Knicks have ‘ways to go’ in rivalry
David Fizdale was more than just a coach last night. He was a purveyor of reality and peerless prognosticator as his Knicks prepared to take the court against the Celtics.
He was fully cognizant of the lingering effects his club’s Thanksgiving Eve stuffing of the Celts could have on this latest proceeding. And he was right.
The Bostonians extracted their pound of revenge with all the surgical intricacy of a sledgehammer. They had 38 points in the first quarter and 69 at the half, this after needing three full periods to achieve that latter number on Nov. 21. The final last night was 128-100, but that was beside the point the Celtics were trying to make — and that Fizdale sort of knew they would.
Asked before tipoff about the critical nature of the game’s start, the coach got wry.
“Brace for impact,” he said, “because they have pride and they want to show us that they’re the better team. And I understand that. But this is good for our guys. You know, answer the bell, be able to take a punch and hold your ground.”
The Knicks have taken quite a few left hooks and right crosses this season, losing 18 of their 26 games. But they were 4-14 when they led by as many as 26 and went wire to wire two weeks prior.
Still without Kristaps Porzingis (left knee) and now without Trey Burke (right knee), who burned the C’s for 29 in November, the Knicks were no match when the hosts expressed the requisite interest and determination. The locals got 22 points from Kyrie Irving and a stirring 21 from Jaylen Brown, who returned from a back injury and proved quite able in his first game as a reserve this season. They never trailed. The Knicks coach was never surprised.
Asked if he were Brad Stevens, would he speak up or simply roll the tape of that earlier game with his players, Fizdale said, “You roll the tape a lot. And I know Brad and he’s an awesome coach.
“These guys, like I said, they’ve got pride. They’re trying to get it together where they get to playing high-level basketball. Ultimately they are a contender once they put it together, so I think that’s their biggest thing that they’re focused on.
“Obviously we’re a team on the schedule that they have to play, but, knowing Brad, they’re really focused on how do we get our game to the level it needs to be? That’s what we’re all fighting for really with our respective groups and where they’re at.”
The Celtics had won 4-of-5 since that earlier meeting, but the Knicks weren’t paying much attention to any Shamrock improvements.
“I don’t look at it from that (standpoint),” Fizdale said. “I’m looking at it like, ‘Oh, goodness,’ not how do they improve? I’m looking at them like, ‘Look at who I have to deal with.’ So I’m much more looking at it from that perspective of how in the world do I guard these guys and how do we score against them?”
In truth, Fizdale is looking at a picture much larger than that. This year he’s taking over a Knicks outfit that hasn’t been to the playoffs since 2013 and has consistently slid back down the hill as it’s tried to climb out of the lottery. There are just 30 of these NBA head coaching jobs, but this one comes with a weight of consistent disappointment attached.
“I wouldn’t say it’s a weight,” Fizdale countered. “That was the part of it that made me want to be a part of it is because it hadn’t been on track in a while — and the idea of taking the challenge of winning in New York.” But it ain’t easy.
“It’s a battle,” he said. “You have to remind yourself of what’s important. Especially as a coach, because coaches are judged on records, and you have to push that to the side and push your ego to the side when it comes from that standpoint and say, ‘Are my guys getting better every day, and are we building something to where, when we do get extra pieces of talent added in, can these guys fill in the blanks and move forward with us and take myself out of it?’
“So, yeah, that’s a battle. I think any human being, they’re always going to be in self-preservation mode a lot of times. But in my position, I can’t think that way. I have to think about the big picture and the group.”
That photo also includes a strong desire on the part of both the Celtics and Knicks to rekindle the old rivalry that once burned warm between these two clubs. And even though Fizdale is a West Coast guy, he’s a baseball fan — severely bummed by the Sox’ win over his Dodgers in the World Series — and, as such, tuned in to the Boston-Yankees battles.
“I would love to get it back to that,” he said. “We’ve got a ways to go though. We’ve got some work to do before we can be calling ourselves rivals again.”
Last night against the loaded for revenge Celtics, the Knicks were fodder.