Amid jeers, Fiz feels love from Mills and Perry

DETROIT — If Knicks president Steve Mills and general manager Scott Perry are antsy over the team’s 1-7 start, they have not conveyed that to coach David Fizdale.

The common refrain is this reconstructed roster, with 10 new faces, is going to take some time to mesh. The Knicks entered Wednesday tied with the Pelicans for the NBA’s worst start.

“They’ve been incredibly supportive,” Fizdale said after the team’s Wednesday morning shootaround at Detroit Country Day School before their 122-102 loss to the Pistons. “We talk every day. The beauty of what’s happening inside our building is everyone is connected. They all see the work that we’re putting in.”

The Knicks didn’t look connected on the court Sunday in a debacle of a loss to the Kings, during which fans booed and there were a couple of faint, brief “Fire Fizdale” chants.

In 2017, during his previous head-coaching stint, Fizdale was axed 19 games into his second season with the Grizzlies after a 7-12 start and amid a feud with center Marc Gasol. Fizdale’s record in his two seasons as Knicks coach is 18-72 after the loss to the Pistons.

Asked about Sunday’s jeers, Fizdale said: “I don’t think about that. I was more concerned about our performance from my seat. I can’t be caught up with how everybody else was feeling.”

With the Pistons missing Blake Griffin (knee/hamstring) and Reggie Jackson (stress reaction), the Knicks had an opportunity to avoid going into their game at Dallas — a reunion with Kristaps Porzingis — Friday with that 1-7 record.

The film sessions after the Sacramento game were detailed — and ugly. It appeared the defense didn’t come close to showing the effort it had displayed in prior games.

“You show them the truth,” Fizdale said. “The good part about our team is they handled the truth well because they want to get better from it. And then a game like that, you flush it down the toilet.”

The Kings built a 20-point lead early in the second quarter and were up by as many as 34.

“We were not connected,” Fizdale said after the film analysis. “Total breakdown in trust. Our coverages, we did not play in a [defensive] stance the whole game. Offensively, the ball stopped. It was a total nightmare. We did not do anything we prepared to do.

“We have a really highcharacter group. It’s just a matter of time before they figure each other out and come together.”