Somehow, in the D'antoni system dictated by a pass-first point guard, the Phoenix Suns always seemed to have enough touches for all the players who needed to shoot, slash and drive, whether they were Marion or Barbosa or Joe Johnson or Amare or Diaw or whoever.
Somehow in the same system, a team consisting of the world's best players and the most ball-hogging/ball-dominant players on the planet, everyone got all the touches they needed and everyone flourished.
In a similarly fast-paced, ball-movement based offense implemented by George Karl and executed by a legitimate point guard, Melo and Smith seemed to have plenty of touches and everyone got their numbers called properly - even Allen Iverson, probably the most ball-dominant player of that generation. They also won a ton of games, always made the playoffs, and even got to the WCF. They probably would've made it more than once if they didn't run into the dominant Spurs and Lakers out West.
...curiously, it's also never George Karl's fault for them not making it further into the postseason; it's always Melo. More curiously, the decade of malaise prior to Melo was erased from discussion; Melo gets no credit for his impact on that Nuggets team.
Anyway, I really don't think they're going to mess this up the way people arae hoping for. The Knicks may not win the championship this year, but they'll make the playoffs...and they'll probably win some games in the playoffs too.
