Once upon a time, Lakers at Knicks was a marquee matchup. The two largest TV markets in the country squaring off on a Sunday afternoon, taking on the NFL juggernaut, was damn good stuff. Today…not so much. The narratives drifting around this particular game are largely about things that are broken and things that are old. If things were going really well for the two cornerstone franchises, we might be talking about a budding rivalry between Kristaps Porzingis and Julius Randle, or the dynamic guard duos of Jerian Grant/Langston Galloway and D’Angelo Russell/Jordan Clarkson. Maybe we ought to be talking about those things, frankly, but there are other stories that seem to be hanging over this sad little game like the flesh eating mist in Stephen King’s “The Fog.”
For each fan base, there’s the issue of the coach. Byron Scott is a Laker of the Showtime era, brought in to somehow magically restore “The Laker Way” to a bunch of ill-fitting trolls and the zombie known as Black Mamba. There’s no such thing as magic, though. Byron Scott seems like a sacrificial pup, plucked from a pool of seals fleeing from a great white shark. That’s the way the Lakers have handled all their coaching hires in the post-Phil Jackson era and they’ve all ended the same way…badly.
The Knicks, on the other hand, tried their hand at the trendy new coaching search by focusing on guys who’d never done the job before, eventually stabbing Fisher with a fork and dressing him up nice to stand in front of cameras. He plays the part really well for all his poise and professionalism. He projects an aura of class and seriousness that’s not only rare in the NBA, but in life as well. The thing is, he seems a bit like the same old stubborn brand of coach who turns to favorite veterans in the face of overwhelming evidence that they suck. That’s the attitude that marks most coaches as journeymen, spinning through the revolving door of mediocrity that’s characteristic of pro sports. Look the part, talk the talk, trust your vets, lose games, lose your star player, lose the rest of the locker room, get fired, work as an assistant somewhere, get another job, rinse, repeat. Now, I’ve been a Fisher supporter throughout the turbulent and frustrating times he’s been a part of at this point, but the act wears thin when everyone’s saying the same thing about your situation and you seem oblivious to it.
That situation, of course, is the maddening loyalty he’s shown to Calderon and Vujacic, even as they’ve deteriorated before our very eyes. Loyalty is an admirable trait, but professional sports are unforgiving to failure. Loyalty means telling players the truth about their ability to compete as much as it means trying not to embarrass them by benching them. The measure of Derek Fisher’s tenure as Knicks coach has more to do with how quickly and effectively he turns the reins of the team over to Galloway and Grant as anything he did last season in losing with grace. It appears as though we won’t know the answer to that burning question in the context of the Lakers game, so perhaps we’ll put it to the side for now.
We might focus on the two marquee players on the floor, Carmelo Anthony and Kobe Bryant. Both are coming off injury-marred seasons of a year ago, and both are huge figures on their respective teams. Melo is actually the best player on his team, however, and Kobe would play better on AMC later in the evening with the rest of the Walking Dead. Talk about a character in need of being killed off. I could write a thousand pages on the way Kobe’s legacy is crippling the Lakers present, but you people see it as well as I do. As long as he’s on that team, he’s the gravity well of the Lakers black hole. One key to this game is the level of efficiency produced by these alpha figures. It’s doubtful that either of the players will be the main reason their team wins or loses the game, but playing efficiently within the team concept might just be what creates the proper atmosphere for whichever team pulls it out. For the record, Melo’s been better at it than Kobe to this point.
I want to give a little positive publicity to the Porzingis/Randle part of this game. Who knows how much that pair will impact the outcome, but it would be pretty damn sweet if the answer were “a lot.” Both of those bigs are new era types with a lot of versatility and determination. Randle’s bread and butter in that regard is his passing and general feel for the game. He’s not as efficient as he’ll eventually need to be, but he’s shown a few flashes so far. Porzingis has been even better and the way he flies around the court with rabid intensity is exactly what we’ve hoped for in a star player for the last generation or so. He needs to improve his efficiency as well, but it seems as though he makes strides in that area each game. When you think about his size, his age, and his unusual set of skills, not to mention how fast he seems to learn on the job, the future might be now for Krispy K.R.E.A.M.. Dollar dollar bills, y’all.
The Lakers are one of the worst rebounding teams in the league at this point. Julius Randle is leading the team on the boards, with Roy Hibbert following behind at a distance. Hibbert is only playing 24 minutes a game to start the season and he’s the victim of the small ball approach that’s sweeping the nation. The truth is, the Lakers are rebounding on the defensive end at about the same rate as our Knicks, but are among the very worst at getting second chances. Kristaps Porzingis and Kyle O’Quinn are top 10 in the league at offensive rebounding rate, among all qualified players, which bodes well for the Knicks and not so well for the Los Angeles Kobes. Behind Randle and Hibbert, there isn’t really a player to watch in this regard, as there was with Henson in the Milwaukee game. I suppose the guy to keep an eye on is Brandon Bass, but the Lakers are probably in a world of hurt if they have to turn to Bass for significant contributions. Yay us!
The other key area to watch is the ability of these teams to move the ball effectively. Both teams are near the bottom of the NBA in assist ratio, which seems like common sense for LA with Kobe, Lou Williams, and Nick Young on the floor. The Knicks were feelin’ groovier at the start of the season, but have lost three straight, in part, because they fart away the late game minutes with odd isolations, lazy passes, and confused half court sets that result in late shot clock heaving. The Knicks have the personnel to play a funkier game, where the Lakers are never going to have an answer for the type of roster they’ve built. If they’re going to win the game it’s because 1) they change everything about what they’re doing, or 2) somebody goes absolutely berserk and drops a historical game. Cue Kobe’s 101-point swan song at the Garden.
Despite the general gloom I’ve described to this point, I’m feeling optimistic about the game and the team, in general. In a couple of years, this may be one of the games that harkened the beginning of a new era for New York and LA, and we’ll be witness to it as it happens. I’ll leave you with three possible outcomes to the game that we can debate and rehash as the thing unfolds.
1. Kobe Bryant goes nuts and single-handedly carries his team to a victory in his Garden finale. It’s the story that seems most poetic and so lots of people are going to be talking about it. It’s kind of a no-brainer, but I also think it’s wishful thinking on the part of the parties invested in that narrative. Two years ago, that may have been more realistic. It’s hard to see it, honestly. (Hear me basketball gods….that ain’t happenin’.)
2. The Knicks are going to get their act together, play with energy from the start, feed off the home crowd, and put away the Lakers with relative ease. The main problem with this scenario is that the Lakers have a dynamic set of scoring guards, who will devour the lousy, aged duo of Calderon and Vujacic. I think this scenario is most likely if Fisher decided to let Grant and Galloway play big minutes and counter the Lakers strength with the equal and opposite strength we have at our disposal. I also think the Knicks bench will play a role in making this scenario come true, whatever bad things the starting backcourt bring about. The Lakers have no answer for our bench and we ought to be able to “second-chance” them to death with that unit.
3. Last, but not least, the game will end with the score 121-118 on a last second three pointer by someone. Who the hell knows which player is going to be that hero. This scenario is most likely because neither team will be able to put the game away. The Lakers will give the Knicks terrible fits in the backcourt and Clarkson/Russell will look like All-NBA guards. Porzingis, Melo, and Derrick Williams will each score 20 points and O’Quinn will pair with Lopez to double-double on a ton of offensive boards. The game will be exciting in a “what on Earth is happening here” kind of way and the crowd will be left entertained, if not impressed.
I’m counting on scenario #2 here, as I’m sure the rest of you are as well. That said, anything that results in our first home win would be satisfactory. Let’s go Knicks!
