Well, here’s a rational Knick fan. No problem with Melo saying it may take until next season for the team to get on the same page. It took the pre-trade Knicks until December to get on the same page this year and that’s with a training camp.

The Knicks have two main problems: depth and a defensive assistant coach. They lost all their depth in the trade and are playing fringe players at center, which is killing them. Against Milwaukee they started Sheldon Williams because they tired of watching Jared Jeffries and Turiaf stink it up. Even the Heat have a better center trio than the Knicks. They also play Shawne Williams out of position. The guy is a small forward (yes he’s 6-9, but he only weighs 220) so asking him to guard to guard Roy Hibbert is a bad idea, which is why they lost to the Pacers twice. They need to get some big guys that can actually play.

They also need to bring in an assistant coach who is a defensive specialist to coach the defensive. Believe it or not, D’Antoni’s schemes are too complicated and Melo isn’t the first to suggest this. People have been complaining about this before Melo was even traded (so do some research Kurt). The problem is that the Knicks don’t have a defensive philosophy. For example, the Celtics never switch pick and roll. Every game they don’t switch intentionally. A switch only occurs if someone screws up. It doesn’t matter what team they play, they don’t switch. It’s been that way for years.

The Knicks pick and roll defense changes game to game, sometimes quarter to quarter. Some games they switch, some they don’t, some games they trap. Since the strategy changes every game, mistakes occur, rotations are slower, players get in foul trouble, and opponents get easy points via layups, open threes, and free throws. Bringing in a defensive specialist responsible for defining the team’s defensive philosophy would improve the team’s defense significantly.

Unfortunately, depth and a defensive assistant coach won’t come until the offseason. I’m sure Walsh will look to improve the front line, but I don’t know if he will bring in the assistant coach.