Derek Fisher Will Be a Better Coach Because of New York Knicks' Season from Hell
Derek Fisher finally knows what losing feels like. In 18 years as a player, he only suffered two losing seasons. Now in his first year as a coach, his New York Knicks are 10-46; their only star player is on crutches, and their president is tweeting too much.
These are the times that try men's souls. And they might be precisely what Fisher needs to become a great coach. Not sure? Just ask other great coaches.
"The road to Easy Street goes through the sewer," NFL Hall of Fame coach John Madden once said. By soaking his trousers in unspeakable filth now, Fisher—who's never ended a season with fewer than 38 wins—is gaining new wisdom about adversity.
Besides, he isn't the only guy who struggled in his first season as an NBA head coach.
San Antonio Spurs head coach Gregg Popovich dragged his team to a dreadful 17-47 record his rookie year. He won his first NBA championship two seasons later and got four more rings after that.
Oklahoma City Thunder head coach Scott Brooks had a woeful 22-47 as a rookie coach. Three seasons later, he led the Thunder to the NBA Finals.
Take a look at all the coaches of playoff-bound teams. Of the 16—not including new NBA coaches David Blatt and Steve Kerr—only five had winning seasons in their first year.
They can't all be 62-win prodigies like Tom Thibodeau.
Even a 20-year coach who never had a losing season—you know him as Phil Jackson—says Fisher is not to blame for New York's dismal record. Jackson told reporters Jan. 15, per ESPNNewYork.com's Ian Begley: "The fans, I want them to leave Derek alone in this regard. He's doing the best job possible. It's not his fault."
Other observers have agreed...and blamed Jackson instead. Marc Berman of the New York Post reported that there's "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."
Regardless of who is to blame, failure is educational. Fisher is made of strong stuff, and this devastation will make him stronger.
Take it from Brooks, who not only knows losing but knows Fisher, having coached him in OKC. After the Thunder's loss to the Knicks Jan. 28, Brooks said, per Andrew Keh of The New York Times:
"“He’s as consistent a worker as I’ve ever been around as a player, and I’m sure he has the same type of work ethic as a coach,” Brooks said. “He’s steady. He understands that every season it’s about the process of getting better. I know this is not the season he would have liked, but he’s not changing his attitude toward the game he loves.”
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Brooks seems to understand his former player quite well. Fish's work ethic and optimism show themselves in nearly every word. He said this week, per Fred Kerber of the New York Post: "Things will be one day just as good as they are bad and we have to just still have some faith, if we keep working hard, keep doing the right things, we keep surrounding ourselves with the right people that it will get there."
These kinds of comments mark him as a potential great. Having a winning attitude, even when you're losing, is not easy, but it is essential. John Wooden, who led UCLA to 10 NCAA championships in 12 years, once said, "Things work out best for the people who make the best of the way things work out."
Fisher is trying to do just that. He's treating the rest of this season as a long audition for the young and reserve players who have so far survived Jackson's housecleaning. During practice Tuesday, Fisher said, per NYKnicks.com:
"I think we handle the last 26, 27 games in the right way. ...We're gonna find out who are the guys that will be able to be here, stay with us, continue to have the right mindset, that are the great guys to surround with and build with in the future. And they all have those opportunities to show that right now.
That's what makes teams up. There are more of these guys on teams than Carmelos on teams. So these are the guys who really make the difference for you between winning and losing.
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Fisher understands what it means to be an NBA journeyman, a go-to starter, a six man and a clutch veteran. He knows how team chemistry is created and destroyed.
Another gem from Wooden: "A coach is someone who can give correction without causing resentment."
That's a tricky assignment, especially for a man who was still wearing a jersey eight months ago. Some of his players this February are the same guys who faced up against him last February. If he came in barking orders, he'd lose respect and cause the resentment Wooden warned of.
That said, he holds them accountable. Never was that clearer than Dec. 16. Before seven minutes were gone in the game, the Knicks' starting five had committed four turnovers, let the Dallas Mavericks build a 15-point lead and made no indication that they actually intended to play basketball that evening.
It was sickening. So, in one calm motion, Fish subbed out everybody.
It wasn't fun for the starters, but it sent clear messages. It said, to those five slouches, "come to play" and to the second-string players "I trust you." Fisher explained to reporters after the loss, per Justin Tasch of the New York Daily News, "There are ways to be confrontational to let guys know how you feel without being angry and out of control."
At that time, the Knicks' record was only 5-25, and there was still a slim chance of finishing the season above .500. Two months later, those chances are gone. Yet somehow, Fish keeps on keepin' on. During practice Tuesday, Fisher said:
"I'm not taking this on personally, like it's going to define my career. And hopefully our players aren't doing that either. We got to just take each day's challenges in front of us, because that's all we can control. ...
Maybe it sounds cliche or it sounds like coachspeak or whatever, but it's a choice to remain focused on where you can be and who you can become, as opposed to letting where you are now to define your life, or your destiny, or your character or your career.
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That sounds like a guy who's going to end up in the quote books with Wooden.
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