Knicks Making Real Progress Under D'Antoni

[duncan228]

Knicks making real progress under D'Antoni (http://msn.foxsports.com/nba/story/9234214/Knicks-making-real-progress-under-D%60Antoni)
by George Willis
New York Post

It is games like the Knicks played last night that makes you believe Mike D'Antoni is the right man for this job. Yes, it was Bill Parcells who said, "You are what you're record says you are." But that doesn't necessarily apply to D'Antoni and the Knicks.

The home team gave the mighty Spurs all they wanted last night at the Garden, trading blow for blow for four quarters before taking Tim Duncan and Tony Parker into overtime, where Nate Robinson did his Krypto-Nate thing again and secured a thrilling 112-107 upset over the favored Spurs.

The Garden was electric, the way it used to be when a big team came to town and braced for a baseline-to-baseline brawl. That's the way it was last night as a six-game losing streak fell and expectations for the remainder of the season rose.

Pick your hero. Certainly there was Robinson, who scored 32 points and added 10 rebounds. David Lee was terrific against Tim Duncan before fouling out at the end of regulation, and Al Harrington had 11 points and 10 rebounds. But don't forget D'Antoni.

The Knicks played their 53rd game of the season last night. That's 12 past the half-way point of the 82-game regular-season schedule, but since it was the first game back from the All-Star break, it seems appropriate to offer a quasi mid-season grade on the job being done by Knicks' new head coach.

A "B-plus" is appropriate.

Clearly, the Knicks are a work in progress, capable of an exciting performance like the one they authored last night and stinking up the joint the next. But at least that's better than the calamity that existed a year ago under Isiah Thomas.

The Knicks' 22-31 record is just one short of the 23-59 debacle of a year ago, and no one has been chanting that anybody should be fired. The Garden was at full throat last night, the way D'Antoni has predicted and preached throughout this season of change.

Has everything been perfect? Of course not. The handling of Stephon Marbury was a fiasco in the beginning, with D'Antoni looking disingenuous by going through the motions during training camp as if Marbury had a role on the squad, only to bench him before Marbury was ultimately banned from the team.

Forgetting the Knicks had a foul to give, a senior moment that cost the Knicks a win at Portland on Feb. 8, was an embarrassing mistake, especially with a bench full of assistant coaches who were also in a fog.

But overall D'Antoni has made the Knicks interesting again. Lee and Robinson are having career years. Youngsters Wilson Chandler and Danilo Gallinari have shown promise.

Games like last night offer hope the best is yet to come; if not this year, then maybe next year when a free agent class led by LeBron James might be looking for a new team.

In a strange way the firing of Terry Porter 51 games into his first year as the Suns head coach raises D'Antoni's stock. Porter's emphasis on defense and a controlled half-court offense caused a revolt led by Steve Nash. New Suns coach Alvin Gentry, the last holdover of D'Antoni's staff, has said Phoenix will return to the up-tempo attack general manager Steve Kerr junked when he showed D'Antoni the door last year.

Kerr and the Suns brass have too much ego to admit they made a mistake. But the Suns loss looks to be the Knicks' gain.

[Findog]

D'Antoni is like Nellie, good for building something. His coaching philosophy isn't suited for elite success, with his tight rotations and indifference to defensive concepts. But there is a place in this league for him and his ability to build.

[duncan228]

Robinson and Lee Show Knicks They’re Needed (http://www.nytimes.com/2009/02/19/sports/basketball/19webtrade.html?_r=1&ref=sports)
Howard Beck
New York Times

GREENBURGH, N.Y. — In two decades on the bench, Gregg Popovich has seen a lot of great players and coached a few of them. He is stingy with compliments, so his praise for Nate Robinson on Tuesday seemed noteworthy.

“He gets after it,” said Popovich, the San Antonio Spurs’ coach. “He kind of does for them what Ginóbili does for us, in a way.”

The admiration was earned. Robinson, the Knicks’ feisty guard, had just scorched Popovich’s team for 32 points in a 112-107 overtime victory. Like Manu Ginóbili, Robinson is a wild card, a tightly wound ball of kinetic energy who can radically change a game.

With three straight 30-point games sandwiched around a slam-dunk title, Robinson has raised his profile around the league and his value to the Knicks. Once viewed as a trading pawn, Robinson now looks like an indispensable part of the Knicks’ future.

With only hours left before the N.B.A. trading deadline, the Knicks’ calculus had not changed appreciably. Their two greatest trade assets — Robinson and David Lee — are also their best building blocks.

It appeared unlikely that the Knicks would make a move by Thursday’s 3 p.m. deadline. And it seemed almost certain that Lee and Robinson would make it through the season as Knicks.

“I just know that we’re developing two really good guys, along with Wilson and Gallo,” Coach Mike D’Antoni said Wednesday, referring to Lee, Robinson, Wilson Chandler and Danilo Gallinari. “We’ve got to keep developing and keep taking baby steps.”

N.B.A. team executives have coveted Lee and Robinson for some time. They are young, relatively cheap and improving daily. They are also heading for free agency this summer, creating a quandary for Knicks officials.

If the Knicks re-sign Lee and Robinson, they could hurt their chances to sign a superstar (or two) in 2010. Mindful of the Knicks’ plans, rival teams have been trying to pry loose Lee and Robinson without offering much in return.

The Knicks, in turn, have tried to coax teams into taking Eddy Curry’s huge contract in any deal for Lee. They have found no takers. The truth is, the Knicks are reluctant to trade Lee or Robinson at all, unless the return package is overhwhelming.

“There’s no way they’re trading David Lee,” said a person in the N.B.A. who deals frequently with Knicks officials. “They’re going to find a way to keep him.”

There are no untouchables on a 22-31 team, but Lee is close and Robinson is only a few notches beneath him. The Knicks have rebuffed several offers by Portland for Lee and recently turned away Sacramento’s attempts to acquire Robinson.

The Knicks have other trade assets — the expiring contracts of Malik Rose and Stephon Marbury. But they are reluctant to acquire any contracts that extend beyond next season. The player they most want to unload is Curry, who is practically untradeable.

Despite the Knicks’ record, D’Antoni is determined to make the playoffs. He views Lee and Robinson as vital to that cause.

Lee leads the league with 42 double-doubles and is averaging career highs in points (16.4) and rebounds (11.8) per game. On Wednesday, D’Antoni called him “one of the best players in the league, without a doubt” — a statement that Lee’s agent will surely clip and save for July’s negotiations.

Robinson is averaging career highs in points (16.4), rebounds (4.1) and assists (3.8). He also just turned in a performance for the ages, with 33 points, 15 assists, 9 rebounds and 5 steals in last week’s loss to the Clippers. According to the Elias Sports Bureau, the last player to register at least 30 points, 15 assists, 9 rebounds and 5 steals in a game was Magic Johnson, in March 1981.

“What I like more than anything,” D’Antoni said, “is that he’s had two turnovers the last two games, had 15 assists one game with 1 turnover and 3 and 1 last night.”

Although he is not viewed as a true point guard, Robinson ranks among the best in the league by one measure. According to the player efficiency ratings developed by ESPN’s John Hollinger, Robinson is the 10th best point guard in the league, with a P.E.R. of 18.8.

Among all N.B.A. players, Robinson ranks 45th, three spots behind Lee (18.91). They are the only Knicks in Hollinger’s top 100.

D’Antoni’s only concern with Robinson is the same one that every Knicks coach has had: his impulsiveness. There are times when Robinson goes for the flashy play instead of the smart play, and there are periods when he shoots too much, to the detriment of the offense.

But Robinson’s passion and intangibles can offset the lapses in judgment.

“It’s tough, with somebody with so much talent that he has, that can create his shot at any time, he has to be able to walk that fine line of making our team better when he’s on the floor,” D’Antoni said. “It doesn’t mean making himself better, it makes the team better. And he’s doing that a lot better.”

Robinson is averaging 21.6 points and 4.9 assists in February, an apparent sign that his game is maturing. But the Knicks have lost six of seven games this month.

“So if we start winning and he’s playing like he is, then it really compliments it,” D’Antoni said. “But you can’t lose and say this is good. It’s never good.”

Lee and Robinson are also the most popular Knicks, based on jersey sales at the NBA Store in New York and on NBAStore.com. Robinson’s jersey ranked 10th and Lee’s was 14th among all players, according to the league’s most recent figures.

There is time yet for the Knicks to assess how valuable Lee and Robinson are to them, or whether they are better used as trade bait. They can always trade them on draft night, or use them in sign-and-trade deals this summer. Because both Lee and Robinson will be restricted free agents, the Knicks retain some degree of security. There is no urgency to deal them now.

Meanwhile, Robinson’s popularity continues to grow. He captured his second slam-dunk title last Saturday, by dunking over Dwight Howard, Orlando’s 7-foot center. Robinson is scheduled to appear on the “Late Show With David Letterman” on Thursday. In all likelihood, he will still be wearing a Knicks jersey.