SUPER MARIO ON ‘D’
Hezonja opens up about offensive struggles and importance of remaining a starter
BOSTON – For the writers in New York, the first real introduction to Mario Hezonja and his alter ego was at Media Day in September. He was asked to define his sweet spot on the court, and his answer was excellent.
“Everywhere,” Hezonja said. “Super Mario.”
‘Super Mario,’ the versatile offensive weapon from Europe who was drafted fifth overall in 2015, has never really surfaced in the NBA. But there were glimpses at the end of last season in Orlando, and it was always assumed Hezonja would make his hay in New York on offense. That has not been the case. The 23-year-old is averaging 7.7 points per game this season on 38 percent shooting, and his offensive production has actually dipped since he was inserted into the starting lineup nine games ago. Many have watched last week’s highlight of Hezonja’s dunk and celebration on top of Milwaukee’s Giannis Antetokounmpo, but that also represented his only points of the game.
Following another meager statistical performance — a 3-point outing in Thursday’s loss to the Celtics — Hezonja went in depth about his hesitancy to shoot, his new role under David Fizdale, and why it’s important to him to be a starter.
Basically, Hezonja said that he’s sacrificing scoring to concentrate on other aspects of the game.
“It’s always there. Super Mario can pass, too, can defend, too. Super Mario’s not just, ‘Hey, damn he scored, he’s so good,’ or, ‘Oh, he didn’t score, he’s so bad.’
“It makes no sense. It’s definitely roles and different changes. It’s a new thing and I want to learn from (Fizdale) as much as I can.”
Fizdale has justified Hezonja’s residency in the starting lineup by touting his defense, with the Croatian ranking fourth on the team in defensive rating. By contrast, Hezonja’s backup – Kevin Knox – is second-to-last in defensive rating.
Hezonja said he’s playing the best defense of his career.
“Absolutely. Before if I reached, they’d always get me on fouls. Typical rookie stuff and all that,” he said. “Now we were talking in practice like this position and this position and get into them.”
Not everybody is a believer, however. Former Knicks executive Clarence Gaines, who for three seasons served as Phil Jackson’s right-hand man, has been highly critical of Hezonja and wrote Thursday on Twitter, “I’ll say this about Fizdale’s ‘I love the way he’s defending’ comment – If you can’t dazzle them with brilliance, baffle them with bulls--t.”
Hezonja, who will be a free agent after the season, is nonetheless trying to adopt
this new identity.
“There’s definitely more responsibility right now. When I was starting in Orlando (last season) it was kind of like end of the year, everybody was playing relaxed and stuff like that. Here, you got to produce,” Hezonja said. “You got to defend. You got to find open teammates, make plays. So it’s something more and something new for me which I’m trying to embrace.”
Hezonja’s minutes are actually down as a starter, and there have been signs that Fizdale will soon replace him again for Knox. Hezonja’s preference is to remain in the lineup, explaining that coming off the bench is a detriment to his game.
“Absolutely (I want to be in the starting lineup). Because you’re right into it. I’m the type of guy, too, there’s no warm-ups or preparation or anything like that. When the game starts I’m ready for it,” he said. “From the bench you never know what’s going to happen the first couple minutes of the game. You come in with the lead, you come in losing and you still have to have the killer mentality because coming off the bench you’re in a scoring role. It’s a little bit difficult and I love the starting role.”
Eventually, though, Hezonja said he’ll get back to trying to score, attempting to revive the ‘Super Mario’ mentality with a few new enhancements.
“It’s very simple. This is what I should be doing, and I have to score more. I’m just taking a step back from one point of emphasis just because I’m doing other stuff,” he said. “But that’s definitely going to come and now I’m more focused on doing the right things and not being selfish out there. Playing the right basketball because we are the youngest team in the league and this matters.”