The Commish
youknowhatimsayin?
Isiah pulls a fast one
BY MITCH LAWRENCE
DAILY NEWS SPORTS WRITER
For those attending the Knicks' preseason opener tomorrow night at the Garden against the Nets, don't count on seeing the New York Suns.
With Larry Brown's deliberate halfcourt offense a distant memory, Isiah Thomas wants the Knicks to resemble the high-octane Suns, at least in some respects. Fans should just remember that he doesn't have Steve Nash to work with or the record-setting three-point shooters Phoenix coach Mike D'Antoni has at his disposal.
"We won't be as good as they are at it," Thomas conceded yesterday after practice in Greenburgh. "But I think the whole league is moving that way. I watched a couple of exhibition games last night, and even (Jeff) Van Gundy is starting to play a little faster. So it's a league where right now the pace is quicker. You've got to have good guards to play that way. I think we've got four good guards to keep the tempo at a certain level that we like to play at. Now we've got to get good at executing at a fast pace and thinking at a fast pace. The cream of the cream is Phoenix, the way they've been able to do it."
Phoenix's system is so prolific, its scoring average fell off only two points last season, from 110 to 108, even with Amare Stoudemire missing all but a couple of games.
And while they play only token defense, the Suns still have made the Western Conference finals the last two seasons. Last year they racked up 837 three-pointers, a league record and 517 more than the Knicks.
For the Knicks, just getting to the playoffs by using a faster offense would represent dramatic improvement. But to ask them to do what Phoenix does seems a little much. No Knick knows that better than ex-Sun Quentin Richardson, who is skeptical that Stephon Marbury could morph into Nash, the reigning two-time MVP.
"That's a hard job to ask (Stephon), especially the way that Steve Nash does it," Richardson said earlier in camp. "That's something that Steve has a passion for. He gets satisfaction getting guys the ball.
"He's a lot different than probably anybody in the world. There's been games when Steve scored five points but had 20 assists and he's ecstatic. He's happier than if he had scored 30. People are just not like that."
Marbury certainly doesn't think pass-first like Nash. But the Knicks' ability to play like Phoenix goes beyond their point guard's limitations. They would need a mental makeover.
"The whole key to it is unselfishness," Richardson said. "When I was in Phoenix, Amare might go four or five straight plays without getting the ball. Everything happens so fast, we might shoot threes before he could even cross halfcourt.
"When you play an up-tempo style of game, sometimes guys can get overlooked, or maybe they don't get the ball for a couple of plays in a row. But if everybody is being unselfish, nobody takes that personally. Nobody thinks, 'I'm getting frozen out.' But you have to accept that."
Originally published on October 12, 2006
http://www.nydailynews.com/sports/story/460800p-387704c.html
BY MITCH LAWRENCE
DAILY NEWS SPORTS WRITER
For those attending the Knicks' preseason opener tomorrow night at the Garden against the Nets, don't count on seeing the New York Suns.
With Larry Brown's deliberate halfcourt offense a distant memory, Isiah Thomas wants the Knicks to resemble the high-octane Suns, at least in some respects. Fans should just remember that he doesn't have Steve Nash to work with or the record-setting three-point shooters Phoenix coach Mike D'Antoni has at his disposal.
"We won't be as good as they are at it," Thomas conceded yesterday after practice in Greenburgh. "But I think the whole league is moving that way. I watched a couple of exhibition games last night, and even (Jeff) Van Gundy is starting to play a little faster. So it's a league where right now the pace is quicker. You've got to have good guards to play that way. I think we've got four good guards to keep the tempo at a certain level that we like to play at. Now we've got to get good at executing at a fast pace and thinking at a fast pace. The cream of the cream is Phoenix, the way they've been able to do it."
Phoenix's system is so prolific, its scoring average fell off only two points last season, from 110 to 108, even with Amare Stoudemire missing all but a couple of games.
And while they play only token defense, the Suns still have made the Western Conference finals the last two seasons. Last year they racked up 837 three-pointers, a league record and 517 more than the Knicks.
For the Knicks, just getting to the playoffs by using a faster offense would represent dramatic improvement. But to ask them to do what Phoenix does seems a little much. No Knick knows that better than ex-Sun Quentin Richardson, who is skeptical that Stephon Marbury could morph into Nash, the reigning two-time MVP.
"That's a hard job to ask (Stephon), especially the way that Steve Nash does it," Richardson said earlier in camp. "That's something that Steve has a passion for. He gets satisfaction getting guys the ball.
"He's a lot different than probably anybody in the world. There's been games when Steve scored five points but had 20 assists and he's ecstatic. He's happier than if he had scored 30. People are just not like that."
Marbury certainly doesn't think pass-first like Nash. But the Knicks' ability to play like Phoenix goes beyond their point guard's limitations. They would need a mental makeover.
"The whole key to it is unselfishness," Richardson said. "When I was in Phoenix, Amare might go four or five straight plays without getting the ball. Everything happens so fast, we might shoot threes before he could even cross halfcourt.
"When you play an up-tempo style of game, sometimes guys can get overlooked, or maybe they don't get the ball for a couple of plays in a row. But if everybody is being unselfish, nobody takes that personally. Nobody thinks, 'I'm getting frozen out.' But you have to accept that."
Originally published on October 12, 2006
http://www.nydailynews.com/sports/story/460800p-387704c.html
