Schmeelk: Who Runs The Knicks, Melo Or Jackson And Rambis?
By John Schmeelk
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Normally, the big-picture thinking for an NBA team comes from the front office down. If there is a sea change in strategy or approach, there will be a discussion among the executives. It would then filter down to the coaches and the players.
The coach obviously makes day-to-day adjustments and far more experienced coaches operate within the organizational thinking, but often times philosophy originates with the General Manager.
More so than in other organizations that is the case with the Knicks. This team is run from the top down, with Phil Jackson's basketball mind the philosophical leader. That's why what happened at the end of last week is so confounding.
For weeks, Knicks fans have complained about the team not playing younger players more. The media has asked the same questions. The topic was out there, but Kurt Rambis was insistent on staying with his veterans so he could win as many games as possible in the hope of remaining head coach next season. It was stubborn, and it didn't make a lot of sense.
Enter Carmelo Anthony. He went to Robin Lopez and Jose Calderon, and together they went to Rambis and volunteered to give up their playing time so the younger players could get more experience at the end of the season. Rambis took the request up to Jackson, where there was apparent agreement between team president and coach. Rambis apparently agreed, and then spoke to the media and said he would play the young guys more since the team is out of the playoff picture.
It would appear that Rambis made a complete 180 in his thinking just because the players suggested something that had been brought up to him many times before. The fact that Jackson went along begs the question as to why he didn't tell Rambis to play the young guys more long before Anthony went to management and made the suggestion himself.
At this point, why not just make Anthony the coach and GM since a suggestion from him can change the minds of both Rambis and Jackson? How this went down simply doesn't make any sense and it betrays an organization that is not running properly. In the end the right thing was done, but it should be concerning to Knicks fans that it took their star player to suggest it for management to get onboard.
Schmeelk's Snippets
-- Ironically, despite this apparent youth movement, take a guess which three Knicks played the most Sunday night. Try Sasha Vujacic, Robin Lopez, and Arron Afflalo. Jerian Grant struggled shooting (2-for-9), but was a team best plus-10. Vujacic was hot, but still finished minus-10, worst on the team. Grant had two assists and did not turn the ball over.
-- Anthony was wise to take the night off Sunday if his body told him he needed it. There is absolutely no reason for him to push it at this point in the season. His only concern needs to be getting ready for next season and being as healthy as possible. He did entertain us with his reaction to Vujacic's awful 3-point attempt at the end of the game.
-- If Kristaps Porzingis has to be shut down the rest of the season, so be it. Perhaps the most impressive feat during his rookie season has been him staying healthy. Frail players taller than 7 foot have the tendency to be fragile, but Porzingis has fought through bumps and bruises and managed, for the most part, to stay on the floor. At this point, he should just get healthy and start working on getting better for next season.
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