Derek Fisher knew that the task of taking over as head coach of the New York Knicks wouldn’t be easy, with a roster and front office going through a transitional phase—and there has been plenty of adversity in his first season.
The Knicks have seen some of their best players struggle through injuries, and they also waved goodbye to two of their top guards in a midseason trade. But through the turmoil, D-Fish has been a pillar of confidence and consistency on the New York sideline.
D-Fish’s coaching debut came against one of the preseason favorites in the Eastern Conference, the Chicago Bulls. And Tom Thibodeau’s squad, which has kept its core and its coach for several seasons, handed D-Fish’s crew a season-opening loss. But it didn’t take Fish long to post a marquee win.
Derek’s squad spoiled the homecoming of LeBron James with the Cleveland Cavaliers in a 95-90 victory.
“It’s just trusting the work that we put in and making sure that these guys understand that they’re not on this team by accident. If we didn’t believe that they could play at this level, they wouldn’t be here,” Fish said after his first coaching victory. ”Our management is showing a lot of trust in a lot of our guys and as coaches we’re trying to make sure that they understand that everybody has to be ready to play every night. Tonight should serve as a great example for the rest of the season that if everyone remains committed to the team and ready to play, we’re capable of some really good things.”
Their next night out, the Knicks posted win No. 2 against the Charlotte Hornets. But after that, the slide started and as time went on, injuries and issues mounted.
Throughout the first half, 18 different players suited up for the Knicks, and all but Andrea Bargnani, who fought through two different injuries, made an appearance in the starting lineup.
Forward Jason Smith was the only Knick to play in all 53 games, while Tim Hardaway Jr. was another constant, appearing in 52 games while averaging 11.1 points.
Star forward Carmelo Anthony missed 13 games, while center Amar’e Stoudemire missed 17. Two other centerpieces, J.R. Smith and Iman Shumpert, were also in and out of the lineup with health issues before they were traded to Cleveland in early January.
Through it all, Coach Fish was forced to turn to several young and unproven players, including Hardaway, Smith, Lance Thomas and Shane Larkin. Late in the first half, a bright spot emerged from the patched up Knicks: rookie point guard Langston Galloway.
With a penchant for making clutch buckets and gutsy plays, Galloway was called up after the departure of J.R. and Iman from New York’s Development League affiliate, the Westchester Knicks.
He jumped into a major role early, logging 31 minutes and scoring 19 points in just his second NBA appearance.
“He’s not afraid of the moment and that’s what makes him special as a young player that’s aspiring to get into this league and stay in it,” Derek said of Galloway. “He’s not afraid to go get it and that’s the way you have to be out there.”
Eventually the young squad guided by Galloway and others started finding ways to win. Galloway went for 21 points in a 99-92 victory over the New Orleans Pelicans, which snapped a 16-game losing streak—a win that Derek said was for his players.
“It’s not what I’ve gone through personally…it’s about these guys, these players,” Coach Fish explained. “If I want them to be optimistic and focused and driven and relentless in our pursuit for excellence, then I have to be that way as well. It doesn’t matter what the results were yesterday, we can only control what happens today—and that’s what we did.”
New York reeled off three straight wins, then lost to Charlotte before turning around and topping Fish’s former team, the Oklahoma City Thunder, to win their fourth in five games. Two games later, the Knicks won again, beating another one of Derek’s former squads, the Los Angeles Lakers.
While that spurt didn’t put New York in the playoff picture, it gave the young team some promise for the second half and the coming season. If the Knicks stick to their team-first principles and trust in one another, they can continue to develop for the long term.
BY THE NUMBERS
4.2 – The Knicks have just 4.2 of their shots blocked per game, the sixth fewest in the league
8 – Eight Knicks have averaged nine or more points per game, including five in double figures.
10 – The Knicks are No. 19 in the league in free-throw percentage, knocking down 76.9 percent of their attempts from the line.
12 – New York is No. 12 in the league, forcing 13.8 turnovers per game.
13.4 – The Knicks are 12th in the league, turning the ball over just 13.4 times per game.
17 – Derek has cycled 17 different players through his starting lineup.
24.2 – Knicks leading scorer Carmelo Anthony has averaged 24.2 points per game while fighting through various injuries.
33 – In just 53 games, injuries and trades have forced D-Fish to cycle through 33 different starting lineups.
35.9 – The Knicks are tied for eighth in the league, shooting 35.9 percent from beyond the arc.
IN THEIR WORDS
Knicks forward Carmelo Anthony:
“If it was anybody else in his position, I think this probably would’ve crumbled already. He’s doing a great job of keeping everybody focused on the task at hand and believing in what we’re trying to do.”
“His message was clear: We walked in this door together, we’re going to win together, we’re going to lose together, but we’re going to have each other’s back through thick and thin.”
Los Angeles Lakers coach Byron Scott:
“I don’t worry about their struggles, to be honest with you because I know one of those guys extremely well and that’s Derek,” Scott said. “I don’t know Phil (Jackson) that well, but I know Phil’s a winner and so is Derek.
“So they’re going through the process just like we are and I don’t think it’s going to take them long to get that thing turned around, either.
“I have a lot of faith in Derek. I love Derek. He’s another one of my rookies when I was here with Kobe as well, so I’ve known him for a long time (and) expect him to be very successful as their coach.”
Knicks president Phil Jackson:
“I’m very proud of the way Derek has held himself together during this,” Jackson said. “It’s not easy to go through what he’s gone through. He’s done a really terrific job of continuing to coach and teach and that’s what we’re looking for. And so we’re moving forward in that regard.
“He’s been consistent about his coaching. He’s patient with the players. He hasn’t lost his temperament that I think is very much a part of who he is. The resolve and the character is stable. The fact he is optimistic is really important.”
SECOND-HALF OUTLOOK
The Knicks open the second half with two big tilts against two of the top teams in the Eastern Conference, starting Friday with the Miami heat (22-30).
The Heat, defending East champs, made one of the biggest acquisitions of the trade deadline as they brought on All-NBA point guard Goran Dragic from the Phoenix Suns.
Next, they’ll host LeBron James and the surging Cleveland Cavaliers, who have won 14 of their last 16 games.
New York will be doing it all without their top player, Carmelo Anthony, who was shelved for the season after undergoing surgery on his left knee Thursday. With that in mind, the focus will be on the development of the young Knicks as the season winds down.
“It’s obvious that he physically can’t do the things he’s capable of doing, so this is a necessary step for him to take,” Fish said of Anthony. “By making his decision now, it makes it clear for us the direction we’re going in, in terms of focusing on the guys who are healthy and can play and what we have there.”
IN HIS OWN WORDS
Derek recently talked about how he will go forward with his Knicks in this second half and what he is trying to build in New York.
“Hopefully we can create the type of group that realizes we’re all we’ve got. It’s just us. No more concerns about who may or may not be here, what may or may not happen. The reality is this our team for the remainder of the season and hopefully that will free everybody’s mind to just focus on the competition and on practicing hard, performing well. Regardless of wins and losses, you’re representing your livelihood, your opportunity to play in this game. I try to remind them how at some point in life they dreamt or talked about wanting to be here at some point in their lifetime, and now that they’re here, you gotta go until you burst through the wall. You can’t let up now. We want to continue to create the type of team that when people watch us play, they see us at work. They don’t see us just there with jerseys on. They actually see us working and trying to do something. I think our fans have responded to that throughout the season, even if we haven’t won games, the times I’ve been at the Garden and noticed the fans, even if we weren’t winning, they just want to see us giving everything that we have and I think that’s all people expect from us because that’s what they do on a daily basis.”