Subscribe
Follow Us
The New York Knicks have picked up a different gear in this year's training camp under new coach David Fizdale, and point guard Emmanuel Mudiay has already seen some positive effects from it, already improving on his shot-making and his decision-making with the ball.
āHe's been steady. He's been really great at pushing our pace and organizing us,ā said Fizdale, according to ESPN's Ian Begley. āHis shot has improved over the summer. He doesn't turn the ball over. He's probably the lowest turnover guy in camp right now. Just making the right play all of the time.ā
Emmanuel Mudiay has historically struggled with turnovers, only seeing a career-low last season due to his few minutes on the court. The 6-foot-5 point man possesses all the athletic gifts to be successful in the league, but has only managed to shoot under 40 percent from the field for his first three seasons, making it tough to keep him on the floor for long.
Fizdale intends to have two ball-handlers in his lineups at all times, seeing Tim Hardaway Jr. as a guard who can handle the ball, instead of the small forward position that he manned last season under former coach Jeff Hornacek.
Fizdale also doesn't want anyone holding the ball for too long on offense, hoping it skips hands like a hot potato.
āOne second hold. If you can't get it done in one second, get off it,ā said Fizdale. āThere's four other guys out there that are very capable.ā
This new philosophy will draw as far as possible from the Carmelo Anthony era of isolation ball, something forward Kristaps Porzingis also grew watching during his first two years in the league.
The hope is that the Knicks will make use of their young legs to run up and down the court, share the ball, and reap the benefits of a faster-paced tempo that will make them more effective and test their opponent's conditioning.
