I had the unfortunate privilege of watching the Knicks game on Christmas Day as they squared off against the talented John Wall and the Washington Wizards. Overall, the game was a struggle to watch and the end result wasn't what I had desired, but watching Derek Fisher attempt to coach revealed something devastating to me: This season is more Derek Fisher's fault than people are letting on.
1. His General Coaching Demeanor
One of the more obvious qualities I saw in Fisher is that he's very stoic when it comes to his emotions on the sideline. I'm not saying that he's even-tempered and into the game, but rather, it looks like he has no emotions at all. He didn't show a single shred of passion while coaching this hard-fought game, other than politely asking the official why a foul wasn't called a few times. I don't know about the Knicks players, but I always like a coach with a little bit of fire on the sidelines, as though he's going to battle it out there along with his team.
I think the Fisher is too consumed with the desire to coach exactly like Phil Jackson has in the past. Here's a news flash: Mr. Fisher, you are not Phil Jackson.
2. His Inability To Draw Up Effective Plays
Another glaring issue with Fisher's coaching style is that the plays that he draws up out of timeouts were simply horrendous. The worst offense came on a play called after a timeout with around 15 seconds on the shot clock and around 20 seconds on the game clock. After calling a timeout with twenty seconds left, Fisher called some sort of an off-ball screen play out of a four high set. The end result was a feeble pick and roll attempt with the ball ending up in Carmelo Anthony's hands, and he had no choice but to throw up a 35-foot prayer.
Let's get this straight: D-Fish wastes a timeout with the quarter winding down, and this is the best thing he can draw up? There was no movement to the basket, no back screens, no concept of spacing, literally just an on-ball screen, and when doubled, PG Jose Calderon dished it to Anthony to hoist up a contested three pointer. A ten-year-old could have drawn that up.
3. His Jumbling Of The Lineups
This brings me to the most pressing problem with the way that Derek Fisher is coaching the Knicks. He's completely mismanaging the rotations and the minutes his players get, and since the shooting guards have been the worst example, I'll start there.
Iman Shumpert is supposed to be a premier shut-down defender who can spot up for a jump shot and slash to the rim for highlight-reel finishes. Apparently, he's been told otherwise. Time and time again, I've seen Shumpert appear clueless of what his role really is on this team.
I've seen him over-dribble into traffic more and more often, and as a result he's taking more contested fadeaway jump shots. Also, he's settling for jumpers rather than relying on his athleticism to get to the rim and the free throw line. Derek Fisher needs to establish that Jose Calderon is the true point guard on this team, then allow Shumpert to thrive off of his natural skills and ability to distribute the ball.
To say J.R. Smith is simply a stubborn and streaky shooter would be an extreme understatement. He's shooting terribly from the field, can't keep his mouth shut, and hurts his team far more than he helps when he's on the floor. All of that aside, the guy has incredible shooting ability and talent.
The issue is that J.R. Smith has never played in a system this structured in his entire career, and that's blatantly obvious when he's out on the floor. Smith is constantly out of position and dribbling into double teams, and he's still frequently hoisting up contested, ill-advised shots. Smith has the talent, but unless he can buy into this system, he needs to either be benched or traded.
Tim Hardaway Jr. was quickly placed into Derek Fisher's proverbial doghouse, and it's affecting his play harshly when he gets the opportunity to contribute. The Hardaway that we're all used to seeing is aggressive and a bit trigger-happy at times, but still extremely energetic and passionate in everything he does on the floor.
This year, Hardaway has appeared timid and reluctant to shoot, and he isn't aggressive when going to the hoop in fear of being yanked as soon as he makes a mistake. Fisher needs to figure out some other way to develop the Knicks' young gunner.
Unfortunately, we're going to have to wait to see what Fisher does next with this trio - Shumpert is rehabbing a shoulder injury, and Smith has been dealing with an illness and a heel injury. Something needs to change, and we can only hope that Fisher has the ability to understand he has mismanaged the situation and will adjust.
Aside from the unfortunate logjam at shooting guard, Fisher has been mismanaging his frontcourt as well. I understand that Amar'e Stoudemire can't play more that 25 minutes per game, or whatever the arbitrary number is, but the fact remains that he should still be in the starting lineup every single game.
Samuel Dalembert is a perfectly decent rim protector and rebounder, but he has a knack for getting into foul trouble very quickly. More often than not, he'll rack up two quick fouls in a matter of five minutes in the first quarter, and that strangles the rotation for at least the rest of the first half. If Stoudemire gets the start, then it's possible that the Knicks are able to get off to a quicker start offensively - that way, they don't have to play catch-up the entire game.
Regardless of any excuses the average Knicks fan will give you - and believe me, I've thought of many myself - at the present moment, things are terrible for the New York Knickerbockers. There are adjustments that have to be made, and Derek Fisher has to be the one to recognize this and act accordingly. His players are playing tight and forcing the game when they need to let the game come to them. This is all a function of the pressure felt from the top down, and it begins and ends with Derek Fisher. It's already too late to save this season, but it might not be too late for Fisher to save his job.
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