Despite Losses, Derek Fisher Can Still Be a Good Coach
Oh, sure, the record is 5-25, and yeah, head coach Derek Fisher is presiding over the worst season in New York Knicks' history, but don't let that fool you.
It's been only six months since Fish ended his playing career, only three since he wore a suit, not a jersey, on the sideline. Yet already he's showing promise as a manager of men and game clocks.
Consider a few defining moments of Derek Fisher's coaching career so far.
Last four minutes vs. the Detroit Pistons
Nov. 5, Detroit—halfway through the fourth quarter after three-and-a-half quarters of sloppy, slogging misery and a 17-point deficit, the Knicks are finally show signs of life.
Fisher makes the most of that spark. His management of the last four minutes is masterful. Each timeout is called at the perfect moment. Each substitution precisely chosen to craft the best lineup for that possession. When sophomore point guard Shane Larkin was clearly devastated after committing an ill-timed turnover, Fisher subbed him out for just a moment—long enough to let Shane collect himself, short enough to show Shane that his coach still trusted him.
Ultimately it wasn't enough. A questionable out-of-bounds call in the final seconds sealed the win for the Pistons. Yet Fisher's quick decisions and strategic maneuvers were a symbolic victory for a rookie coach only one week into the season.
That begs the question: Why are the Knicks the worst clutch team in the league? In the final five minutes, they average a minus-3.1 differential.
Is it that the players are tired? Fisher let Carmelo Anthony's minutes jet back up to over 38 minutes per game in December, but for the most part, the coach is providing players adequate rest.
Is it clock management or play-calling? No. Derek Fisher's not the one who turns the ball over with a lazy pass. Derek Fisher's not the one who forgets that a shot clock exists. Derek Fisher's not the one who decided it wasn't necessary to impede Kemba Walker's casual drive to the hoop to hit a buzzer-beating layup in Charlotte.
Execution is the problem for the Knicks. And while you can task Fish with putting the right players out there and training their minds and bodies for such situations, you can't literally put the ball in his hands.
Striding out on the court to call a timeout
Dec. 5, Brooklyn—Kevin Garnett misses a layup, and the Knicks, down by three to the Brooklyn Nets with 17.8 seconds left in regulation, come up with the rebound. As Carmelo Anthony takes the ball downcourt, Fisher calls a timeout. The ref hears him, glances back at Fisher...and ignores his request.
Melo puts up a three, misses, the Nets' Deron Williams grabs the rebound and Fisher stands on the sidelines, with his hands in the air, dumbfounded. New York loses.
Dec. 7, Madison Square Garden—With less than a minute left in the fourth quarter, the Knicks are down by one to the Cleveland Cavaliers. Fisher calls timeout. The ref ignores him.
But Fisher won't let this happen two games in a row. In what the New York Post's Marc Berman described as "the oddest scene of the season," Fisher strides right onto the hardwood at half court, signalling for a timeout in a way that even fans in the nosebleeds and people with their backs turned couldn't miss.
That wry display was Fish's way of showing that he's not going to get pushed around just because he's a rookie coach, and he's willing to bend the rules of sideline etiquette if need be.
Subbing out the entire starting lineup at once
Dec. 16, Dallas—Carmelo Anthony, Amar'e Stoudemire, Jose Calderon, Tim Hardaway Jr. and Quincy Acy meet the Mavericks on the court. Amar'e wins the tipoff...and that's the best thing that happens for the next six minutes and 40 seconds.
The Knicks' first possession ends in a shot-clock violation. Before seven minutes has passed, the Knicks have given Tyson Chandler four rebounds, committed four turnovers and dropped back to a 15-point deficit. They're sluggish and disinterested like they just can't be bothered.
It's sickening.
So in one sweeping motion, Fisher sends all five starters to the bench and brings in five men ready to play.
It sent a message. It also got the Knicks back into the game, as the bench players injected some energy and stopped the hemorrhaging. After the game, Fisher told reporters, per CBS New York:
"The guys who started the game were a disappointment to their teammates. Guys who start a game have to be physically and mentally ready to play. We got five guys in there who played hard.
"
As John Schmeelk of CBS Sports said, Fisher's wholescale substitution introduced player accountability, "something lacking under Mike Woodson."
It also gave New Yorkers a glimpse of Fish's feisty side. Some basketball fans prefer the violent chair-throwing antics of Bobby Knight to the focused decorum of Derek Fisher. Some believe that discipline can only be administered with loud voices and accountability enforced with public finger-pointing.
Yet, Fisher is only 40 years old, and nearly all of the players currently taking orders from him were competing against him a few months ago. If he screamed and publicly shamed his team in every postgame interview, the players, who are grown men and professionals, would dismiss his authority.
Fisher knows that. As he told reporters after the loss to Dallas, per Justin Tasch of the New York Daily News:
"Emotions during the game are already high enough. Often times, that’s when you see confrontations between players and coaches. There are ways to be confrontational to let guys know how you feel without being angry and out of control. But as time goes on, the more I’m here, the more you’ll see.
"
He's finding the right balance between colleague and coach, and that will improve as the season progresses.
Creative lineups
There is an argument to be made for continuity—having the same starting five every game and counting on those same five to close it out strong as the clock clicks to 00:00. Sure.
Continuity can be overrated, especially when the five starters play with the energy and artistry of dead fish.
As onetime NBA All-Star and now-commentator Wally Szczerbiak said on MSG Networks' Knicks postgame Dec. 7, "I love the way Derek Fisher's coaching the lineups. He's going with the team that's in rhythm."
Fisher goes with who is playing well, not who should be playing well.
So undrafted rookie forward Travis Wear defends Lebron James well for a few minutes and is rewarded by doing it for another 12 minutes. So 5'11" sophomore presumed-third-string point guard Shane Larkin starts ahead of Pablo Prigioni when Jose Calderon is injured. (He probably should be starting ahead of Calderon now too.) So, Amar'e Stoudemire replaces Samuel Dalembert in the starting lineup, and Cole Aldrich starts ahead of Dalembert when "STAT" needs to rest.
Why not? If the so-called "reserves" are the ones actually producing, why yank them out of the game just because you're supposed to? If a guard off the bench is 5-of-5 from behind the arc that night and the starting guard is 0-12, why not give the ball to bench boy when you need to sink that buzzer-beating triple?
Also, what team ever plays with the same starters 82 games of the year? When injuries, ailments and suspensions take one of your so-called "best" five off the floor, you'll want to replace him with someone the other four know well.
This is key for the Knicks. With J.R. Smith, Iman Shumpert, Cleanthony Early and Andrea Bargnani down for the count now and Amar'e and Melo periodically needing to rest their weary joints, having experienced options is essential.
Besides, different lineups are better for different opponents. Tweaks that make sure power is met with power, speed with speed and offense with defense shouldn't be eschewed for the sake of continuity.
Fisher's willingness to give starting lineup berths and clutch minutes to the players who don't expect it shows confidence and vision, motivates all players to perform well and makes the team more adaptable.
Phil's fault?
Many observers are not blaming Fish for the Knicks' woes. The criticism instead is falling on the Zen Master.
As Mark Berman of the New York Post describes, there is "a raft of sympathy from league personnel for Fisher being forced—under orders from team president Phil Jackson—into running a triangle offense nobody else in the league runs."
Berman also quotes former Knicks coach Jeff Van Gundy as saying Fisher is "doing fine," but this year's struggles show that Mike Woodson was doing a good job last season as head coach.
Frank Isola of the New York Daily News has also questioned Jackson's behavior—like getting defensive on Twitter and saddling Fisher with a media liaison.
The one person who has been thoroughly critical of Derek Fisher is Dennis Rodman. At a media event Dec. 9, Rodman told reporters, per Ian Begley of ESPN New York, that he learned the triangle "in like 15 minutes" and expressed sympathy for Jackson, saying:
"[Phil Jackson] didn't expect this. I saw him a couple of times on TV when I was in L.A., and I'm like, I know what you feel like, Phil. You came to be the savior and all of a sudden it's like, ugh.
Then you went and got Derek Fisher. Really, is he coaching? Is Derek Fisher coaching? I don't get it. I don't know what's up with that team, man. You've got Carmelo and after that who else do you got? ... They're not running the triangle. Derek Fisher's not really coaching.
"
Dennis Rodman was a two-time All-Star and two-time Defensive Player of the Year who won three championships playing for the Chicago Bulls under Jackson. He was fined $20,000 for kicking a cameraman in the groin. He sneaked off during the week of the 1998 NBA Finals to wrestle Hulk Hogan. Per the New York Daily News' Justin Rocket Silverman, he declared North Korean leader Kim Jong-un a "friend for life." These are facts.
Unless the Knicks go on a 52-0 run to end the season, Derek Fisher is not going to win Coach of the Year in 2015. Yet, his instincts and decision-making thus far hint that he may take home that honor before he leaves basketball for good.
All stats are from NBA.com/stats. Follow Sara Peters on Twitter @3Fromthe7.
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