Game 1 A Learning Experience For Fish's Knicks · The Official Web Site of Derek Fisher . Analyst . Coach . Five-Time NBA World Champion

His official NBA coaching debut won’t come until the end of the month and he already got his feet wet coaching the Knicks’ Summer League team in Las Vegas in July, but Wednesday night’s preseason opener brought another first for Derek Fisher in his quick transition from NBA player to NBA coach.

Derek officially traded in his shorts for a suit on Wednesday night and made his New York Knicks sideline debut as the Knicks took on the Boston Celtics in exhibition action at the XL Center in Hartford, Connecticut.

Unfortunately, New York couldn’t get Fish’s tenure off to a victorious start, as they dropped their first preseason contest 106-86 to the Celtics. But the outcome of the game was secondary to the experience gained by D-Fish and his players, and afterward he noted that the game represented a perfect opportunity to start ironing out the inevitable kinks with his new team.

“Like we talked about before the game, every night regardless of the score, it’s about finding ways to get better,” he said.

Rather than load up his starters with heavy playing time, D-Fish rotated through 14 players who all garnered 10 or more minutes on the floor, with none seeing more than 23 minutes of action.

Wednesday marked the first in-game run through the triangle offense for many of New York’s veterans including star Carmelo Anthony, former Sixth Man of the Year J.R. Smith, and newly-acquired Jose Calderon.

The triangle is designed to create offensive spacing, allowing more space for playmakers to work, but there is also a steep learning curve involved with executing the system to the team’s benefit. As can be expected, the Knicks experienced some growing pains within it in Game 1.

But Coach Fish remarked afterward that Wednesday’s turn of events didn’t catch him by surprise and he expressed confidence that the learning experience will be beneficial as he helps his squad to master the unique offense.

“We turned the basketball over 28 times, which is kind of expected in our system offensively when we’re trying to learn how to play with each other,” Fish said. “We anticipate there will be high turnover rates early until we get comfortable on what we’re doing on the offensive end.”

Underneath the ugly turnovers, however, were a respectable 20 assists, a positive step for a Knicks team that aims to emphasize passing as a crucial component of their offense. In previous years, New York has been notorious for continuously feeding Anthony, one of the league’s top scorers. But that wasn’t the case in the preseason opener. Anthony played more than any other Knicks starter, at 21 minutes and scored 10 points, but he also tied for a team-high four assists.

The team’s success in sharing the basketball had Derek excited with their progress after the game.

“To have a first game game with 28 turnovers, you still have 20 assists, that means that guys are trying to pass the ball,” Fish chuckled. “And so regardless of the score, what we want to see is guys are willing to pass the ball, and share, and be unselfish and be a team.”

Shooting guard Tim Hardaway Jr.—who also shined under Fish in the Las Vegas Summer League—was a highlight for the Knicks on Wednesday. Hardaway scored a team-high 18 points off the bench, with six of those points coming from 3-point-range. The second-year guard also grabbed six rebounds, dished out two assists and picked up a steal.

However, Hardaway and Anthony were the only Knicks in double figures on the scoreboard, and Hardaway and Amar’e Stoudemire were the only players to finish the game with a positive point differential for New York during their time on the court.

Though the Knicks hit their bumps in the exhibition opener, they started out strong and played their best basketball in the first quarter.

Anthony cashed in the game’s first two points from the charity stripe, and from there, Andrea Bargnani and Hardaway had the two biggest scoring spurts of the quarter. Late in the quarter, Hardaway dished to rookie Cleanthony Early for a three ball that gave New York a two-point lead and the Knicks held a four-point advantage at the end of the frame.

However, as the game rolled along, the New York offense began to unravel and the Celtics were able to take control.

“What’s most challenging for players in this system early on is just trusting that things will work out,” He said. “You don’t have to chase the basketball or go after the shot. The shot will show up, it will appear if you continue to execute.”

In addition to their challenges on offense, the Knicks also struggled on the defensive end, allowing the Celtics to control the middle of the floor throughout the game.

Though Boston shot just 49 percent from the field, they held a 10-point advantage in points in the paint. Derek said afterward that he will put a heightened focus on team defense in upcoming practices. He noted that he wants his team to simplify the thought process and limit the turnovers to make it easier on their defense.

“Defense is not tied to offense,” Fish said. “It helps if you play better offense, if you’re not turning the ball over, you give your defense a better chance, but you need to be able to defend regardless of what happens on offense.”

Though the Knicks did struggle, part of the lopsided outcome could also be attribute to the fact that Boston gave decidedly heavier minutes to their starters. The Celtics had four first-teamers in double figures, compared to just one from New York. Big man Jared Sullinger led the way with 23 points, and the C’s held the advantage in each of the final three quarters to cruise to victory.

Although he hoped for a more complete performance from his team, Derek noted in his media session that his team did things in Game 1 that they can build on. He also surmised that the team’s struggles should turn to successes with more practice, and Wednesday’s game will be an afterthought when all is said and done.

“When we start to reach our goals and objectives, we won’t remember the score from the first preseason game,” he said.

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NEXT UP

The Knicks have two days to prepare for their second preseason tilt, a rematch with the Celtics.

Round 2 between the Knicks and Celtics is set for a 7:30 p.m. ET tipoff on Saturday at Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, Conn and the game can be seen on MSG.