The shine of the Phil Jackson hire and the re-signing of Carmelo Anthony has reinvigorated the Knicks franchise.
But it won’t be the team’s president, his disciple, rookie coach Derek Fisher or the over-hyped triangle offense that will determine whether this team is decidedly different from the one that limped through a disparaging 2013-’14 campaign that saw the Knicks miss the playoffs in the pathetic Eastern Conference.
“Defense,” said MSG Network analyst and Knicks great Walt “Clyde” Frazier when asked what will determine this season’s fate. “Defense. We saw in the Milwaukee game that they need to tighten up their defense and let the defense be their best offense.”
The Milwaukee game Frazier referred to was a 120-107 preseason loss Monday that resembled too many regular-season defeats last year. It is defense that guided the Knicks’ success in the early 70’s when Frazier and Jackson helped take the Knicks to the only two titles in franchise history.
Walt “Clyde” FrazierGetty Images“They have to become a better defensive team, and they’ve showed signs of that commitment in the preseason, but until you do it in the regular season and keep fighting defensively, even through a three-game losing streak that’s when you are going to be able to test a team’s defensive toughness,” MSG play-by-play man Mike Breen said of the Knicks, who open the season next week against the top teams in the East — the Bulls and LeBron James’ Cavaliers.
“Will they keep fighting? Will they stick together? Will they stick with the system?”
The answer to those questions for recent Knicks teams has been a resounding no. It’s what led to Mike D’Antoni being replaced by Mike Woodson, a switch that led to one tempting season, before Woodson’s message found the same deaf ears D’Antoni’s did.
The hope is the heft Jackson brings with his 13 championship rings, 11 as a coach of the Lakers and Bulls and two as a player in New York, will have the lasting effect needed.
“You don’t hear players in the NBA talk much about their team’s management, but all the players are talking about Phil,” Breen said. “So, it makes you believe in what he says, it makes you believe in his success, and that’s still the No. 1 thing that the players listen to. When someone says, ‘I’ve won 13 championships,’ they stand up and listen.”
Aside from re-signing Anthony to a five-year deal, the Knicks’ other major offseason move was shipping Tyson Chandler and Raymond Felton to Dallas for point guards Jose Calderon, Shane Larkin, Samuel Dalembert and Wayne Ellington, who was later shipped to Sacramento.
Calderon gives the Knicks the point guard they desperately needed to run the triangle, and Chandler’s departure offers future salary-cap relief. But Chandler was also the Knicks’ best defensive player.
“Dalembert is capable and a lot like Chandler,” Frazier said. “He is a lot more aggressive than Chandler and a good shot blocker. He is going to mitigate the loss of Chandler. We know about [Iman] Shumpert’s defensive prowess. Fisher is really working with these guys to improve their defense. J.R. [Smith], Carmelo, and [Tim] Hardaway can improve their defense. If the Knicks are going to be a playoff contender, these guys are really going to have to step up on defense.”
