Offensively Offensive

Let me preface this entire post by saying it is extremely early and I am not typically an alarmist. We are a baby step into the marathon of the season, but what I have seen so far is so disturbing I can’t help but voice my concerns. Still, plenty of time to right the ship.

I am sure in the coming days/weeks, we’ll have a piece on our individual feelings on Mike D’Antoni and the current state of his tenure and future here as the Knicks coach. Personally, I don’t fall into the devout followers of either camp; I don’t think he has earned an extension thus far, but I also don’t want to see him axed tomorrow. He finally has a full complement of players that he believes can contend at a championship level, so I think we should give him the opportunity to excel with this cast.

However, I do have some very strong opinions on what I see as major systemic issues with our identity right now and, even crazier for a commentary on the man commonly referred to as Mike _’Antoni, I am not nearly as (relatively) concerned about the defense as I am the offense.

First things first, I want to address what is actually working offensively… Well, that was quick. Seriously though, I do think there is a single effective component, and I want to finally put to bed all of the ridiculous claims made by every media talking head (or in Stephen A.’s case, screaming head): Carmelo’s reputation of being a “ball stopper” is not what is hurting this offense. In fact, Melo’s presence is literally the only component that I feel is working at the moment. For Melo’s part, we all know he is probably the most gifted scorer in the game. Sure, Kobe is as savvy as they come. Durant can get his silky shot up over anyone at any time. But pound for pound, no one has a more varied and deep offensive arsenal than Melo. Say what you want about his inability to convert his natural physical tools into impact defense, but offensively, he has no peer. He is aggressive in getting to the line, he has range (albeit he can be streaky), he is a virtuoso from the elbow, a great finisher, has a quick trigger on an elite midrange game and the ability to handle and create for others.

In the past, the criticism of Melo and his “fit” in SSOL was his propensity for being a ball stopper and freezing out his teammates. I wouldn’t say that opinion was completely unwarranted in the past. However, I have seen a real change in Melo this year; I think due to the additional responsibility that D’Antoni has placed in his hands to initiate offense. Melo has been prominently featured as the ball handler in pick and roll situations, and has really embraced that role and made a concerted effort to keep his head up and try and find teammates. Only when the opportunity to enable his teammates’ scoring chances doesn’t materialize does he put his head down and try to find his own shot. To say that Melo isn’t working in this offense is a great misinterpretation of the heart of the issue: what exactly is “this offense”?

Mike D’Antoni is consistently hailed as an offensive genius. When Bibby signed, he was enthralled with the opportunity to play in “this offense.” At halftime of the Lakers game, Baron Davis, the heir apparent at PG once his back heals, gushed to Craig Sager about “this offense” being a dream. Maybe I’m not as perceptive as I used to be, and I completely understand the draw of the vaunted Seven Seconds or Less offense that gained traction as the offense of the ‘00s, much like the Triangle offense was of the 90’s. However, that isn’t the offense being run here in NY this year. No one is pushing the ball and trying to get the opponent back on their heels. No one is looking for quick shots predicated on ball movement. In fact, there is literally no movement on offense at all, whether it be ball or player.

My initial reaction is this is due to a lack of true PG. I love Toney Douglas for what he is; a physical aggressive defender who can really fill it up when he gets hot, but he isn’t a distributor. It’s evident, even this early in the season, that he doesn't have the floor vision at this point in his career to find opportunities for his teammates as, or before, they develop. His recognition is really trailing at the moment, as he is only seeing opportunities after the window has already begun to close, putting his teammates in positions where they draw a charge, turn it over or hoist a contested shot. I can’t count how many times Chandler has dove to the hoop after setting a pick, only to not be found for an easy 2. Maybe that all changes when B Diddy gets healthy.

So, I will place a little of the burden for the lack of offense execution on personnel, particularly at the PG spot. But, outside of that glaring hole at PG, I can’t understand why this “offensive genius” of a coach can’t make the remaining pieces work. We have an athletic front line that features 3 talented offensive players in their own right: Chandler, an elite finisher and great screener; STAT, one of the most explosive bigs in recent memory with an impressive outside stroke; and Melo, potentially the most potent scorer in the league. We have a young 2 in Fields who, while not an elite shooter, is capable, and does a great job of being unselfish with the ball, and making the right pass that often leads to the assist (aka the "hockey assist").

Yet, the Knicks aren’t putting these pieces in place to score in a team context. Rather, their offense has somehow migrated from an active, aggressive, pushing attack that was criticized for lacking a half court game, to a plodding, motionless offense of rotating one on one performances. In the half court, for the past 3 years, the offense has centered on a potent pick and roll/pop game featuring David Lee or Amar’e. This year, Chandler is setting picks and diving to the hoop, but no one is looking for him. Amar’e is doing nothing by hoisting 18 footers after 5 jab steps, instead of creating scoring opportunities by utilizing the pick and pop that was so effective last year, or slipping the screen (that he is loathe to actually set) and exploiting his greatest strength: rolling downhill to the hoop, catching in traffic and finishing on more plodding bigs. It’s admirable that Amar’e is really further developing his perimeter jumper -- that will be important as his career goes on and his athleticism fades -- but, for now, he needs to be more aggressive in rolling to the hoop, and his coach needs to put him in that position.

I have no idea where that aspect of the offense has gone, which is troubling because New York finally have a half court player in terms of Melo that can create when our up-tempo attack of yesteryear doesn’t create buckets. With Fields, along with the big 3 in the frontcourt, The Bockers have some incredible athletes and finishers in transition, which should be a major strength of the squad. But they are not running or pushing the envelope at all and getting easy buckets. There are no easy hoops, no transition, no ball movement in the half court, no off the ball movement to set picks or come off screens to get open looks. Seemingly, 90% of the Knicks' shots right now are contested or difficult, and while the personnel exists to make those tough looks, in order to be an elite offense, those challenging looks need to be supplemented with easy baskets. The Bockers simply aren’t getting those at the moment and, even more alarming, it is because D’Antoni is simply is not putting his players in position to create easy buckets. Any offense, especially SSOL, requires transition baskets, ball and player movement working in unison to unlock its potential. To lack ALL of those components is scary, especially when perimeter shooting is not their strong suit.

While Chandler and Melo in particular exhibited a lot of aggressiveness against the Lakers, it was in a one on one context, not in terms of a two man game or finishing looks created by teammates. That and STAT’s one man clinic on “how to miss 18 footer” were all the first team offense could muster. The second team, while showing a little more ball movement, simply passed it around behind the arc and chucked the second they had a free opportunity, instead of making the extra pass for an open shot or venturing into the great unknown of the paint.

I can’t, for all my effort, identify what exactly is the systematic ethos of this offense. The Knicks have a coach that has typically preached ball movement and quick shots, but are settling for a steady rotation of one on one effort, while the other four players stand around, committed to neither getting back on D nor rebounding. The Bockers have been known for their transition offense, but they aren’t pushing the ball in the least, despite a group that can really run the floor and finish. They have had resounding success with the PnR game the past 3 years, but now that they have another dive man in Chandler, they’ve abandoned that aspect of the game. No one is sharing the ball, and no one is trying to get their teammates open looks beside Melo.

Again, I am sure some of this can be attributed to a lack pure point, but for a coach that has always been known as an innovator on offense and a bystander on defense, it’s not the defense that concerns me. What troubles me is that for all things that the Knicks don’t seem to be doing at the moment, I can’t really identify exactly what they ARE doing offensively. If you asked me to describe the offensive strategy at the moment, my response would probably be “Melo”, but, unlike in his youth, it isn’t his fault that the offense centers around him so dominantly; the coach has presented no viable alternative. D’Antoni finally has all the pieces, and in the early going seems to have completely abandoned his talent for putting them in a position to succeed as a unit that is greater than a sum of their parts. The focus on defensive improvement won’t mean a thing if the Knicks continue to flounder so extensively offensively, and the focus on D’Antoni’s future will be a moot point, as it will be Phil Jackson’s problem to deal with in ’12 if it doesn’t improve.