Coach Fisher Ready to Put His Stamp on Knicks

As the New York Knicks franchise enters a new era, much has been made about the reuniting of new head coach Derek Fisher and team president Phil Jackson.

Jackson, one of the greatest coaches in NBA history, will certainly act as a guide for Derek in his first year at the helm in New York. However, while Fish is eager to learn under the Zen Master, he is just as anxious to exercise his own influence on his ball club.

“I’m not trying to be someone else,” Derek said during Friday’s pre-training camp press conference. “I’m going to be me and I think I can be me and do it in a way that’s consistent with who we need to be.”

However, that doesn’t mean Derek won’t solicit the help of his mentor when needed.

D-Fish was a part of five championship teams with the Los Angeles Lakers, all while Jackson was the coach. As he begins his own head coaching career, he’ll not only draw from that past experience, but continue to tap into Jackson’s vast basketball mind going forward.

“One thing about Phil that I’ve known for a long time, especially playing for him is that he is not a micromanager, so I knew taking this job it wasn’t going to be a situation where he was going to be constantly pulling my strings. He’s confident in my ability to try and lead this team,” he said. “At the same time, what better resource for a new coach to have than one of the best coaches to ever do it right over your shoulder, talking to you and giving you advice along the way.”

That process has already begun, but it has now ramped up with the beginning of training camp and the preseason slate.

As the team seeks to find its identity on the court, may have inquired about how Coach Fisher will utilize the triangle offense, which Jackson has used to great success in the past.

At the forefront of the Knicks triangle attack will be star scorer Carmelo Anthony.

Anthony brings a different skill set to the attack than players like Michael Jordan and Kobe Bryant, who thrived in the offense before hi. But according to Derek, there is still plenty Melo can learn from the success of his predecessors.

“I think Carmelo now has multiple examples of how guys have been successful inside this system,” Derek said. “Michael broke the mold in a sense of how to be that great within a system. So, I think Carmelo will have an advantage, so to speak of having these examples of some of the greatest players to ever play, still have these Hall of Fame careers within a system and playing with their teammates.”

While that offense, and Anthony’s contributions within it, will be vital to New York’s success, it isn’t priority No. 1 in Derek’s mind.

That spot is reserved for defense, which Derek believes will have to be the team’s backbone for them to thrive in a way that allows the Knicks to reach their championship aspirations.

“I know there will be a lot of questions on the triangle offense, and how different players are going to work in it, and whether or not it is a good fit. That generally happens with this system,” Coach Fish said. “For our team, from a basketball perspective, I think defense is what we have to focus on from day one.

Along with that focus on defense comes a change in mindset as Jackson and Coach Fisher attempt to cultivate an overarching championship culture inside Madison Square Garden.

“As we put time in on the court and we do the things we need to do in practices and workouts, we also have to work hard at creating the type of culture for success,” Fish said. “And then the basketball will come along as we go.”

After speaking with his team, Derek revealed that one of the major concerns for the players on the road to creating that championship culture is consistency.

New York was in a constant search for stability last season, one that ended with the team falling shy of the playoffs. Over the course of the season, the Knicks were both winners of eight in-a-row and losers of nine consecutive games.

Avoiding those ups and downs should help the squad to develop a rhythm as the season goes along—a process Fish believes will once again begin on the defensive end.

“The feedback that we’ve gotten from our players is that consistency on both ends of the floor is something they are looking for,” Derek said. “We are going to try to be consistent in what we teach and what we do. But we’re going to prioritize defense…successful teams play defense. There’s no way around it. We have to figure out how to break into the elite defensive teams some way.”

Not coincidentally, Fish’s mentor has been preaching many of the same principals of success.

“Playing without inhibition, with energy – that’s success,” Jackson said. “Teamwork, support for each other – as a team and especially on defense. Bonds. Chemistry. Intensity.”

NEXT UP

Training camp officially begins for the Knicks on Tuesday, September 30th when they will gather at West Point Military Academy’s Christl Arena, home of Army basketball.

The Knickerbockers will spend a week at West Point before returning to their Tarrytown, New York practice facility ahead of their first preseason game, next week in Hartford, Connecticut. New York’s preseason schedule is as follows: