Rivers: New Knicks ‘fun’ to watch

The difference is like night and day, salt and pepper, Laurence Olivier and Pee-wee Herman. Or in this case, the Knicks offense this season compared to their offense of last season. Yup, “Hamlet” against “Pee-wee’s Big Adventure.”

“They’re just playing freer. It just seems like they have a whole different spirit,” coach Doc Rivers said before his Clippers failed to stop the fun in a 107-85 loss Monday. “It’s fun to watch them play.”

Yeah, how many times did you watch the Knicks last season and say, “That was fun” afterward? About as often as you said that after an earache.

“They play hard, they’re moving the ball. They play at a higher pace,” Rivers said. “They’re attacking the paint. You could see it early, early in the year, like the first couple times you saw them, ‘That’s a different team.’ For whatever reason. Sometimes it’s more just their mindset, their spirit, whatever you want to call it.

“They’re an enjoyable team to watch.”

Forget some of the numbers. The Knicks are averaging 104.5 points, up marginally from 104.3 last year. But they are shooting .467, compared to .447 last season. And the biggest differ- ence? They have a winning record.

Kristaps Porzingis might have a little to do with that.

“He’s just a beast,” Rivers said. “I mean he’s going to be — or he is — one of the great ones now. He’s just going to keep getting better. You look at his numbers and you forget his age. ... He’s going to keep getting better and better. And that’s going to be scarier for all of us. But they have a good one.”