Schmeelk: Knicks Players Are Figuring Things Out Faster Than Their Coach
By John Schmeelk
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The Knicks were never going to win a title this season. Instead, the simple hope was for them to be competent.
So far, sitting at 6-6, that's exactly what they have been.
There's no cause to throw a party for a team playing .500 basketball, but given how last season went for the Knicks, what has gone down so far has been a true accomplishment. The team is right smack in the middle of the NBA in offensive and defensive efficiency, ranking 13th and 14th, respectively.
Much of the credit needs to go to the players. To say Kristaps Porzingis is ahead of schedule would be the understatement of the century. He is a top two rookie in the league so far this season, and his game seems to grow on a nightly basis. He is already adding post moves to his repertoire that other players never figure out. His jump shot began to fall Tuesday night against Charlotte, and he continues to play defense and rebound like a veteran.
Carmelo Anthony has not been perfect, but he has been very good. His shooting has been better recently, but his percentage is still barely above 40. He hasn't shot well late in games, isn't finishing near the rim consistently and struggles getting around screens and closing out defensively.
Melo still misses open teammates from time to time, but his attitude is right. He has been a willing passer most of the time, and has confidence in his teammates to make shots. Late in the fourth on Tuesday, Anthony passed up a fairly open 3-pointer and gave it to Langston Galloway for a wide open shot. He is moving the ball and involving his teammates. This is what the team's star needs to do.
Galloway is shooting the lights out, and there isn't anything he does that is a liability. Jose Calderon has picked up his shooting. Jerian Grant gets to the rim. Arron Afflalo is back and is showing off his mid-range game. Robin Lopez is doing what he was paid to do. Even Kevin Seraphin has played well offensively for two straight games.
Derek Fisher, however, is not doing his players any favors with his rotations. To his credit, he has opened up the offense and the team is playing faster (until recently), but Fisher still doesn't know who to play. Lopez, for seemingly no good reason, has found himself stapled to the bench in the last two fourth quarters. Sure, Seraphin has scored some points (and even made some nice passes the last two games), but he hurts the team defensively and rebounding the ball. He might be a hot, but he is not someone the Knicks can feature offensively late in games as the season moves on.
Likewise, Lou Amundson has found himself as a prominent rotation member, playing instead of Lopez and seemingly replacing Kyle O'Quinn as a regular contributor. Amundson tries hard, but his skill set is very limited. Playing him with Lance Thomas puts the Knicks behind the 8-ball offensively. He is not a two-way player in any way, shape, or form. If he is playing major minutes for the Knicks, they aren't going to go very far.
Fisher needs to decide what players he wants to use late in games. Obviously, Anthony needs to be on the floor, and so does Porzingis. Galloway's shooting and defense on quicker guards makes him an obvious addition as well. The other two players can rotate between Calderon, Afflalo, Lopez and even Grant depending on matchups. There's no reason for Amundson, Seraphin, or Thomas to be playing over any of the players above. They just aren't as good. Twice in recent games Fisher has given Thomas the responsibility of inbounding in key end-of-game situations, and twice he has thrown bad passes.
Fisher played 13 players over the weekend against New Orleans and 12 on Tuesday against Charlotte. For some reason he found the need to play Sasha Vujacic in both games. Fisher can't play more than 10 players consistently game to game. It takes his better players off the floor for far too long. He needs to decide what players are in his rotation and which shouldn't be (Vujacic, Amundson) sooner rather than later. Those players will get chances when injuries happen. Until then they need to be on the bench.
Fisher has made progress since his rookie season, but he still has a lot of work to do. Luckily for him, his players are playing well enough to mask some of those problems. But sooner or later having Amundson, Vujacic or Seraphin on the floor when they shouldn't be is going to cost the team games.
Those losses will be on the coach.
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