Early Returns from Derek Fisher's New York Knicks Run Are Promising
Jumping out to a 2-1 start to his New York Knicks career is plenty impressive, and even when you evaluate Derek Fisher's coaching from a process-over-results perspective, there's a lot to be optimistic about.
In the grand scheme of this franchise's development, notching two wins in three games to start 2014-15 doesn't mean much at all in terms of the pursuit of a title. Barring the extremely unforeseen, New York won't even be sniffing a championship for at least another year or two, at which point this season's pleasantly surprising start will be a distant, inconsequential memory.
Even now, while winning is encouraging in and of itself, the Knicks could very easily be 0-3.
Nothing was going to stop the Chicago Bulls on October 29, and New York was lucky to limit the stomping to just 104-80. But the Knicks proceeded to beat the Cleveland Cavaliers and Charlotte Hornets by a combined eight points; with a usual LeBron James performance and more than 10 minutes of Michael Kidd-Gilchrist play, each of those results could have swung the other way.
If that had been the case, the Knicks would have had no reason to be ashamed. Well, that Bulls loss was straight-up ugly, in all facets.
As for the Cavs and Hornets tilts, just pushing these two very likely playoff squads is major for a team in transition. In terms of evaluating New York, the actual wins are oxymoronically the added bonus.
A Knicks outfit expected to flounder in the triangle and simply fail on defense has had its moments of struggle, but Fisher has his players looking a lot more organized and competent than anyone expected. Let's explore a few of the ways in which he has done so in this early small sample.
Sharing is Caring
The triangle requires every player on the floor to be willing and able to feed his teammates, though that group distribution philosophy isn't something you'd expect to take hold overnight.
Watching Fisher's guys so far, they have clearly embraced the principle, even when they're not altogether sure how to implement it.
Accounting for breakdowns in triangle action into pick-and-rolls without secondary motions or even more iso-ish fare, the ball still has seldom stuck. Shane Larkin is leading all Knicks with just 4.3 assists per game, but the team as a whole is averaging 24.0. That's good for fifth in the league in dishing, which, after that final year of Raymond Felton running the point, is so refreshing for New York.
Just the raw assist number doesn't do justice to how committed Fisher's Knicks are to setting each other up for scores.
All that passing has resulted in 90.3 points per game for New York—tied with the lowly Philadelphia 76ers for third-to-last in the NBA. Of the top eight assisting teams, the Knicks are the only one averaging less than 102.0 points. (Their offensive rating, adjusting for a methodical pace, is 101.2, 18th overall, per NBA.com)
Fisher has clearly put the emphasis on methodical offensive play, taking what the system has to give rather than attacking early or force-feeding Carmelo Anthony. The offense is not yet great, but the commitment to optimizing it over time is there. The new coach has laid the groundwork, and it should get even better when Jose Calderon gets healthy and starts running the point.
Rediscovering Basic Defense
Make no mistake: Outside of Iman Shumpert, already respected as a lockdown wing, no Knick has silenced any nonbelievers and proven himself a plus defender.
Across the board, however, the men in blue and orange are flat-out competing on the defensive end. It's the physicalized manifestation of Melo's comments to ESPN.com's Ian Begley, acknowledging last season's "bad energy" and how much better the vibe is this time around. As Anthony told Begley:
"I think just overall, not pointing anything out, but just overall from day one last year the energy was just not right. This year, you could just feel the total difference stepping into this gym, talking to guys, talking to the staff, talking to the players. Everybody has a newfound energy so it's just a lot different now.
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Some of that is a matter of new personnel.
Quincy Acy is out there muscling guys like an labradoodle puppy in a bulldog's body. While that eager, physical style leads to a ton of fouls (four per game thus far), it's also infectious. Rewarding Acy's yeoman work, both on defense and the offensive boards, with more run sets a solid precedent; the likes of Anthony and Amar'e Stoudemire each have been aggressively bodying their men.
They're playing with a sense of confidence and personal responsibility, and that's more than just a projection on their performance. Fisher's reversal of Mike Woodson's switch-happy approach has tasked each man with containing his respective opponent, rather than everyone just assuming Tyson Chandler would clean up the mess.
It's facile to saying that the coach's trust and a sense of wanting it more are making enormous differences, but Fish has been comfortable sticking Amar'e on Al Jefferson and undrafted rookie Travis Wear on LeBron.
Neither of those Knicks are good defenders whatsoever, and while their play was not flawless in those matchups, in playing to contain the man with sound fundamentals, sure enough, they achieved some containment.
Tack on Shane Larkin water-buggin' out with 2.67 steals per game, Pablo Prigioni sneaking his way to 1.67 and Shump swiping 1.33 of his own, and Fish's squad has a degree of defensive chaos to complement the competence.
That unit won't necessarily scare opponents, but it'll be feisty, and that's already a huge step in the right direction for Fisher.
Pragmatic Minutes Management
In 81 games as a rookie, Tim Hardaway Jr. played 23.1 minutes per game. Through three games this season? Just 11.0 minutes, including 15 combined in the two Knicks wins.
Hardaway was the alpha on the summer-league team and got plenty of opportunities to shoot during the preseason, and while he projects, both for this season and beyond, to be the best wing-scoring option next to Melo, his game still has a ton of holes.
He's largely deserving of the green light to shoot whenever, wherever, but he's a woeful defender, an unintuitive passer and a totally ineffective rebounder. As Joe Flynn points out at Posting and Toasting, it's no disrespect to TH2 to sit him, but rather an act in his best interest.
"If we're being honest here, Fisher getting tough with Hardaway would absolutely be the best thing for the kid's development. Timmy was hurt by Woodson's coaching last season just as much as Shumpert was, albeit for opposite reasons. Just as Woodson was too hard on Shump, he was far too easy on Tim. I will never for the life of me understand how a coach who endlessly preached defense and accountability could give a rookie gunner carte blanche to shoot as much as his heart desired. It wasn't like it was helping the team win -- the Knicks were 9.5 points worse per 100 possessions with Hardaway on the court last year.
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Last season, Woodson gave Hardaway every opportunity to showcase his scoring prowess, but in his trials by fire in those other facets of the game, he showed little to no improvement.
Fisher is out to cultivate talent and win games at the same time. He's unafraid to play Wear, the most triangle-ready of the youngsters, against LeBron over Hardaway or Cleanthony Early, New York's top-drafted rookie and the lone Knick not to play against Cleveland.
After the Cavs game, Fish noted Hardaway as his standout performer, per Marc Berman of the New York Post.
"Tim Hardaway Jr. He played four minutes, and the level of support and commitment to his teammates and how involved he was in the game, although he wasn’t in, says a lot about him and who we are trying to become. It was a great team win tonight.
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That's more than lip service. Immediately following Fisher's first win as a coach and what could very well be the Knicks' biggest win of the season, he spoke first and foremost in praise of a key prospect accustomed to a larger role. It was a genuine gesture that Fisher has faith in Hardaway, despite what the limited workload might imply.
Walking that tightrope of in-game strategist, roster developer and locker room diplomat takes poise and savvy. Some people can coach for years without getting a handle on that balance. Just three games into his sideline career, Fisher sure seems to have the hang of it already.
All statistics and records are current through Monday, Nov. 3.
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