Charlie's NBAngle: FARTDOGs

The Knicks took Phil Jackson away from the Lakers. The Lakers may counter by taking the FARTDOG title from the Knicks.

New York comes out ahead on both sides of that transaction.

FARTDOG, for those unfamiliar with the term, is short for "Friendly Alliance of Really Terrible Defenders for Opposing Guards" – an acronym coined by Seth Rosenthal of Posting and Toasting to describe the Knicks' laughably charitable defense. Their inability to defend – or even slow –any opposing guard, from stars like Kyrie Irving to otherwise-awful journeymen like Jarrett Jack – became a running theme, and a big reason they missed the playoffs last season.

Now, I'm not suggesting the Knicks will have a top perimeter defense this year. Not with the likes of Jose Calderon and Tim Hardaway Jr. logging significant minutes. But the mere fact that they've abandoned Mike Woodson's favored "switch on the vaguest hint of a pick and roll, and have your big men run around as if they're being chased by an invisible swarm of bees" defense, should lead to some improvement. (Incidentally, the fact that Woodson received a number of "Best Assistant Coach" votes in the annual NBA General Manager Survey makes the entire enterprise highly suspect. Who voted for that guy? I demand transparency.)

That said, Derek Fisher's guys will look like the '85 Bears when compared with the Lakers. As I mentioned last week, I have all the respect in the world for Kobe Bryant, and rank him as one of the most outstanding players I've ever seen. But it seems more than fair to say that he's lost most of his lateral quickness. Jeremy Lin isn't what you'd call a stopper. Jordan Hill is probably underrated, but he doesn't have the size to be a real rim protector, and Julius Randle's opening-night injury means we'll be seeing an awful lot of Carlos Boozer this season.

Meanwhile, new Laker coach Byron Scott is pushing the team to be a lot more physical this season. Though the sample size is admittedly small, the team seems to be interpreting that edict as "if you can't stop 'em, hit 'em." Dwight Howard and James Harden went to the free throw line 16 times each in the season opener, and Harden converted 15 of those attempts, finishing with 32 points in just 31 minutes. (Howard was 7 of 16 from the line, because he's Dwight Howard.)

I bring this up not to kick the Lakers when they're down, but rather, to present an opportunity. Fantasy owners in daily transaction leagues (or one-day leagues) did very well last season by streaming guards and wings that got to face the Knicks defense. This year, treating the Lakers like the NBA version of Coors Field could make just as much sense. They have some absolutely brutal matchups coming up; the Clippers on Halloween night, followed by trips to Golden State and Phoenix. Look for big numbers from the likes of Jamal Crawford, Klay Thompson, Eric Bledsoe and Isaiah Thomas in the next week.

The Deep Two

Another worrisome trend at Staples Center: Byron Scott's stance on the three-point shot. During the preseason, Scott told reporters that three-point shooting doesn't win championships, and that his plan is for the Lakers to attempt just 12-15 threes a game. (I won't bother telling him that the Spurs attempted 21.4 threes per game last season, hit just under 40 percent of them, and won the title, because that would be piling on.)

Simply cutting down on three-point attempts isn't necessarily a bad thing. The Grizzlies only attempted 14 per game last season, and that made sense, as their offense runs through Marc Gasol and Zach Randolph in the low post. But the Lakers are a jump-shooting team; they'll generate most of their offense through Bryant, Lin and Nick Young. Without any sort of three-point threat, defenses will pack the paint and prevent that trio from driving to the basket. What does that leave? An awful lot of contested mid-range jumpers.

Now, Scott may eventually loosen the reins a bit and make the three-pointer – the corner three in particular – a part of the Lakers' regular offense again. It's possible that his current stance is calculated to position him at the opposite end of the basketball coaching spectrum from Mike D'Antoni. But until that happens, I'm going to put every Laker on my "players to avoid" list.

First Impressions

In the second quarter of the Knicks vs. Bulls at Madison Square Garden, Derrick Rose, defending Shane Larkin, fell down for no apparent reason.

Pretty sure I wasn't the only one holding my breath until he popped back up.

Rose looked pretty good in the game, finishing with 13 points and five assists. He played just 21 minutes, partly due to the fact that the game went into what Marv Albert would call "gar-BAHGE time" about mid-way through the third. If he can be even 75 percent of what he was three years ago, the Bulls have an excellent chance to reach the Finals, but I can't shake the feeling that he's one wrong turn away from another extended stint on the injured list.

Incidentally, Aaron Brooks looked very good as Rose's backup – and Rose's backup has been a good thing to have on a fantasy roster for the last several seasons.

The Knicks looked pretty rough in their first real game playing the triangle offense, but don't lose sight of a few key facts. They were playing the Bulls, they were playing without Jose Calderon… and it was their first real game running the triangle. It'll be a couple of weeks before we can really estimate what Carmelo Anthony, Calderon, and the rest will produce this season. If they do continue to struggle, don't rule out Anthony as a "buy low" candidate in a lot of leagues.

I'm a lot more worried about the Nets, who were absolutely hammered by a Boston team that nobody thinks will be a playoff contender. Brook Lopez' uncertain status is a big problem for that team; without him, they really don't have any sort of inside threat to complement Deron Williams and Joe Johnson.

Seems safe to say Rajon Rondo (13 points, 12 assists, 7 boards) is feeling better.

Andre Iguodala is basically serving as Golden State's backup point guard until Shaun Livingston is ready to play bigger minutes. Don't be alarmed by the fact that he's coming off the bench behind Harrison Barnes.

Kentavious Caldwell-Pope came back from a preseason knee injury and started for the Pistons in their opener, but he'll need to shoot better (3-19 from the floor, 1-8 from three) to hang on to the job long-term. He'll get an extended look either way, as Jodie Meeks (back) is sidelined indefinitely.

Nice season debut for Norris Cole, but I don't think he'll score twenty-plus on a regular basis, as he's splitting the point guard job more or less evenly with Mario Chalmers. Also, he may not contribute enough in other point guard categories (2 assists, 0 steals) to merit a spot in a lot of leagues.