Uptempo Knicks Reminiscent Of Reed and Pitino Years

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The New York Sun

The Knicks’ new look, uptempo offense harkens back to some of the team’s least heralded, positive moments, but it may also revive some of the things that made last year’s team such a drag.

Through four preseason games the Knicks are running in a way they haven’t in a long, long time. While preseason games are typically a tad more uptempo than their regular season counterparts so that coaching staffs can look at more players and combinations, the Knicks are clearly looking to push the tempo. So far this preseason, they’ve been breaking after almost all defensive rebounds, and it’s a good fit for much of their personnel. Aside from players named Rose, every healthy member of the team is under 30, and most of their bigmen — in particular Eddy Curry and David Lee — run the floor well. Channing Frye also should be able to get more shots off before the defense gets settled.

This new Knicks’ offense may recall two of the team’s more obscure eras: the Willis Reed teams of the late ’70s, and the Rick Pitino squads of the late ’80s. Neither era lasted long enough to earn an eternal soft spot in the hearts of the Garden faithful but both stand out now as the only uptempo teams the Knicks have had in the last 30 years. A brief look back may be instructive about what to expect this season.

The Reed era essentially consisted of only one season, 1977–78, when the team was making the transition from the early ’70s championship squads to the Michael Ray Richardson-Ray Williams teams of the early ’80s. It was also Bob McAdoo’s brief tour of duty as a Knick. As you might expect of a team whose defensive stalwarts were ageing and being supplanted by offensive oriented players, the ’78 Knicks were an uptempo, high scoring team. They finished third in Pace Factor, which measures possessions per game, and ninth in Offensive Efficiency, points per 100 possessions. However, they were a miserable defensive team, finishing 17th out of 22 teams in Defensive Efficiency. They ended the year 43–39 (a record that would be a godsend to this year’s Knicks) and made it to the Eastern Conference semifinals where Dr. J’s 76ers dispatched them. Looking for more of a defensive presence, Reed was replaced early into the following campaign by Red Holzman, the mastermind of the earlier Knicks title teams.

The Pitino era lasted just a little longer, two full seasons, but it too was marked by teams that played uptempo, effective offense. Pitino arrived after three seasons under Hubie Brown and Bob Hill, in which the club went 24–58, 23–59, and 24–58. Pitino’s rookie campaign, a 38–44 team that lost in the first round of the playoffs to Larry Bird’s Celtics, made the fan base positively giddy. Point guard Mark Jackson won Rookie of the Year and the team seemed pointed in the right direction.

In Pitino’s second year, his system was fully in place, and the team played fast, fifth in Pace Factor, and boasted a top offense, sixth out of 25 teams in Offensive Efficiency as well as a solid defense, tenth in Defensive Efficiency. That squad became one of the first of many Knick teams to meet its postseason demise against Michael Jordan’s Bulls.

The fate of either the Reed Knicks or the Pitino Knicks would be a massive improvement over last season’s misanthropic mess. But if the Knicks’ new offense is going to succeed, two of their older players, Stephon Marbury and Steve Francis, will have to adjust their games to fit the new scheme.

Since Marbury’s arrival in New York, five coaches ago, the Knicks have played at a slow tempo, and Stephon’s tenure in Phoenix marked one of the few times that they’ve played halfcourt ball consistently in the desert. Marbury has only played on a fast break oriented offense once, during his brief stay with the Timberwolves. However, Marbury’s preference for half court play would seem to owe more to his skill at running the pick and roll, rather than an inability to motor up and down the court. The current Knicks lack big men who are adept at setting good picks and moving to the hoop afterward, so Stephon’s best hope of getting into an offensive flow may come from staying within Isiah’s gameplan.

Francis, the Knicks’ other main playmaker, has even less experience with uptempo offense. Remember, he’s played for the following coaches, Rudy Tomjanovich, Jeff Van Gundy, Brian Hill, and Larry Brown — all half-court zealots. Francis rebounds especially well for a guard, so that could lead to him taking the ball coast to coast to set the offense, a prospect that he should relish.

If Francis and Marbury are on board with the new offense, then the Knicks are certain to improve dramatically and should be in the mix for the final playoff spot. If Isiah can actually locate some untapped inner defender than they’ll resemble the Reed team and maybe even look like the best of the Pitino era. But those are still big “if’s.”

Those late ’70s and late ’80s Knicks teams were enjoyable to watch, and the early returns suggest that this season’s Knicks share more with those teams than last season’s disaster.


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