Schedule a grind for 76ers coach Collins
Philadelphia 76ers head coach Doug Collins calls out to his team in the second half of a game against the New Orleans Hornets. (Jan. 4, 2012) Credit: AP
Was that Knicks-76ers game in New York Wednesday night? Or Philadelphia? Was it basketball? In the sudden blur of games, necessitated by the NBA's late start after its labor battle, disoriented Philadelphia coach Doug Collins said he was feeling "like a baseball manager right now. We're playing every night."
It was, indeed, Philadelphia's third game in three nights and its fifth in six. It was the Knicks' fourth game in six nights. By the end of the month, each team will have played 11 more times.
"You start realizing," Collins said, "that it's the mental grind as much as anything else. With youth and depth, you've got a chance, because of how many games you've got to play, and how quickly. I don't even think about victories. We say, 'Fresh legs, fresh minds.' That's what we're trying to do. If we can keep guys fresh, that's a big benefit."
Shooting pains
Knicks coach Mike D'Antoni, who recently noted how the schedule has cut into practice time but remains his optimistic self, assured that "we'll be fine." But he did make the point that "we have some guys struggling with their shot, struggling with their psyche a little bit. We've got to get them comfortable and they will be.
"But a lot of it is the rust, and then thrown into a situation where we needed to win immediately, and they didn't play well and they kind of got shook a little bit."
D'Antoni reminded that his team "has a couple guys to get back in the thick of things," referring to injured guard Baron Davis (herniated disc) and forward Jared Jeffries (calf soreness). "I like our starting group. It seems the way to go, right now. That's working. We've just got to get guys a little more comfortable with their game."
