NYK Team-Building Strategy | Thomas Tuchel and Groundhog Day | USA Soccer | SC Napoli's Perfect Alignment
New York Knicks
Building a Championship Team in Any Sport is Incredibly Difficult. The Cleveland Cavaliers had the 2nd Best Player in NBA History for 11 Seasons and Won 1 Title. Even that 1 Title, We Can Trace Back to the NBA’s Decision to Suspend Draymond Green. The New York Knicks Play in the Biggest Market in the NBA. The Knicks haven’t Won an NBA Championship since 1973. That’s 52 Years Possible Going on 53.
After Brilliantly Laying the Foundation for a Contending Team, the New York Knicks made Two All-In Trades this Offseason. They Traded their Cache of First Round Draft Picks to Acquire Mikal Bridges. They also Traded Donte DiVincenzo and Julius Randle for Karl-Anthony Towns. Those are All-In Trades. You Make Those Trades Knowing that these Moves are Going to Put You in the Best Possible Position to Win an NBA Championship. To their Credit, the Knicks were bold. To their Credit, the Knicks did beat the Boston Celtics. Albeit the Celtics were wounded and did a lot of weird things in that series. To their Credit, the Knicks should have Won Game 1 of this Series. That said, In Making Those Decisions, the Knicks Leaned Into Imperfection.
On Paper, the New York Knicks Have One of the Best Starting Lineups in Basketball. In the Regular Season the 5 Man Lineup of Karl-Anthony Towns, OG Anunoby, Josh Hart, Mikal Bridges, and Jalen Brunson had a Net Rating of 3.3. In the Playoffs that Lineup has a Net Rating of -9.5. The Pacers Starting Lineup of Tyrese Haliburton, Myles Turner, Pascal Siakam, Andrew Nembhard, and Andrew Nesmith had a Net Rating of 11.1. In the Playoffs this Lineup has a Net Rating of 20.7. The Knicks Numbers Tell Me that even in the Regular Season, their Primary Lineup wasn’t Great. Finally, When the Knicks Made the Trades They Made this Offseason They Knowingly Leaned Into the Following Flaws.
Flaw 1: On Offense, Josh Hart’s Inability to be a Consistent Shooter Can Be Problematic. It’s Why Losing Donte DiVincenzo was Such a Big Deal. While Donte DiVincenzo has had an Up and Down Season in Minnesota, the Fit of Donte Next To Brunson and Hart Coming Off the Bench was Better for the Knicks.
Flaw 2: On Defense, the Knicks Embraced Karl-Anthony Towns Inability to Defend Pick and Roll. To his Credit, he tries like hell but He Doesn’t always make Good Decisions. He Drops When He Should Stick. He Sticks When He Should Drop. That Said, None of this is Towns Fault. This is a Flaw in Roster Construction. It’s a Flaw that Indiana and Tyrese Haliburton is Mercilessly Exploiting. Lastly, Towns Isn’t a Natural Rim Protector. When Towns and Brunson are on the Court Together, the Knicks have Two Defensive Liabilities. That’s the Trade-Off for Towns Stretchiness at the 5 Spot.
Flaw 3: By Making the Decisions the Knicks Made, the Knicks Punted on Depth. They Punted on Depth by a Team Coached by Tom Thibodeaux. I am a Big Proponent of Tom Thibodeaux. I Think Thibodeaux Cares About Things Like Centers, Defense, Structured Rotations, Consistent Starting 5s, and Rebounding. These Things are Still Important and They’ve Been to an extent lost in the Modern NBA. That Said, Thibodeaux Doesn’t Do a Particularly Good Job Establishing Depth. Thibodeaux had 82 Games to Find an 8th Man. He Didn’t. To his Credit, Rick Carlisle’s Figured Out a Way to Effectively Incorporate Ben Sheppard in this Series. He Even Used to Tony Bradley to Overcome the Toxic Thomas Bryant Minutes.
Flaw 4: Flexibility. The Knicks Gave Up Their Flexibility. When I Put My General Manager Hat On, I Never Want to Give Up Flexibility. The Knicks have No Flexibility. For Example, if Giannis Antetokounmpo Demanded a Trade to New York, Does Milwaukee Really Want to Start Over with a Combination of Mikal Bridges and Karl-Anthony Towns? Flexibility is Golden.
Thomas Tuchel
We See Something Close to the Best Version of Declan Rice with Arsenal because he plays in Front of Thomas Partey. We Also See Something Close to the Best Version of Declan Rice because he plays behind Martin Odegaard. Odegaard is Essentially Arsenal’s Quarterback In-Possession. Arsenal’s Best Offensive Actions Emanate from his Movement and his Decisions.
We See Something Close to the Best Version of Jude Bellingham at Real Madrid, because there he is given a Free Role. We’ve Also Seen Bellingham Be Brilliant in a Free Role for England. In that Role, Bellingham Can Be Absent for Large Portions of the Game, but he has the Charisma and Mental Fortitude to Do Brilliant Things in Snapshots of Time. Bellingham Though Does Not Control Football Matches.
Can You Win Football Matches on Your Own Terms without a Midfield? Can England Beat Spain, France, or Argentina in the Biggest Games? Under Gareth Southgate, England have Demonstrated the Unique Ability to Navigate Cup Competitions without ever Looking Like a Good Team. That’s an Art Form. It’s an Art Form that the Rational Mind Cannot Comprehend. It’s also an Art Form that’s Hard to Replicate.
The Most Worrying Thing about Tuchel’s Team-Building Though is that it Reminds You of 86, 90, 94, 96, 98, and 2000. I Can Keep Going. It’s the Same Problem for at Least 40 Years. It’s Like Trying to Win in the NFL without an Elite Quarterback. It’s Possible, It’s Just Unlikely.
One More Thing, Declan Rice Can Receive the Ball on the Half-Turn. He Can Make Good Passes. But Can He Control a Football Match with his Decisions?
US Soccer
Earlier this Week Christian Pulisic Pulled Out of the Gold Cup. Pulisic’s Rational for Pulling Out is Workload Management. While the Optics of Pulisic’s Decision May Be Problematic, It’s Not the United States Biggest Problem. The US Soccer’s Problems are Bigger.
Should Mauricio Pochettino be a Coach or a Manager? Since Leading Tottenham Hotspur to the Champions League, Mauricio Pochettino has Struggled to Construct Adequate Lineups for Spurs, PSG, and Chelsea. He’s Become a Tinkerman. He’s Always Exploring. Always Changing. We’re Seeing the Same with US Soccer. We Saw Something Similar with Jurgen Klinsmann and Greg Berhalter. It’s Why Pochettino Should Be a Coach Not a Manager? US Soccer Like all International Football Federations Should Have a General Manager Who
Picks the Squads and Constructs the National Team.
USMNT Hires Coaches. Those Coaches Endlessly Talk About World Cups. They Endlessly Talk About the State of Soccer in the US. They Talk About Potential.
USMNT Coaches Engage in What Seems Like Arbitrary Experimentation. One of the Consistent Behaviors of US Soccer’s Last Three Coaches is Failure to Organize the Talent Pool, Construct a Robust Squad, and Construct Aligned Lineups.
While this is All Going On a Major Tournament Arrives. There’s No Clarity Around Style of Play, Tactics, Formation, Systems, or Game Models. The Best XI is Unclear. Forget Scenario Planning.
Repeat
In Theory, Matt Crocker Not Mauricio Pochettino Should Be Organizing US Soccer’s Vast and Diverse Talent Pool. That Organization Should Be Complete. It Doesn’t Though Seem That Way When You Look at the US Squads Selected Since Pochettino’s Arrival.
SC Napoli’s Perfect Alignment and Transition
I’m Not Going to Talk About Manchester United’s Decision to Sell Scott McTominay. I’m Not Going to Talk about Manchester United’s Decision to Sell Scott McTominay Without Ever Exploring or Understanding the Full Extent of his Talent. One of the Patterns Consistent with Poor Team-Building is Allowing Good Players to Leave Your Football Club, Because the Incoming Management Team Wants to Build Their Own Team. That said, Huge Credit to Antonio Conte. Conte Understood McTominay’s Talent. He Knew Exactly Where and How He Wanted to Use Him. McTominay Delivered by becoming the MVP of Serie A.
Antonio Conte Built Three Different Teams This Season. He Built a Team around Khvicha Kvaratskhelia. He Built a Team around Khvicha Kvaratskhelia, Romelu Lukaku, and Scott McTominay. When Kvaratskhelia Left for PSG, He Built a Team without him. Contrary to the Rigidness we Associate with Conte, He Played Different Formations and Systems Throughout the Season. He Constantly Adapted his Formation and System to his Given Resources. For Example, He Started the Season with a Lone Striker. That Loan Striker was Giovane Simeone. He Then Pivoted to a Different Type of Loan Striker in Romelu Lukaku. Finally, He Ended the Season with Lukaku and Raspadori Playing Up Front.
Finally, Napoli were Aligned Almost Everywhere. For Example, Conte Had Big Midfielders in Frank Anguissa and Scott McTominay. He Supplemented that position with Philip Billing in January. Napoli are partially built around Matteo Politano. But behind Politano they have David Neres and Cyril Ngonge. Neres is Unique in that he’s Excellent on Both Wings. When they lost Kvaratskhelia to PSG, Conte often played 2 Strikers Up Top. The Second Striker was Giacomo Raspadori. In January He Brought Noah Okafor On Loan from Milan as a Backup. Conte inherited Stanislav Lobotka. But again he wanted a Like for Like Backup. He Went Out and Bought Billy Gilmour. He Had Two Left Sided Center Backs in Alessandro Buongiorno and Juan Jesus. Both Center Backs Could Play in a Back 4 or a Back 3. He Also Had Mathias Olivera Who Gave Napoli a Bigger Look at Left Wing Back. Olivera could also play Center Back. Ultimately, Conte Developed an Aligned Backup to Almost Every Position. While that doesn’t Guarantee a Title, It Does Put You in a Good Position to Win One. He Did. Conte Now Has 4 Titles with 4 Different Teams.