FanPost

Knicks: Too Little!

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Hey guys, my first FanPost, hope you enjoy. As the NY Post reports, the Knicks are focusing on getting Wilson Chandler back. As a passionate fan of good defense and someone who plays the Center position in pick-up, it bothers me that this is the Knicks' first priority after Billups. Wilson Chandler is a good player, but spending a cool couple milli on yet another swingman does nothing to address where we really come up short. Folks, not only are the 'bockers the victims of the 1st round's sole sweep, but we are were also the smallest playoff team in the Eastern Conference. Smaller than the Pacers, Sixers, Bulls, Hawks, Magic, Heat, and of course the Boston Centrics who caught us with the flawless victory last week. The Knicks have speed, but every team that has won at least one has both speed and size. We don't. And Amar'e is not getting paid $100 million to get beat up by the league's 7 footers as a center. We have a size crisis and it has to be addressed before trying to turn back the clock on the Melo trade, as if Wilson Chandler and his stellar shooting was our key to a championship (he shot .377 in April and .276 against against OKC...#%^&$%^!!!!!). Stats after the jump...

ACTUALLY NO, before the jump, just understand, HE SHOT .276 IN THE PLAYOFFS, he just got paid $2 million. Jared Jeffries took as many shots in about as many minutes against Boston and averaged .478. o.0

UPDATE #1 4/29: Apparently D'Antoni intends to solve his big man problem by putting Wilson Chandler at PF and Stat at Center...Stat disagrees, as would anyone who likes getting a return on a $100 million investment...via Newsday

UPDATE #2: Another flawless victory video representing the green v. orange sweep...just cuz.

Does size matter? Yes it f!cking matters. This is the NBA, D'Antoni is the coach, and the Knicks play no defense. Size matters. It matters when you're 20th in rebounds. It matters when you're 28th in points allowed. It matters when your post-trade solution to these issues, Jared Jeffries, can guard 3-4 people at once, none of whom are his defensive assignment. It matters when the only guy with a C next to his name on your roster is chronically hurt in half the games. It matters when you get swept 4-0 because you can't get a couple of late game stops in the paint. As a New York fan, giving up control of the paint is a cardinal sin, and it's been truly painful to watch these guys do it day in and day out while claiming to contend for a chip. Knicks: stop messing around with Wilson Chandler, Jared Jeffries, Isiah Thomas, and all the shoulda coulda's of yesteryear, and get a damn Center already.

Here's some basic numbers from ESPN.com's rosters. Again, it's not all about height, it's not all about weight, it's not all about rebounds...it is about points allowed, in a way...but more importantly I don't think it's a coincidence that the Knicks lack in all these categories. As a team the Knicks just don't have what it takes to consistently mix it with any of the East's best in the paint.

Team--Players 6'9+--6'11+--250+ lbs--Rebounds--Points Allowed--Won 1 playoff game?

Miami--7/15-----------4/15------6/15-------9th-------------6th-------------Yes

Bulls---7/15-----------2/15------2/15-------2nd------------2nd-------------Yes

Celtics-7/15---------- 4/15----- 4/15------ 29th----------- 1st------------- Yes

Hawks -9/15---------- 4/15----- 3/15 ------28th -----------9th -------------Yes

Magic --6/15 -----------1/15 ----4/15------- 6th ------------4th ------------Yes

Sixers --6/15 -----------2/15---- 2/15 -------13th ----------12th -----------Yes

Pacers -6/15 -----------2/15 -----3/15 -------5th -----------17th -----------Yes

Knicks-- 5/15---------- 1/15------ 1/15----- 20th ----------28th ----------Sorry

It is hard to accept that the Knicks, defined by stellar forwards Amare and Melo, are the little guys of the East. But we are. And that factor probably had more to do with our sweep at the hands of the league's most physical team than anything else. We need size and rebounding, and Chandler doesn't give it to us. I know he likes New York, and for some reason we want to give every bum from Rautins to Renaldo to Jeffries a goddamn second chance, but all that's gotta stop at some point.