Knicks want talent to blend with Jeremy Lin
Carmelo Anthony and Jeremy Lin of the New York Knicks during a game against New Jersey. (Feb. 20, 2012) Credit: Jim McIsaac
The Knicks reached the midpoint of their season, but in some ways they're starting from scratch.
They have undergone a major face-lift during the last two weeks and their reconstruction continues now that Carmelo Anthony is back, J.R. Smith is on board and Baron Davis is finally playing. They have to mesh their talents with Jeremy Lin, the point guard who resuscitated the Knicks' season.
Their first game as a unit wasn't pretty. The Knicks were outhustled and outplayed by the Nets Monday. The loss dropped the Knicks to 16-17 in this 66-game lockout-shortened season and showed that despite all of their big-name players, they have plenty of work to do to rebuild the chemistry they had before these returns and additions.
"We need to figure out what our identity is going to be," Lin said. "We're not in panic mode because it doesn't just work like people show up and all of a sudden you have great chemistry. We're going to have to work through some struggles. As long as we're all committed and buying in, we'll be fine."
The Knicks play twice more before the All-Star break, Wednesday night against the Hawks -- who won't have All-Star guard Joe Johnson because of tendinitis in his left knee -- and Thursday at Miami in a potential measuring-stick game.
After Monday's loss, "identity" and "panic" were words the Knicks used frequently. They seem to realize they're at a critical point in their development and whether they're a lottery team, playoff team or legitimate contender will hinge upon how they gel. They don't want to lose some of the steam they generated when Anthony and Davis were in suits and Smith was in China.
"It takes a game or two to figure it out," Amar'e Stoudemire said. "We just can't panic. We got to make sure we understand how good we can be."
Lin said, "There's going to be a little adjustment time, things to sort out, things to talk about, find our identity, where we want to go from here. It is Day 1. It's Day 1."
When the Knicks won seven straight, their identity was a team that was run by their point guard, moved the ball, worked for easy shots, scored in transition and defended. They also played with urgency and energy. Most of those things were missing Monday.
With Anthony, Smith and Davis, the Knicks are more talented and eventually should be difficult to defend. But the three are high-volume shooters and may have to adjust their styles to fit what the Knicks were doing. Anthony said he would -- he took 11 shots in his return Monday -- and that he wants Lin to continue running the team.
"As far as our identity we had the last couple weeks, it's there," Anthony said. "I don't think nothing is going to change. New guys, different roles, different situations, it's something we'll get adjusted to quick."
The Knicks have to because their aren't many practices. The Knicks just completed a back-to-back and are in a stretch of four games in five days. Coach Mike D'Antoni gave them off Tuesday and didn't schedule a shootaround Wednesday. The Knicks will have a walk-through before Wednesday night's game.
D'Antoni is trying to keep his players as fresh as possible, but with all the changes more work on the court might be beneficial to develop chemistry. D'Antoni is pointing to next week.
After the break, the Knicks play Wednesday and Sunday. So they should have five practices, which is unheard of during this condensed season.
"We have to get some things sorted out," D'Antoni said. "We know we got to get to the All-Star break when we'll get four or five practices. That will help, and then figure out the type of team and the identity we have to have. That will be right after the All-Star break. We have two more games. We have to get them and then retool a little bit."
