Lee ordered to take more shots
Get greedy. Courtney Lee, the Knicks s t art i ng shooting g uard, has made the rounds in the NBA, but this season is the first one in which his coach has begged him to take more shots — that is, contested shots.
Lee is second in the NBA in 3-point f ield-goal percentage at 46.7 percent and Knicks coach Jeff Hornacek wants their $50 million freeagent pickup to take more. Even if it means shooting when not open.
“He’s encouraging me to take a lot of shots — more so contested shots,’’ Lee said after the Knicks fell, 119-114, to the Celtics on Christmas Day. “I believe I did a jab step in the corner, shot it over [Jae] Crowder. He said those are the shots I want you take. It’s just me getting used to a coach like that giving me the green light to shoot contested shots. I always try to get the best shot every time down for myself or teammates. I’m going to try to listen too.’’
Hornacek’s plea seems like an attempt to counter a disturbing trend that the Knicks aren’t moving the ball enough after notching just 11 assists against Boston — a club falling more in love with isolation play that runs in opposition to the triangle philosophy.
Lee is averaging 10 points per game. One of the few players in the NBA noted for deferring to others on the offensive end, he’s averaged double-figures in scoring only three times in his nine-year career.
“It’s not something I try to do first and foremost,” Lee said. “Jab step and shoot the 3 over you. I feel [when] you work the offense and execute, someone’s going to get a better shot. But in certain times he’s telling me doing it every time I’m in the corner. He’s the coach. I got to listen to him. You have to bear with me.”
Lee, who has battled a sore wrist the past two weeks that was aggravated Sunday, admits the coach is “not telling everybody’’ to launch shots. In fact, Hornacek made a point in recent days to applaud Kyle O’Quinn for taking fewer 3-pointers than last season.
In the key defensive analytic, the Knicks are giving up 108 points per 100 possessions, which ranks 25th in the league. That’s the worst defensive rating of any club in playoff position.