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I'd rather Porzee goes with the KD body frame.
OfficiaL '16 NYK offseason thread, Melo goes to bodega in bathrobe and Olympic hat
- Thread in 'Sports & Training' Thread starter Started by pr0phecy718,
- Start date
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1000% agree.
They already had him in some program this offseason.
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Just get stronger rather than bulkier.
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Herring is my favorite Knicks writer. Read his article in the morning. It's really good.
Hey Knicks: Why Is Kyle O’Quinn Taking Technical Foul Shots?
And for that matter, why is Robin Lopez still the go-to guy for jump balls?
By Chris Herring
Nov. 3, 2015 7:13 p.m. ET
CLEVELAND—An odd thing happened late in the third quarter of the Knicks’ win in Washington last week, when Wizards forward Nene Hilario was whistled for a technical foul.
Several Knicks could have taken the resulting foul shot. Forward Lance Thomas wouldn’t have been the obvious choice, but his 75% career rate from the charity stripe made him a candidate. Rookie Jerian Grant made nearly 80% of his tries at Notre Dame. And guard Langston Galloway shot 81% during his rookie season of 2014-15.
But with the Knicks down 83-81 in the third game of a season that may not produce many victories, none of those players stepped to the line.
Instead, Kyle O’Quinn, the Knicks’ backup center, stepped up to take the free throw, despite his below-average 71% career mark from the line.
O’Quinn made the shot. But his mere presence, aside from confusing the casual fan, underscored something larger: The Knicks, and other NBA teams, make a couple decisions during each game that are rooted in antiquated basketball thinking and threaten to leave either points or possessions on the court.
Asked how he ended up taking the technical, O’Quinn smiled.
“I told Langston to move!” he said, adding that Galloway was already on the free-throw line, prepared to take the shot. “I told him to let me shoot it. He’s like, ‘Why?’ And I said, ‘You just missed one.’ So that’s how it happened. He had just missed one. So I told him to let me do it. He’s like, ‘Noooo.’ But I told him to move out of the way, and I made it. So, whatever.’ ”
O’Quinn acknowledged that it’s rare for teammates to have an in-game debate over who will take a free throw. (Teams can choose the shooter only on technical fouls.)
“With a lineup like that, you usually look over at the coach to get a sense of who he wants to shoot,” O’Quinn said. “But if someone shoots like 95%—if you’ve got someone like Jose [Calderon] on the court—then of course he would shoot it.”
Just one problem there: Inexplicably, Calderon, one of the most accurate free-throw shooters in NBA history, is almost never the player who takes technical-foul free throws for the Knicks.
Despite holding the NBA record for the best free-throw percentage in a single season—98.5% on 154 attempts in 2008-09—Calderon has never attempted a technical foul shot when sharing the court with Carmelo Anthony, one of the NBA’s top overall scorers. On the flip side, Anthony has attempted nine technicals (making seven) when sharing the floor with Calderon, even though Anthony’s career rate from the line is about six percentage points lower than Calderon’s.
Calderon said there’s an understanding that Anthony will take the technical foul shots.
“If we are together, Melo will take the first one for sure” he said. “If he’s not there, then I’ll go. And if he maybe misses his first one, or he is having an off night and we have another free throw coming up, I’ll go up to him and say, ‘Let me take this one.’ But it’s no big deal.”
O’Quinn and Anthony highlight how these sorts of things are often handled. Generally, the player with the loudest personality or strongest desire to take the shot is the one who goes to the line.
The Knicks aren't the only team that has operated this way in recent years. For example, it was noticeable with Miami’s “Big Three,” when top scorer LeBron James would regularly take technical foul shots ahead of Chris Bosh, a better shooter at close to 80% from the line in his career.
James took 40 technicals with Bosh on the floor, while Bosh took six in their four seasons together. Also noteworthy: James has shot only 67%, as opposed to his usual 75%, when taking technicals, according to Stats LLC.
Carmelo Anthony will take free throws after technical fouls even when Jose Calderon—a much better free-throw shooter—is also on the court. Photo: Associated Press
“It’s just an NBA thing. Some guys, points are very important to them. Every opportunity to get an extra one, they take it. I played with some guys who think that way,” said Knicks coach Derek Fisher, when asked about the dynamic with Calderon and Anthony. “But we have one of the best free-throw shooters in history. So I think we should utilize that more, and we will.”
Perhaps even more confusing than the free-throw situation: the fact that 7-foot center Robin Lopez takes jump balls at the start of each game instead of power forward Kristaps Porzingis, who stands 7-foot-3 with a longer reach and a better vertical leap.
It’s a custom in the NBA for the center to take the opening jump, but conforming to it hurts the Knicks. Among players who have attempted at least 250 jump balls over the past five seasons, Lopez has won an NBA-low 39% of them, and has seen his success dwindle in recent seasons.
“I’ve actually thought about it in the back of my mind,” Lopez said. “I never did the jump at all until I got to the league, because I always played with [twin brother] Brook, and he always did it.
Meanwhile, Porzingis said this is the first level at which he hasn’t taken jump balls for his team.
They may have little impact in the grand scheme of a long season, but then again, that’s probably the reason these strange, counterproductive NBA habits are so hard to break.
Write to Chris Herring at chris.herring@wsj.com
And for that matter, why is Robin Lopez still the go-to guy for jump balls?
By Chris Herring
Nov. 3, 2015 7:13 p.m. ET
CLEVELAND—An odd thing happened late in the third quarter of the Knicks’ win in Washington last week, when Wizards forward Nene Hilario was whistled for a technical foul.
Several Knicks could have taken the resulting foul shot. Forward Lance Thomas wouldn’t have been the obvious choice, but his 75% career rate from the charity stripe made him a candidate. Rookie Jerian Grant made nearly 80% of his tries at Notre Dame. And guard Langston Galloway shot 81% during his rookie season of 2014-15.
But with the Knicks down 83-81 in the third game of a season that may not produce many victories, none of those players stepped to the line.
Instead, Kyle O’Quinn, the Knicks’ backup center, stepped up to take the free throw, despite his below-average 71% career mark from the line.
O’Quinn made the shot. But his mere presence, aside from confusing the casual fan, underscored something larger: The Knicks, and other NBA teams, make a couple decisions during each game that are rooted in antiquated basketball thinking and threaten to leave either points or possessions on the court.
Asked how he ended up taking the technical, O’Quinn smiled.
“I told Langston to move!” he said, adding that Galloway was already on the free-throw line, prepared to take the shot. “I told him to let me shoot it. He’s like, ‘Why?’ And I said, ‘You just missed one.’ So that’s how it happened. He had just missed one. So I told him to let me do it. He’s like, ‘Noooo.’ But I told him to move out of the way, and I made it. So, whatever.’ ”
O’Quinn acknowledged that it’s rare for teammates to have an in-game debate over who will take a free throw. (Teams can choose the shooter only on technical fouls.)
“With a lineup like that, you usually look over at the coach to get a sense of who he wants to shoot,” O’Quinn said. “But if someone shoots like 95%—if you’ve got someone like Jose [Calderon] on the court—then of course he would shoot it.”
Just one problem there: Inexplicably, Calderon, one of the most accurate free-throw shooters in NBA history, is almost never the player who takes technical-foul free throws for the Knicks.
Despite holding the NBA record for the best free-throw percentage in a single season—98.5% on 154 attempts in 2008-09—Calderon has never attempted a technical foul shot when sharing the court with Carmelo Anthony, one of the NBA’s top overall scorers. On the flip side, Anthony has attempted nine technicals (making seven) when sharing the floor with Calderon, even though Anthony’s career rate from the line is about six percentage points lower than Calderon’s.
‘It’s just an NBA thing. Some guys, points are very important to them. Every opportunity to get an extra one, they take it. I played with some guys who think that way.’
—Knicks coach Derek Fisher
—Knicks coach Derek Fisher
Calderon said there’s an understanding that Anthony will take the technical foul shots.
“If we are together, Melo will take the first one for sure” he said. “If he’s not there, then I’ll go. And if he maybe misses his first one, or he is having an off night and we have another free throw coming up, I’ll go up to him and say, ‘Let me take this one.’ But it’s no big deal.”
O’Quinn and Anthony highlight how these sorts of things are often handled. Generally, the player with the loudest personality or strongest desire to take the shot is the one who goes to the line.
The Knicks aren't the only team that has operated this way in recent years. For example, it was noticeable with Miami’s “Big Three,” when top scorer LeBron James would regularly take technical foul shots ahead of Chris Bosh, a better shooter at close to 80% from the line in his career.
James took 40 technicals with Bosh on the floor, while Bosh took six in their four seasons together. Also noteworthy: James has shot only 67%, as opposed to his usual 75%, when taking technicals, according to Stats LLC.
Carmelo Anthony will take free throws after technical fouls even when Jose Calderon—a much better free-throw shooter—is also on the court. Photo: Associated Press
“It’s just an NBA thing. Some guys, points are very important to them. Every opportunity to get an extra one, they take it. I played with some guys who think that way,” said Knicks coach Derek Fisher, when asked about the dynamic with Calderon and Anthony. “But we have one of the best free-throw shooters in history. So I think we should utilize that more, and we will.”
Perhaps even more confusing than the free-throw situation: the fact that 7-foot center Robin Lopez takes jump balls at the start of each game instead of power forward Kristaps Porzingis, who stands 7-foot-3 with a longer reach and a better vertical leap.
It’s a custom in the NBA for the center to take the opening jump, but conforming to it hurts the Knicks. Among players who have attempted at least 250 jump balls over the past five seasons, Lopez has won an NBA-low 39% of them, and has seen his success dwindle in recent seasons.
“I’ve actually thought about it in the back of my mind,” Lopez said. “I never did the jump at all until I got to the league, because I always played with [twin brother] Brook, and he always did it.
Meanwhile, Porzingis said this is the first level at which he hasn’t taken jump balls for his team.
They may have little impact in the grand scheme of a long season, but then again, that’s probably the reason these strange, counterproductive NBA habits are so hard to break.
Write to Chris Herring at chris.herring@wsj.com
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Remember, he's still going through puberty 
.. He'll develop his grown man strength as time passes. The biggest mistake would be forcing him to gain weight & having him slow down taking away all of his advantages he has over the conventional big man.
.. He'll develop his grown man strength as time passes. The biggest mistake would be forcing him to gain weight & having him slow down taking away all of his advantages he has over the conventional big man.
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hes the best knicks writer around. unbiased, agenda free, good dude.
Herring is my favorite Knicks writer. Read his article in the morning. It's really good.
Hey Knicks: Why Is Kyle O’Quinn Taking Technical Foul Shots?
And for that matter, why is Robin Lopez still the go-to guy for jump balls?
By Chris Herring
Nov. 3, 2015 7:13 p.m. ET
CLEVELAND—An odd thing happened late in the third quarter of the Knicks’ win in Washington last week, when Wizards forward Nene Hilario was whistled for a technical foul.
Several Knicks could have taken the resulting foul shot. Forward Lance Thomas wouldn’t have been the obvious choice, but his 75% career rate from the charity stripe made him a candidate. Rookie Jerian Grant made nearly 80% of his tries at Notre Dame. And guard Langston Galloway shot 81% during his rookie season of 2014-15.
But with the Knicks down 83-81 in the third game of a season that may not produce many victories, none of those players stepped to the line.
Instead, Kyle O’Quinn, the Knicks’ backup center, stepped up to take the free throw, despite his below-average 71% career mark from the line.
O’Quinn made the shot. But his mere presence, aside from confusing the casual fan, underscored something larger: The Knicks, and other NBA teams, make a couple decisions during each game that are rooted in antiquated basketball thinking and threaten to leave either points or possessions on the court.
Asked how he ended up taking the technical, O’Quinn smiled.
“I told Langston to move!” he said, adding that Galloway was already on the free-throw line, prepared to take the shot. “I told him to let me shoot it. He’s like, ‘Why?’ And I said, ‘You just missed one.’ So that’s how it happened. He had just missed one. So I told him to let me do it. He’s like, ‘Noooo.’ But I told him to move out of the way, and I made it. So, whatever.’ ”
O’Quinn acknowledged that it’s rare for teammates to have an in-game debate over who will take a free throw. (Teams can choose the shooter only on technical fouls.)
“With a lineup like that, you usually look over at the coach to get a sense of who he wants to shoot,” O’Quinn said. “But if someone shoots like 95%—if you’ve got someone like Jose [Calderon] on the court—then of course he would shoot it.”
Just one problem there: Inexplicably, Calderon, one of the most accurate free-throw shooters in NBA history, is almost never the player who takes technical-foul free throws for the Knicks.
Despite holding the NBA record for the best free-throw percentage in a single season—98.5% on 154 attempts in 2008-09—Calderon has never attempted a technical foul shot when sharing the court with Carmelo Anthony, one of the NBA’s top overall scorers. On the flip side, Anthony has attempted nine technicals (making seven) when sharing the floor with Calderon, even though Anthony’s career rate from the line is about six percentage points lower than Calderon’s.
‘It’s just an NBA thing. Some guys, points are very important to them. Every opportunity to get an extra one, they take it. I played with some guys who think that way.’
—Knicks coach Derek Fisher
Calderon said there’s an understanding that Anthony will take the technical foul shots.
“If we are together, Melo will take the first one for sure” he said. “If he’s not there, then I’ll go. And if he maybe misses his first one, or he is having an off night and we have another free throw coming up, I’ll go up to him and say, ‘Let me take this one.’ But it’s no big deal.”
O’Quinn and Anthony highlight how these sorts of things are often handled. Generally, the player with the loudest personality or strongest desire to take the shot is the one who goes to the line.
The Knicks aren't the only team that has operated this way in recent years. For example, it was noticeable with Miami’s “Big Three,” when top scorer LeBron James would regularly take technical foul shots ahead of Chris Bosh, a better shooter at close to 80% from the line in his career.
James took 40 technicals with Bosh on the floor, while Bosh took six in their four seasons together. Also noteworthy: James has shot only 67%, as opposed to his usual 75%, when taking technicals, according to Stats LLC.
Carmelo Anthony will take free throws after technical fouls even when Jose Calderon—a much better free-throw shooter—is also on the court. Photo: Associated Press
“It’s just an NBA thing. Some guys, points are very important to them. Every opportunity to get an extra one, they take it. I played with some guys who think that way,” said Knicks coach Derek Fisher, when asked about the dynamic with Calderon and Anthony. “But we have one of the best free-throw shooters in history. So I think we should utilize that more, and we will.”
Perhaps even more confusing than the free-throw situation: the fact that 7-foot center Robin Lopez takes jump balls at the start of each game instead of power forward Kristaps Porzingis, who stands 7-foot-3 with a longer reach and a better vertical leap.
It’s a custom in the NBA for the center to take the opening jump, but conforming to it hurts the Knicks. Among players who have attempted at least 250 jump balls over the past five seasons, Lopez has won an NBA-low 39% of them, and has seen his success dwindle in recent seasons.
“I’ve actually thought about it in the back of my mind,” Lopez said. “I never did the jump at all until I got to the league, because I always played with [twin brother] Brook, and he always did it.
Meanwhile, Porzingis said this is the first level at which he hasn’t taken jump balls for his team.
They may have little impact in the grand scheme of a long season, but then again, that’s probably the reason these strange, counterproductive NBA habits are so hard to break.
Write to Chris Herring at chris.herring@wsj.com
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grant has the second highest +/- of all rookies and is averaging 8.5ppg and 3.8apg in 24.4mpg
KP is 4th in scoring and is averaging 11.8ppg 8.3rpg 1.0bpg and 1.8spg in 23.8mpg
im tell you, we're gonna have 2 first teamers once grant starts.
KP is 4th in scoring and is averaging 11.8ppg 8.3rpg 1.0bpg and 1.8spg in 23.8mpg
im tell you, we're gonna have 2 first teamers once grant starts.
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I can live with Grant off the bench but he needs more minutes than Caldo.
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Predictions for tonight? Cavs are a little depleted but I'm expecting Bron and K-Love to step up big tonight...
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Herring is my favorite Knicks writer. Read his article in the morning. It's really good.
Hey Knicks: Why Is Kyle O’Quinn Taking Technical Foul Shots?
And for that matter, why is Robin Lopez still the go-to guy for jump balls?
By Chris Herring
Nov. 3, 2015 7:13 p.m. ET
CLEVELAND—An odd thing happened late in the third quarter of the Knicks’ win in Washington last week, when Wizards forward Nene Hilario was whistled for a technical foul.
Several Knicks could have taken the resulting foul shot. Forward Lance Thomas wouldn’t have been the obvious choice, but his 75% career rate from the charity stripe made him a candidate. Rookie Jerian Grant made nearly 80% of his tries at Notre Dame. And guard Langston Galloway shot 81% during his rookie season of 2014-15.
But with the Knicks down 83-81 in the third game of a season that may not produce many victories, none of those players stepped to the line.
Instead, Kyle O’Quinn, the Knicks’ backup center, stepped up to take the free throw, despite his below-average 71% career mark from the line.
O’Quinn made the shot. But his mere presence, aside from confusing the casual fan, underscored something larger: The Knicks, and other NBA teams, make a couple decisions during each game that are rooted in antiquated basketball thinking and threaten to leave either points or possessions on the court.
Asked how he ended up taking the technical, O’Quinn smiled.
“I told Langston to move!” he said, adding that Galloway was already on the free-throw line, prepared to take the shot. “I told him to let me shoot it. He’s like, ‘Why?’ And I said, ‘You just missed one.’ So that’s how it happened. He had just missed one. So I told him to let me do it. He’s like, ‘Noooo.’ But I told him to move out of the way, and I made it. So, whatever.’ ”
O’Quinn acknowledged that it’s rare for teammates to have an in-game debate over who will take a free throw. (Teams can choose the shooter only on technical fouls.)
“With a lineup like that, you usually look over at the coach to get a sense of who he wants to shoot,” O’Quinn said. “But if someone shoots like 95%—if you’ve got someone like Jose [Calderon] on the court—then of course he would shoot it.”
Just one problem there: Inexplicably, Calderon, one of the most accurate free-throw shooters in NBA history, is almost never the player who takes technical-foul free throws for the Knicks.
Despite holding the NBA record for the best free-throw percentage in a single season—98.5% on 154 attempts in 2008-09—Calderon has never attempted a technical foul shot when sharing the court with Carmelo Anthony, one of the NBA’s top overall scorers. On the flip side, Anthony has attempted nine technicals (making seven) when sharing the floor with Calderon, even though Anthony’s career rate from the line is about six percentage points lower than Calderon’s.
‘It’s just an NBA thing. Some guys, points are very important to them. Every opportunity to get an extra one, they take it. I played with some guys who think that way.’
—Knicks coach Derek Fisher
Calderon said there’s an understanding that Anthony will take the technical foul shots.
“If we are together, Melo will take the first one for sure” he said. “If he’s not there, then I’ll go. And if he maybe misses his first one, or he is having an off night and we have another free throw coming up, I’ll go up to him and say, ‘Let me take this one.’ But it’s no big deal.”
O’Quinn and Anthony highlight how these sorts of things are often handled. Generally, the player with the loudest personality or strongest desire to take the shot is the one who goes to the line.
The Knicks aren't the only team that has operated this way in recent years. For example, it was noticeable with Miami’s “Big Three,” when top scorer LeBron James would regularly take technical foul shots ahead of Chris Bosh, a better shooter at close to 80% from the line in his career.
James took 40 technicals with Bosh on the floor, while Bosh took six in their four seasons together. Also noteworthy: James has shot only 67%, as opposed to his usual 75%, when taking technicals, according to Stats LLC.
Carmelo Anthony will take free throws after technical fouls even when Jose Calderon—a much better free-throw shooter—is also on the court. Photo: Associated Press
“It’s just an NBA thing. Some guys, points are very important to them. Every opportunity to get an extra one, they take it. I played with some guys who think that way,” said Knicks coach Derek Fisher, when asked about the dynamic with Calderon and Anthony. “But we have one of the best free-throw shooters in history. So I think we should utilize that more, and we will.”
Perhaps even more confusing than the free-throw situation: the fact that 7-foot center Robin Lopez takes jump balls at the start of each game instead of power forward Kristaps Porzingis, who stands 7-foot-3 with a longer reach and a better vertical leap.
It’s a custom in the NBA for the center to take the opening jump, but conforming to it hurts the Knicks. Among players who have attempted at least 250 jump balls over the past five seasons, Lopez has won an NBA-low 39% of them, and has seen his success dwindle in recent seasons.
“I’ve actually thought about it in the back of my mind,” Lopez said. “I never did the jump at all until I got to the league, because I always played with [twin brother] Brook, and he always did it.
Meanwhile, Porzingis said this is the first level at which he hasn’t taken jump balls for his team.
They may have little impact in the grand scheme of a long season, but then again, that’s probably the reason these strange, counterproductive NBA habits are so hard to break.
Write to Chris Herring at chris.herring@wsj.com
so I still dont get why o'quinn took the free throw? just cause he wanted to? the f?
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what ever happened to DWill? he was killing in preseason...
Got relegated to the bench?
Got relegated to the bench?
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hoping he breaks out tonight.
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That's the point of the article^ To point out that because players are able to decide the shooters amongst themselves somewhat arbitrarily, there exists an inefficiency in technical foul free throw shooting
I have a feeling this is going to be a hard to watch game tonight. Lebron going to shoot 25 free throws and Melo like 2.
I have a feeling this is going to be a hard to watch game tonight. Lebron going to shoot 25 free throws and Melo like 2.
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D-Will or O'Quinn needs to step on Love's throat tonight. Not worried about LeBron that much. We've usually play him very tight.
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DWill was on an unsustainable pace during preseason, he was also getting a lot more minutes
i see him topping out at around 12-14 ppg
i see him topping out at around 12-14 ppg
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From now on, plenty of Ja Rule jokes will be made in this thread
"Where's Ja to make sense of all this?"
"Where's Ja to make sense of all this?"
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We should listen to Ja, he knows plenty of things about taking L's 
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I was one of the guys that wanted Mudiay, and I still like his game. I appreciate the effort that Porzingis plays with on a nightly but son out here acting like dude is Christ 4 games into the season.
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it's not like we were a PG away from a championship & Mudiay would solve all our problems.
i'm more than happy with Kristaps & Jerian so far
i'm more than happy with Kristaps & Jerian so far
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4 games into the season and already Zingus da great is ROY and EM a bust. Galloway was fluke despite half a season of decent basketball, go figure...
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Ready for tonight 