Breaking Down Ronnie Brewer’s Role With the Knicks
What to Make of Josh Selby’s Great Summer League Play
2012-2103 Will Be a Make or Break Season For John Wall
Why Marcus Camby Makes the Knicks the Team to Beat in the Atlantic Division
Five Reason Why the Thunder Should Trade Kendrick Perkins
Why Dwight Howard Would Bring Knicks Fans With Him to Brooklyn
Here’s a link to my latest post on Bleacher Report. I’ve posted about ten articles on the site. You can find them all by searching my name.
Dinner at Clyde’s
What better way is there to celebrate your birthday than with family and Walt “Clyde” Frazier at Clyde Frazier’s Wine and Dine?
Hello Chris Bosh
Chris Bosh has been called overrated. He’s been labeled soft. He’s been treated like a third wheel to LeBron James and Dwyane Wade’s high-flying show. Critics even argued that the Heat were better off without him after he missed most of the second and third rounds of the playoffs with an oblique injury. But through three games of the N.B.A. Finals in which the Heat lead the Oklahoma City Thunder 2-1, Chris Bosh has the been the difference.
For all their offensive fire power, the Miami Heat’s calling card is their suffocating defense. Those breathtaking fast breaks culminating in above-the-rim acrobatics by Wade and James are ignited by missed shots and turnovers on the other end of the floor where they apply relentless pressure on their opponent’s point guards and wing players.
Miami’s first line of defense is on the perimeter, beginning with LeBron, who uses his strength, agility and athleticism to check the opponent’s best play-maker. Mario Chalmers keys in on the primary ball-handler and Wade frustrates the remaining wing player with his quick hands and while wreaking havoc by stepping into the passing lanes. When Chalmers, Wade or James need a breather, the wily veteran Shane Battier fills in. Those fours players form a nearly impenetrable first layer to the Heat’s defense; that is, against just about every team other than the Thunder.
OKC poses a match-up nightmare for coaches. With three of the elite play-makers in the league in the league’s leading scoring Kevin Durant, explosive point guard Russell Westbrook and Sixth Man of the Year James Harden, it’s virtually impossible to keep them out of the lane.
While Miami’s formidable front wall has frustrated OKC, the Thunder’s big three have still managed plenty of forays into the paint. That’s where the Heat’s second layer of defense comes into play. Forwards Udonis Haslem and Shane Battier are excellent help defenders, adept at stepping in and taking a charge, but they aren’t able to block shots in the event that they’re not able to rotate into position quick enough.
In the past, Coach Spoelstra turned to Joel Anthony to protect the rim, but the offensively-challenged forward/center is too much of a liability on the other end of the floor to play significant minutes against a team as defensively sound as the Thunder. With the league’s best shot-blocker, Serge Ibaka, lurking around the rim, the Heat need offensive threats at the four and five spots in order to draw Ibaka out of the paint and free up lanes for James and Wade. So, Spo replaced Anthony in the starting lineup with a three-point shooter in Battier, leaving the shot-blocking duties to Bosh.
Miami’s 6’11” power forward is generally known for his offensive abilities. He can face up in the high post and take a big man off the dribble and his soft lefty jumper is deadly off of pick and pops with Wade and James. His ability to knock down shots from 15-20 feet spreads the floor, creating driving lanes for James and Wade.
On the defensive end of the floor, Bosh has been merely average during his two seasons with Miami. He’s a solid on-the-ball defender, posing problems for offensive players with his size, but his help defense has been lacking at times rarely has he used his long frame and athleticism to intimidate opposing players. Inexplicably, he’s averaged just over one shot per game for his career.
Bosh’s lack of aggression on the defensive end has been particularly perplexing because he’s demonstrated that he can be an imposing force in the paint. He was the most intimidating interior presence on a Gold Medal United States Men’s Basketball Team at the 2008 Beijing Olympics that included the three-time Defensive Player of the Year, Dwight Howard, blocking and altering shots with a vengeance.
Over the four years since Beijing, that Chris Bosh has been conspicuously absent, until this series against the Thunder. He blocked two shots and grabbed 15 rebounds in the Heat’s Game 2 100-96 victory over the Thunder and elevated his game to another level in Game 3, anchoring a defense which limited the dynamic Thunder offense to just 85 points on 43% shooting.
When Kevin Durant tried to take over the game in the fourth quarter of Game 3, Bosh repeatedly stifled the OKC superstar. With Miami up by one halfway through the fourth quarter Durant burst past LeBron positioning himself for a routine floater in the lane, but Bosh stepped up and got a piece of the shot. Nick Collison recovered the ball and he too was blocked by the omnipresent Bosh, resulting in a 24 second violation.
A couple of minutes later Durant blew past LeBron again. Once more, Bosh rotated over and met him in the paint and Durant lost the ball while trying to get off a shot. Then, with a minute remaining in the game and the Thunder trailing by one point, Durant got a step on LeBron once more. Again, Bosh was there to meet him. KD was forced to rush his usually automatic floater and clanked it off the backboard. In such a close game those few critical possessions made the difference.
This series is far from over. OKC is a talented and hungry team. They’re going to come out with a fury tonight. If Miami is going to win the championship they’re going to do it at the defensive end of the floor and that defense needs to be anchored by Chris Bosh.
Not Even a Ring
It came as no surprise when the Knicks officially removed the interim tag from head coach Mike Woodson’s title. The players responded to Woodson, finishing the season with an 18-6 record after he replaced the departed Mike D’Antoni, and his stars, most notably Carmelo Anthony, publicly backed him after the Knicks first-round playoff exit.
Curiously, the Knicks, who are always looking to make a splash, decided to wait until after 5:00 PM on a Friday evening before a holiday weekend to announce Woodson’s new contract. It was as if they were trying to slip something past the media and fan base, which of course, they were.
Phil Jackson, the most successful coach in N.B.A. history, is healthy, unemployed and interested in returning to coaching and Knicks general manager Glen Grunwald didn’t even so much as make a phone call to gauge his interest in coaching his former team.
“I think Woody earned the right to be the first person we talked to and turned out to be the only person we talked to,” Grunwald said.
“Obviously, there are some great coaches out there that, had we opened up the search, would have been called. Namely Phil Jackson, who was the most successful coach in the NBA history. We felt Woody was our guy and he showed it during the season and in our discussions after the season.”
I don’t mean to take anything away from Woodson. His Hawks team improved during each of his six seasons coaching in Atlanta and he salvaged what was quickly descending into a lost season for the Knicks. He holds players accountable, especially on the defensive end and he convinced the disjointed Knicks to buy into an offensive system geared towards the strengths of their best scorers.
There’s something to be said for continuity within a franchise, especially after a disastrous decade and a particularly tumultuous season. Grunwald was also wise not to open a full scale search for a head coach, which based on the recent history of the franchise and owner James Dolan’s reputation would have been more embarrassing than fruitful and would have undermined the team’s confidence in Woodson, who would likely have landed the job eventually anyway.
Neither of the Van Gundy boys, both of whom are considered better coaches than Woodson would have taken the job. Jeff coached for Dolan once before and I doubt there’s a number high enough to convince him to leave the ESPN booth and do it again. Stan wasn’t about to walk into Dolan’s den after his year of turmoil in Orlando.
Woody was a safer choice than sentimental favorite Patrick Ewing and flashy Kentucky coach John Calipari, neither of whom have had any success as a head coach in the NBA. And as great a coach as Jerry Sloan is, his inability to coral Deron Williams in Utah, had to raise questions for the Knicks brass as to whether he and his ball-movement offense could co-exist with Anthony in New York.
With 13 championship rings (11 as a coach and two as a player for the Knicks), Phil Jackson is in a class of his own. Grunwald could have reached out to him and still hired Woodson in the event that Jackson wasn’t interested or the two sides failed to work out a deal, without Woodson losing face. Jackson also has experience coaching superstars and the cachet to bring Anthony on board.
Grunwald didn’t explain his unwillingness to contact Jackson, other than to state that Woodson had the first shot at the job and he blew Grunwald and Dolan away during his interview. So, are we to believe that based on 24 games and an interview that Woodson is more qualified to lead this Knicks team to a championship than Jackson?
Grunwald’s history with Woodson had to factor into his decision. The two were teammates at Indian University under Bobby Knight. From a more sinister perspective, it’s natural to wonder if another former Indiana Hoosier and Dolan adviser, Isiah Thomas, was involved with the decision. Is it merely a coincidence that the two men who replaced him as the Knicks coach and general manager were ultimately forced out in favor of two IU grads?
It’s also conceivable that Dolan was turned off by Jackson’s personality and/or price tag. The Knicks owner is fanatical about controlling the flow of information out of the franchise and the Zen Master is known to speak his mind about various league, team and player issues. Jackson also would have likely demanded at least $10 million a year, $6 million per year more than the Knicks are paying Woodson. Though, money has never been an issue for Dolan before and he couldn’t have known Jackson’s price tag without reaching out to him.
It’s not clear whether Jackson would have been interested in the job if the Knicks did call. Sources close to him, including his girlfriend Jeanie Buss, have stated that he’s interested in coaching. Even if he does want to return to the sidelines, it’s questionable whether he’d be intrigued by the Knicks job. Earlier in his coaching career he hinted that he was interested in following in the footsteps of his mentor Red Holzman, but the Knicks personnel doesn’t fit his modus operandi, a young squad built around two superstars who have yet to hit their prime.
Bill Simmons of Grantland.com stated during a podcast last week that he “knows for a fact” that Jackson was interested in the Knicks job. Yet, Phil’s former Knicks teammates, Bill Bradley, Earl Monroe and Walt Frazier, gave MSG Network’s Alan Hahn the impression that the Jackson wasn’t interested in the job.
Of course, the Knicks will never know. The 11-time championship coach may have been chomping at the bit for a shot to return his former team to glory, but without even inquiring as to his services the Knicks opted for Mike Woodson instead. Not even a ring.
Paul Knepper 