Hard work is Baker’s bread and butter
Knicks point guard Jarrett Jack used flawless logic while praising teammate Ron Baker.
“You never know what may come your way, but you’ve got to be ready for it,” Jack said. “If you’re not ready for the opportunity that comes your way, what’s the point of the opportunity?”
The point was Baker was ready. So Sunday, he transformed opportunity into production. It took a while, far longer than Baker anticipated, but he finally had a meaningful role in a Knicks victory this season.
“Obviously, it was a lot of fun. I feel I contributed very well. When you finish a game with a win and you contributed it feels pretty good,” said Baker, who played 31 minutes and most of the fourth quarter while contributed defensively in the Knicks’ 111-107 victory over Atlanta.
It has been an uneven season, to put it mildly, for the second-year undrafted guard from Wichita State. Last season, former president Phil Jackson lavished him with praise for his defense. Jackson, of course, is now enjoying unemployment. In the offseason, the current hierarchy lavished Baker with a twoyear, $8.9 million contract that caused some to demand drug testing for execs.
But Baker was determined to prove his worth. That became hard to do on a badly sprained ankle. And it was harder still with a subsequent sprained shoulder.
“Obviously, I wasn’t 100 percent healthwise at the beginning of the year,” Baker said. “Just kept trying to make strides, get everything healthy and just get into good shape. And [that’s] what I’ve been trying to do.”
He certainly wasn’t getting in shape through cameos after he was healthy. There was even a G-League detour. But Baker stayed ready. Call Jack impressed.
“He hasn’t played in a nice little time and each and every day I see him working. I see him practicing hard. I see him getting extra shots. I see him getting extra sprints when everybody is getting ready to end practice and go about their day,” Jack said. “It’s very admirable. You’re working, not knowing if opportunity is going to come or not. That’s just a character trait and I think that’s amazing.”
In Chicago on Saturday, Baker dressed. And he sat. Sunday, he got a call. In fact, he was the first guard off the bench.
“Ron has been better in practice, his ankle feels good now,” coach Jeff Hornacek said. “We know how he played last year with his defense, his strength. His shooting has gotten better.
“When guys play well, you want to stick with them.”
So he stuck with Baker for those season-high 31 minutes.
So was Sunday a start? Is Baker back in the rotation?
“It’s possible,” Hornacek said.
Either way, chances are better than not Baker will be ready.