Schmeelk: Fisher, Porzingis Still Learning; Melo Willing Knicks To Wins
By John Schmeelk
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The Knicks held on and beat the Jazz in overtime on Wednesday night, despite a bad decision by head coach Derek Fisher at the end of the game.
With all the attention on Kristaps Porzingis' foul that put Gordon Hayward on the line for three shots in the closing seconds, it was Fisher's fault for putting his prized rookie in that situation in the first place.
Generally speaking, I'm not an advocate of fouling right away in all situations when you are playing defense and leading by three with the shot clock turned off. But on Wednesday night, a few different factors made fouling the right move.
The Jazz inbounded with a little less than 10 seconds remaining, and the Knicks wisely didn't foul right away. Utah ran Hayward off a screen, and the Knicks switched, putting Porzingis on him. So far, so good. After a few dribbles the clock was nearing five seconds. At that point it made perfect sense for Porzingis to reach out and grab Hayward before he shoots. Even if he hit two free throws, the Jazz would have then had to foul the Knicks. Out of timeouts, Utah would have been unable to advance the ball past halfcourt after those free throws, making the chance it could tie or win the game slim to none.
Fisher should have sent the team out with orders to foul intentionally only once the clock got down to about five seconds, and with the Jazz player still dribbling the ball. The game never would have went to overtime and the Knicks would have been able to breathe a little easier. Porzingis still would have fouled out, but it would have been a foul that likely would have won the game.
Fisher is only in his second year as a head coach and he is still learning. Wednesday night should serve as a good experience for him.
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Sometimes it is easy to forget that Porzingis is just a rookie. He has so many good instincts, handles himself with maturity off the court, always says the right thing and seems to have wisdom beyond his years. At the end of the game on Wednesday night, we were reminded that the phenom nicknamed "KP" still has some things he needs to learn.
At 7-foot-3, and guarding a player a half-foot shorter than him, Porzingis doesn't have to jump to make a 3-point shot an extremely difficult talk for Hayward. All Porzingis needed to do was put his hands up and stand in front of the shooter. He knew he made a mistake after the game, and knowing Porzingis, it was a mistake he will not make again.
The mistake of jumping masked a good defensive play by the rookie to switch onto Hayward, stay in front of him, and force him into a step-back contested 3-pointer. Porzingis showed all his strengths at the end of the game, hitting an open 3, hitting two clutch free throws, and showing his out-of-this-world athleticism for a player that tall. All of that, by the way, was done on a foot he probably shouldn't have been playing on.
The sky remains the limit for him.
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In what has become a common occurrence, it is time to tip our caps to Carmelo Anthony once again.
In a game in which he was shooting well and having a lot of success going one on one, Anthony could have easily slipped into that comfortable isolation mode we're accustomed to down the stretch and in overtime.
He did the exact opposite.
Anthony assisted on three 3-point shots at the end of regulation, finding open teammates after the defense shifted in his direction. In overtime, he found Derrick Williams for an open 3 with a great cross-court pass. Anthony finished with an efficient 30 points on only 20 shots, along with nine assists, and seven rebounds. Five of those assists came in the fourth quarter and overtime, when in the past Anthony always felt the responsibility of having to take and make all the important shots late in games.
That is no longer the case. Anthony continues to be the consummate team player and it is helping the Knicks win games.
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Finally, a word on Williams. Even though the advanced stats say he doesn't have a particularly positive impact on the team (they say the team is better when he is off the court), he does do positive things when he is on the floor. His plus-minus numbers look a lot better when he is out there with the starters than with the second team, where he is asked to do a lot without a ton of other scoring options around him.
If he can continue to become a better defensive player, spot-up shooter, and rebounder, the Knicks will have found something on a discount.
I think Fisher might continue to roll Williams out there in the fourth quarter with some kind of combination of Anthony, Arron Afflalo, and either Porzingis or Robin Lopez. That group is tough to guard and looks much more athletic than some of the other lineups the Knicks put out there.
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