Knicks' lack of effort so far has been disturbing
Tim Hardaway Jr. and Carmelo Anthony of the Knicks look on during a timeout in the first half against the Chicago Bulls at Madison Square Garden on Wednesday, Oct. 29, 2014. Credit: Jim McIsaac
Before the Knicks master the triangle offense, they need to become skilled at consistently playing hard.
It sounds simple, but for some reason and for some teams, it isn't. The Knicks are one of those teams. Even with all of the changes, things seem to stay the same for them.
Despite the presence of Phil Jackson in the front office and Derek Fisher on the bench -- men who have won multiple championships calling the shots -- the Knicks still confound themselves and their fans by not giving all-out effort.
Even if they did, it wouldn't guarantee that they would win, because they are not as talented as many other teams. But a greater effort could put them in position to win. And while they learn the triangle offense, they owe that much to their coaches, themselves, each other and the fans.
"Effort is the key for us right now," J.R. Smith said. "For us to be professionals talking about effort is kind of like a slap in the face.
"It definitely bothers me. But I can't do nothing about it as an individual. We have to collectively do something about it. Until it bothers everybody, it's going to stay the same."
All of the Knicks sound bothered by it. They also sounded bothered last season, and it never really changed.
Everyone expected their comfort level with the offense to be a work in progress. They began Saturday night's game against Atlanta 27th in scoring (91.3 points). But they were last in opponent's three-point field-goal percentage (43) and trailed by at least 17 in each of their four losses.
After Friday's lopsided loss to the Nets, Fisher addressed it with his players and the media, essentially saying this has nothing to do with the triangle.
"We can't kid ourselves into thinking that because we aren't perfect at our execution offensively, that's why we are losing a couple of games right now," Fisher said.
In other words: Play harder.
Ultimately, each player has to figure out what he can do differently. It's a long season and there is plenty of time to correct things. But some of the same players who are talking about effort are the same ones who talked about it last season: Carmelo Anthony, Smith, Amar'e Stoudemire and Iman Shumpert.
It's not all on those four. It's a team-wide problem that the Knicks have to fix now.
"It's the effort," Stoudemire said. "We have to learn from last year. We can't repeat the same mistakes we did last year. Right now, we're letting that learning process with the offense affect us defensively. We got to stop that."
If not, the Garden fans will let the Knicks know they don't appreciate their performance -- as they did on many nights last season.
No extension, no worries
Iman Shumpert says he's driven by not making the playoffs last season much more than not getting a new contract. But one could help the other.
As expected, the Knicks chose to keep cap space open for the summer of 2015 and didn't extend Shumpert's deal by the Halloween deadline.
"I don't have time for that," he said. "I didn't make the playoffs, you know what I mean? I can't think about that. We make the playoffs and I do what I'm supposed to do, things will happen. But until I do that, I can't worry about it. I'm worried about winning games.
"That was the worst year of my life last year and I don't ever want to feel that again."
Shumpert likely will be a restricted free agent, but it's unclear whether the Knicks will match any offer. Phil Jackson likes Shumpert because he defends, but the Knicks might want as much flexibility as possible for the summers of 2015 and 2016, when Kevin Durant is free.
Not OK in OKC
The Thunder lost Kevin Durant to a broken foot and Russell Westbrook to a broken hand, and they now seem to be having issues with Westbrooks' replacement, Reggie Jackson.
He has played selfishly and was publicly criticized by coach Scott Brooks for not moving the ball during Monday's loss to the Nets. The Daily Oklahoman reported that Serge Ibaka and Kendrick Perkins froze out Jackson and refused to pass him the ball after defensive rebounds.
Jackson could be in his final season with the Thunder. He will be a restricted free agent this summer and there are reports he wants to be a starting point guard. He won't start in Oklahoma City as long as Westbrook is there.
The Kobe watch
The Lakers (0-5) are off to their worst start since 1957 and there's little relief in sight. Kobe Bryant has heard the rumblings that he should ask for a trade to a contender.
"That's not what I do," Bryant, 36, told Yahoo! Sports. "I'm extremely loyal to the Lakers.
"You can't just enjoy the successful times and then run away from the bad ones. No, I don't even think about [leaving]. I'm a Laker."
Many teams likely would line up for Bryant if he decides this isn't how he wants his last years in the league to play out.
Bryant would have to waive his no-trade clause to be dealt. Although the Knicks are not a contender, there will be speculation about them because of Bryant's relationship with Jackson and Fisher. They can give the Lakers expiring contracts to help the rebuilding process.
Buzzer beaters
- In the Warriors' rout of the Clippers on Wednesday night, Los Angeles allowed 65 first-half points and committed only one foul. "I have never seen that before," Clippers coach Doc Rivers said. "I'm doing something wrong because that's as soft as you can probably get in a game."
- TNT's Charles Barkley said, "I'm not going to eat another meal until the Lakers win a game."
- Point guard Kyle Lowry has 36 assists and only six turnovers in 204 minutes for 5-1 Toronto.
Al Iannazzone covers the Jets for Newsday after spending nearly two decades on the NBA beat with Knicks and Nets.
