Is Derek Fisher Right For The New York Knicks?
By Bryce Olin
Derek Fisher is 5-29 as head coach of the New York Knicks, and it doesn’t seem like it’s getting any better
Derek Fisher’s first 34 games as a head coach could not have gone any worse.
The New York Knicks are 5-29 this season, Fisher’s first as a head coach. The Knicks have also lost 19 of their last 20 games.
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The Knicks don’t have a roster built to win this season; that much is obvious by now. But, by now, you have to wonder if Fisher is the right coach moving forward with the Knicks. This season might be over, but it’s never too late to start building a foundation for the future. Hopefully, that’s what the Knicks are doing by now.
Carmelo Anthony think Fisher is the right man for the Knicks job, and he even said “I think if it was anybody else in his position, I think this probably would’ve crumbled already,” according to ESPN’s Ramona Shelburne.
I understand what Anthony is saying. The Knicks are still trying, somewhat, game after game. At some point, though, you have to wonder what standing strong as head coach ultimately means in this situation. According to Anthony, the Knicks are standing strong and fighting, but would it be any worse if they had already quit anyway?
Anthony also said, “I think he’s doing a great job of keeping everybody focused on the task at hand and believing in what we’re trying to do.”
I’m not in the Knicks locker room or in practice, so I don’t know what Fisher is doing and saying. I can, however, judge him by what he does on the sideline, and it’s not much, honestly.
Like I mentioned, the Knicks don’t have much talent to work with, but Fisher continues to be out-coached almost every game. The Knicks rarely make any beneficial in game adjustments that actually matter.
Think of how many times the Knicks have been beaten by the pick-and-roll. I can’t find exact figures, but I don’t think I’ve seen the Knicks actually defend a pick-and-roll this season.
To me, that’s unacceptable. You’d think with Fisher’s experience of defending, literally, millions of pick-and-rolls in his career that he would be able to help Jose Calderon, Shane Larkin, and Amar’e Stoudemire figure out how to stop the most basic play in basketball.
I don’t know if Fisher is the right person for the Knicks job. Even if Phil Jackson, often considered one of the greatest coaches in NBA history, came back to the bench, he wouldn’t be able to turn this team around. Put Gregg Popovich as the coach of this team, and he’d quit during the first practice.
Fisher deserves credit for hanging with it so far, not losing his cool or trying to be something he’s not. Ultimately, that should pay off if the Knicks can build the team around Fisher that he knows how to coach.
So far this season, however, Fisher hasn’t even got a chance to show what he can do, but he might already be running out of time.