There are definitely some perks when it comes to playing for LeBron James' old coach. New York Knicks head coach David Fizdale's time as an assistant coach with the Miami Heat overlapped with James' tenure, and the two have remained close. Sunday, after the Knicks beat the Los Angeles Lakers when Mario Hezonja blocked James' game-winning attempt at the buzzer, Fizdale introduced King James to Knicks rookie wing Kevin Knox.
Knox's family was in town and didn't believe he would have time for the meeting, but Fizdale made sure that last year's ninth overall pick didn't leave The Garden without coming face-to-face with James. Fizdale had been wanting Knox to meet James, hoping the NBA legend would offer the rookie some advice, but he hadn’t been successful in connecting the two until Sunday.
The game featured a very early start, but Knox seemed wide awake, putting up 13 points in the first quarter and 19 overall. He shot 8-of-14, including 3-of-5 on 3-pointers, a welcome sight for Knicks fans who have had some well-founded concerns about the young player's efficiency.
“It was good see him play well,” said Fizdale of Knox, per Marc Berman of the New York Post. “He’s had his ups. We know it’s there. It’s a matter of the ball going in and getting his confidence up. He came out with mindset he was going to get out of this today. He was attacking and going after rebounds.”
Knox won't turn 20 until this August, so there's still plenty of time for him to make the necessary improvements. He's putting up 12.3 points per game, but is doing so on 36.5 percent shooting from the floor and 34.4 percent from deep.
Fizdale had said he wanted to give Knox the opportunity to guard James, but Hezonja wound up taking on those duties, at least for the most part. The rookie guarded James just once, but after seeing Hezonja palm LeBron's game-winner, it seems the coach made the right choice.
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