in the game FYI) around 5-7 instances where he just threw up a bad shot (though I'll admit one or two went in), often leading to a Pistons' break. While I think I was a little hard on him in my post the other day, little man's got some growing up to do.
-Steve Francis just blows my mind. Does he care? Doesn't he? I know he is hurt, and I know this is a bad situation for him. But it seems to me that he is in a position to make some moves over the last six games and maybe improve his trade value, if not convince Isiah to keep him on board. He showed some signs tonite, maybe one or two. But then you get plays like the one that got him ejected. The 14 year olds I coached knew better than to dribble, BACKWARDS mind you, into a corner. I don't even think we'd see that from li'l Nate.
On another note, two great articles from two of my favorite writers in the buisness. Much worth checking out:
Selena Roberts of the NYTimes writes an article that no one intrested in youth sports can afford not to read (http://select.nytimes.com/2007/04/08/sports/08roberts.html). The line between cheating and 'intelligent ballplaying' is thin and morally dubious. Is it cheating to foul a guy in such a way that the refs wont see it? That's been a large part of playing defense for years. Yet it is a case of going outside of the rules. One practice this past year our best post defender asked me to show him "some dirty tricks the refs won't catch." My first instinct was to show him how to tug a jersey as the guy turns, or how to crouch in a way that lets you stick your knee into the offensive player, both tactics that I use in pickup, but it just felt wrong. Definitly an issue worth discussing (so comment!)
Jack McCallum, basketball guru for SI writes a piece about the coaching match between the Mavs' and Suns' staffs leading up to one of their regular season games (http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2007/writers/jack_mccallum/04/03/mavs.suns0409/index.html). Very intesresting for any fan. What I took out of the article was that NBA players are so good, when you create a defensive scheme, its really a case of picking your poison. A good example is Devin Harris, a player whom the Suns' staff want to shoot jumpers, is not such a bad shooter, but his penetration skills are so good, the Suns go under screens for him, practically begging him to step back for a jump shot. Coaching in the league must be really difficult.
Showing posts with label Nate Robinson. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Nate Robinson. Show all posts
Monday, April 9, 2007
Sunday, April 8, 2007
Too little too Nate
Knicks won a game last night, but its too late for them, I'm already thinking of next year and the future of the franchise.
No, not Nate Robinson.
Robinson is good, but hes a novelty act. Hes a small guard who can get a good shot off at will, but they don't always go in. With his jumping ability, his step back moves create enough space to get off a shot anywhere on the floor. He is quick enough off the dribble to get to the hoop almost at will. While Robinson's ability to make a good shot out of nothing is a skill that few have, he is separated from the NBAs great scoring guards (Kobe, Lebron, Ray Allen, among others) by the fact that he lacks the size and strength to make those shots look routine. But thats not Robinson's problem.
Robinson's problem is that big ass head of his. He might be one of the worst decision makers among NBA guards. Over the course of the last few weeks, he has had the ball in his hands often during the final seconds of a big game, and why shouldn't he? His handle is good enough to play keep away for a good amount of the shot clock. Robinson, however, forces himself into turnovers and wasted possessions. He is the sort of player who hits two shots in a row and then jacks up a 25 footer because he can. He dribbles into two defenders, jumps, and then tries to pass, rather than using his ball handling ability to dribble in and then out. (Incidentally, Steve Nash does the opposite and it is my favorite thing about Steve Nash's game, if he penetrates and doesn't have a good angle to make a pass, rather than jumping to pass, he takes a dribble or two backwards to get the angle he needs) Robinson makes bad passes in transition as well, did anyone else see his pass to nobody on a break during the fourth quarter last night? It was bad.
Robinson reminds me of a smaller Nick Van Exel, a great scoring, quick pointguard with a wicked jumper, a temper, and an uncanny ability to make the wrong decision. Maybe ten years from now Robinson will pull a Van Exel, wise up to how to be a point guard and sign with a contender like Nick did with Dallas a few years back. Until then, however, he's a novelty act.
So whose the future of the Knicks? Mardy Collins
Between his thinning hair line and his strong fundimentals, its hard to believe that Collins is still a rookie. Though it makes sense considering he was coached by the great Coach Chaney at Temple U. He is strong like bull, pulling down rebounds. He is not as quick as Robinson, not as athletic, and his jump shot is two years away from being viable, but god damn can this young man run the point. Hopefully next year, Thomas will have the sense to keep him in late game situations, if only for his decisions making skills. This is a guy who gets the ball where it needs to go.
Also, he made Carmelo look like a punk.
No, not Nate Robinson.
Robinson is good, but hes a novelty act. Hes a small guard who can get a good shot off at will, but they don't always go in. With his jumping ability, his step back moves create enough space to get off a shot anywhere on the floor. He is quick enough off the dribble to get to the hoop almost at will. While Robinson's ability to make a good shot out of nothing is a skill that few have, he is separated from the NBAs great scoring guards (Kobe, Lebron, Ray Allen, among others) by the fact that he lacks the size and strength to make those shots look routine. But thats not Robinson's problem.
Robinson's problem is that big ass head of his. He might be one of the worst decision makers among NBA guards. Over the course of the last few weeks, he has had the ball in his hands often during the final seconds of a big game, and why shouldn't he? His handle is good enough to play keep away for a good amount of the shot clock. Robinson, however, forces himself into turnovers and wasted possessions. He is the sort of player who hits two shots in a row and then jacks up a 25 footer because he can. He dribbles into two defenders, jumps, and then tries to pass, rather than using his ball handling ability to dribble in and then out. (Incidentally, Steve Nash does the opposite and it is my favorite thing about Steve Nash's game, if he penetrates and doesn't have a good angle to make a pass, rather than jumping to pass, he takes a dribble or two backwards to get the angle he needs) Robinson makes bad passes in transition as well, did anyone else see his pass to nobody on a break during the fourth quarter last night? It was bad.
Robinson reminds me of a smaller Nick Van Exel, a great scoring, quick pointguard with a wicked jumper, a temper, and an uncanny ability to make the wrong decision. Maybe ten years from now Robinson will pull a Van Exel, wise up to how to be a point guard and sign with a contender like Nick did with Dallas a few years back. Until then, however, he's a novelty act.
So whose the future of the Knicks? Mardy Collins
Between his thinning hair line and his strong fundimentals, its hard to believe that Collins is still a rookie. Though it makes sense considering he was coached by the great Coach Chaney at Temple U. He is strong like bull, pulling down rebounds. He is not as quick as Robinson, not as athletic, and his jump shot is two years away from being viable, but god damn can this young man run the point. Hopefully next year, Thomas will have the sense to keep him in late game situations, if only for his decisions making skills. This is a guy who gets the ball where it needs to go.
Also, he made Carmelo look like a punk.
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