Mike Miller

Jay Wright the next coach of the New York Knicks?

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You can add Jay Wright to the short list of possible candidates to be the next head coach of the New York Knicks.  A league source says, according to Forbes Adam Zagoria.

Others that have been linked to the Knicks are Jeff Van Gundy, of course, Mark Jackson and Tom Thibodeau.

Wright didn’t comment this time around when asked about the Knicks job.  However, he did when being linked to the job when the team went with with Jeff Hornacek in 2016.  Ultimately, Wright just didn’t want to leave Villanova.

While Wright is an above-average college coach, transitioning to the NBA will be difficult.  Last season John Beilein, went from Michigan, a top program, to Cleveland.  The Cavaliers are in the processing of rebuilding so Beilein has a tough task at hand.

If Wright were to be chosen by the Knicks, his path will be similar to Beilein.  It won’t be easy since the Knicks are also rebuilding.  Plus, the Knicks are in a worse spot than the Cavailers.

The New York Knicks need a coach with experience.  Not saying Wright doesn’t have experience but it’s at the college level. The NBA is a different animal.  Coaching professionals is a lot harder and complicated than teenagers.

The 3 coaches, Van Gundy, Jackson and Thibodeau, all have the experience with professionals that the Knicks need.  They need a non non-sense coach with the ability to control the locker room and hold players accountable.

Mike Miller has done that to an extent and has done well with the talent available to him. While he may be doing an above-average with the Knicks, they need someone who’s going to command more of the team.

The New York Knicks need a new ‘Amar’e Stoudemire & Carmelo Anthony’

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New York Knicks, Carmelo Anthony

The New York Knicks need a lot more than just a new team president and “re-brand.”  Well, the team doesn’t need a “re-brand” at all.  The Knicks are currently valued at 4.6 billion, the most expensive team in the league.  The brand is doing just fine.

This season Knicks continue to be a roller-coaster.  After a 4-game win steak, fans were thinking playoffs.  Then after a miserable performance against the Wizards, the playoffs float away.

A new team president would help over a “re-brand.”  Bringing in a new team president will give the Knicks the opportunity to start fresh and target new free-agents.  Can Leon Rose be that guy once he takes over?  That’s still up for debate but we hope.

When Rose takes over, the Knicks need to hope that he can bring in free-agents or players that can change the course of the franchise.  The Knicks need players like Amar’e Stoudemire and Carmelo Anthony.

Those two players were the only two that had the drive and determination to try and resurrect the New York Knicks.  Most likely the Knicks will have to build through the draft.  But, getting some free-agents, or through trades, would also help.

Players say that they want to come to New York because it’s the ‘Mecca’ of basketball, which it is.  However, when players come fans will get excited but those players don’t have that ‘it’ factor.  Stoudemire and Anthony had the ‘it’ factor.  They changed the course of the Knicks for the better and while it was only a short time, they did.

If the Knicks want turn around their franchise they need players like those two.  Yes, a team president will help get those players, but the players are the one’s who perform on the court.  Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving were suppose to be the next two and look how that worked out.

The Knicks needs to find their next Stoudemire and Anthony, wherever and however that may be.  Otherwise, it’s going to be another long decade.

Just when you think the New York Knicks are turning the corner….

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New York Knicks, Julius Randle

The New York Knicks were playing very well the last 5 games.  Even despite the double OT loss against the Atlanta Hawks, they still performed better than they have earlier on this season.

During that streak, the one thing that Knicks fans love to do is to overreact.  When the Knicks won 4 out 5, fans began to think that Mike Miller might be onto something.  Everything was starting to take shape sort of how they thought the season would’ve began.  Fans even threw the ‘P-word’ out there, playoffs.

But, just when you think the Knicks might be turning the corner on their season, they take a step back.  Bradley Beal didn’t help by pouring in 30 points in a 114-96 Wizards victory.  He was making a statement after being snuffed from the All-Star game, and of course it’s against the Knicks.

This lose came after the news that William ‘Worldwide Wes’ Wesley wouldn’t being joining Leon Rose when he takes over as the new team president.  Not only that, but after Steve Stoute went on First Take speaking on behalf of the Knicks.  For what it’s worth, what Stoute said was speaking the truth.

However, thinking that the Knicks could make a playoff push was definitely a stretch.  Getting too excited about what way the team plays always seems to backfire.  It’s either that or the Wizards just have the Knicks number.

Just yesterday Julius Randle said that Knicks have “good confidence” and are “playing hard” which they were, until last night.  Any hope the New York Knicks might have had about the playoffs went out the window last night.

The Knicks continue to be so frustrating and inconsistent, per usual.  But, they’re very consistent at getting the fans hopes up.

New York Knicks exciting 4-game win streak comes to an end

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New York Knicks, Elfrid Payton

The New York Knicks came close to extending their win-streak to 5 games last evening.  The Knicks fell to the Atlanta Hawks in double OT, 140-135.

Despite the streak coming to an end, the Knicks made a lot of progress and gave fans excitement.  It appeared like something clicked within the team after the front office parted ways with Steve Mills?  It could be the Steve Mills effect.

Whatever it may be, the Knicks and Mike Miller seemed to figure something out.  They didn’t figure it out entirely but they started down the right path.  Miller had a good combination of veteran and young players lineups that provided a little of everything.

For the most part of the winning streak, the Knicks had to scratch and claw their way back for a comeback victory.  Those comeback wins provided fans with the notion that this is a different Knicks team.

It showed the Knicks resilience and ability to work together as a team.  The Knicks defense and ball movement worked very well and everyone fed off one another.

There was always one player that really stood out each game.  One game it was Julius Randle.  Another Elrid Payton, then Wayne Ellington and Reggie Bullock.  Whoever the hero may have been, the Knicks played like a team and it was exactly what fans needed to see.

After trading Marcus Morris, the offense took a hit.  However, Miller turned a corner with his offensive schemes and defensive aggressiveness.  The players seemed to have bought in, for now.

The Knicks have a few more winnable games coming up.  The ‘dogs’ are trying to make a possible playoff push, only 5.5 games out.

Where would the New York Knicks be if Mike Miller started the season?

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New York Knicks, Mike Miller

With back-to-back road wins, Mike Miller’s record as the interim coach for the New York Knicks is now 11-18.  Miller and the Knicks are 7-9 away from the Garden.

The Knicks have had yet another roller coaster of a season.  But, being able to perform on the road bodes well for Miller’s coaching performance.  He’s a good coach that have connected better to his team than David Fizdale.  If Miller can win games with this below-average team, imagine what he could do with more talent.

If Miller was leading the charge at the beginning, the season may have gone very differently.  The Knicks could have been only 3-4 games out of the 8th seed in the Eastern Conference.  Instead, under Fizdale, the Knicks started out 4-18 and now have to fight and scratch their way back into the conversation.

Fizdale was 2-8 against teams under .500, that’s terrible.  The team seemed uninspired and while at teams you see that under Miller, the team has responded better.

The season felt like a failure until Miller took over.  The only thing that some may still consider a failure is the development and less minutes for the younger players.  They’ve played less but performed better when given the opportunity.  This is part because of the Knicks showcasing the veteran players ahead of the trade deadline.

On Monday in Cleveland, the Knicks went on a 11-1 second quarter run getting the team back into the game with manly younger guys.  Miller still has some head scratching rotations but for the most part it’s been working better than Fizdale’s.  You may see the younger players minutes increase following the deadline tomorrow.

Even though the New York Knicks win percentage is only .294 on the season, they’re still only 7.5 games out.  The playoffs still seem like light years away but there’s a chance.  Miller’s win percentage since taking over is .393.  Based on his record, if he started the season, the Knicks would currently be in the 9th spot in the East.

The New York Knicks are the most frustrating team to watch

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New York Knicks, Dennis Smith Jr.

The New York Knicks played a typical ‘New York Knicks’ basketball game last evening.  The Knicks fell to the Charlotte Hornets, 97-92, after a great start to the game.

Both teams started the game with honoring the late, great Kobe Bryant.  The Hornets won the tip and took a 24-second shot clock violation followed by the Knicks taking a 8-second back-court violation.

Like mostly every other game, the Kncks came out hot.  Going up 13 at one point in the first half.  Everything was dropping for Julius Randle and couldn’t be guarded down-low.  He looked like he was playing for Bryant with 18 first half points but only ended with 24 points, fading away.

As all fans now, the defensive let up is always lurking around the corner.  It happens every game and it’s so unbelievably frustrating.  We sound like a broken record.

The Knicks begin and go on stretches were it appears that they could be onto something.  Then, they always let their guard down, having their opponent easily get back into the game.  If you want to be a good basketball team, you need to know how to put your opponent way.  The Knicks don’t know how to do that.

They aren’t a good team, not matter what anyone says.  The team thinks they’re good and while it’s good to have that confidence, there’s a difference between optimistic and reality.

The reality is the New York Knicks are a bad basketball team.  One of the worst teams in the league.  Playing veteran players and having lackadaisical defensive pressure deserves them to be at the very bottom.

When is Mike Miller going to realize that he isn’t ‘showcasing’ these veterans.  The Knicks aren’t winning games so it seems counterproductive to play the veterans over the young players.  Miller is taking away developmental time from the young players.  Frank Ntilikina barely played, Kevin Knox only played 11 minutes and Daymean Dotson 19 minutes, not ideal.  Fans would rather lose games with young players over veteran players.

All the Knicks articles these day seem to be constantly repeating themselves.  So no need to repeat ourselves because it’ll most likely happening again tonight in Memphis Grizzlies.  It’s getting old, play the young players and lose with them at least.

The future of the New York Knicks still has no clear direction

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New York Knicks, James Dolan

The New York Knicks started somewhat on the right path when it came to drafting talent.  In free agency, they were able to add a solid combination of youth and veteran players.  It was clear that they were on the right path to build something.

However, of recent, it appears to be very unclear the direction Mike Miller and the organization wants to take.  Do they want to begin to develop their youth for the future?  Or, do they want to continue playing veteran players when the playoffs are out of reach.  The Knicks currently sit 7 games out of the 8th seed.

For the moment, it seems like the Knicks are content with playing the veterans over the young players.  They’re 12-32 on the season and that’s with mostly playing the older guys.  That should be a sign that the year is lost when the vets aren’t performing.  It’s time to play the kids.

The only thing the organization is going is making their fans more angry.  They’ve been angry since 2013, the Knicks last playoff appearance.  Continuing to play the older players is this meaningless game is only adding fuel to the fire.

We’ve seen this story before with the Knicks and it’s extremely frustrating.  One example, Jarrett Jack.  He played over Frank Ntilikina and Daymean Dotson in 2017 which stalled their development.  A lot of that can be said about this year too.

Taj Gibson is starting over Mitchell Robinson.  Reggie Bullock is starting over Daymean Dotson.  Elfrid Payton, while young, is starting over Frank Ntilikina.  But Ntilikina brings more defense to the table which is a struggle for this team.  And Kevin Knox’s minutes are never enough.

Also, Marcus Morris, 30-years-old, is the Knicks leading scorer but due to his age it’s unlikely he’s in their future plans.  Those ‘future plans’ are very blurry.

The New York Knicks need to figure out what’a best for their future.  As of right now, playing veteran players over the younger ones doesn’t seem to serve a purpose.  They’re taking way minutes and any future strides they might make.  It’s not their fault, it’s the coaching and the front office to blame.

New York Knicks: Interim Coach Mike Miller Provides Great Game Management

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New York Knicks, Mike Miller

New York Knicks Interim Coach Mike Miller is staring at a 7-11 record since taking over the head coaching job of the New York Knicks. There’s definitely one huge difference between prior Knicks coach David Fizdale and current coach Mike Miller. The difference is Mike Miller’s game management ability. The ability to manage game momentum and putting personnel in positions to succeed is special and also underrated.

Knicks when healthy are looking like a different team under Mike Miller. Yes, they’ve suffered a few bad losses, however, those losses don’t negate the fact that the Knicks have tremendous respect and are playing hard for their fairly new coach. Plays are even being executed after timeouts and that is very crucial in terms of swinging momentum and managing games.

Some fans are still complaining about certain substitutions Mike Miller makes. However, the Knicks current roster consists of several logjams position-wise and it doesn’t make it easy to figure out rotations. Yet Mike Miller somehow makes lemonade with the lemons he’s provided with.

Two adjustment’s I’ve noticed a slight improvement in is how the Knicks defend the three-point line and the spacing offensively. Mike Miller is a developmental/fundamental kind of coach and slight improvements/adjustments for the young players on this Knicks roster is definitely priceless.

Overall, the former 2017-18 G-League Coach of the Year is getting his feet wet with the young roster. Miller’s college coaching experience can only bode well for his approach to the game amongst young players. The Knicks are currently in talent acquisition mode after the Fizdale firing. Therefore, Mike Miller is in the right place due to the tremendous opportunity to hone and develop talent.

New York Knicks are getting exciting to watch again

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Under Mike Miller, the New York Knicks are worth watching again.  Well, for those die-hards, it’s always worth watching.  But under Miller, the team is looking exciting again.

Miller has the Knicks playing simple basketball.  He isn’t trying to do to much or have a complicated game plan.  Miller is simply having them “play”, take that how you may.  Whatever that means to you, it’s working.

The Knicks have a 3-win streak and have 6 wins under Miller.  Those 6 wins are more then the team had under former head coach David Fizdale this season.  Fizdale was out after going 4-18 to start the season and was 21-83 overall in a season and a half.  He had them switching like crazy which ultimately was the downfall of the defense.  It still isn’t polished under Miller but it’s substantially better.

The offense has picked up too.  The Knicks offensive efficiency greatly improved.  There’s more ball movement and actual offensive sets being run.  They also are utilizing the pick-and-roll more which opens up the floor for Mitchell Robinson to put on a show, like he did last game.

Their play has fans buzzing and, of course, overreacting.  However, overreacting isn’t a bad thing in this situation.  The overreaction is exciting because they Knicks are starting to show their potential.  It’s exciting to see the progression of Frank Ntilikina and Robinson.  RJ Barrett has been struggling, of recent, but there’s still glimpses of the excitement to the could bring to the franchise.

While they still aren’t a playoff caliber team, they are in striking distance, 5 games out.  We also aren’t sure if this is the beginning of a turn around, it’s too soon to call it that.  What we do know is it’s exciting to be able to be excited for Knicks games, even if it’s for a short period of time.

New York Knicks players already praising Miller’s coaching ability

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New York Knicks, Mike Miller

The New York Knicks have been playing substantially better under the helm of interim coach Mike Miller.  As exciting as it may be, fans need to remind themselves that there’s still a lot of work to be done.

The Knicks are only 3-3 in the first 6 games under Miller but the team has been playing way better than a .500 record.  However, the Knicks are 3-1 in their last 4 games.  They went from last-to-first in the offensive efficiency over that stretch and has fans buzzing.

And it’s all because of Miller.  The player are responding and giving credit to Miller.

Taj Gibson, Marcus Morris and Dennis Smith Jr. have all complimented Miller’s ability to let the guys play while also holding them accountable.  Smith Jr. might have said it the best, “He just wants us to hoop.”  That is something that may have been lacking in the David Fizdale era.  It seemed more pick-up ball and Fizdale wasn’t holding players accountable, only benching them.

“He definitely wants us to have game-plan discipline as well but he wants us to have fun and leave it all out on the floor.  I love it”, Smith continued.  Smith had his best game of the season last game against the Hawks.  He recorded 8 points, 5 assists and 5 rebounds with the most hop in his game all season.

Miller is doing things to the Knicks that fans would have thought Fizdale should’ve corrected.  Julius Randle isn’t bringing the ball up and not falling back into more isolation basketball.  Miller is finally starting to use Randle the proper way.

The New York Knicks are onto something with Miller.  While all of this is still a small sample size for the team, fans still need to be patient.  Miller is not the savior but the team could be on the right path under Miller.