The way things have started for our two local NBA teams, this probably isn’t the best time to ask, who owns New York? As if New York wants either!
The Knicks just lost to the 0-3 Pistons, while the Nets ran out of gas in a home loss to the rebuilding Timberwolves. So it’s been anything but a banner start for either team as they meet for the first time this season, Friday night in Barclays Center.
But here are the top 4 reasons the Nets are the better team, at the moment:
1. Hollins Over Fisher
It’s not just that the Nets’ new coach has been at it longer than Fisher, who is just learning the business and trying to establish a winning culture in the Garden in his first coaching gig.
It might be early, but we’ve learned that Hollins isn’t afraid to speak his mind and go after players when the situation calls for some tough love, while Fisher is reticent to call out knuckleheads, starting with one of the NBA’s biggest, J.R. Smith.
Hollins demands accountability and uses the media to drive home his message, as he did after Brook
Lopez was schooled all night and especially down the stretch by Minnesota’s interior brute, Nikola Pekovic.
“Well, the guy whipped him,” Hollins said during his post-game media session. “I mean, it happens. You’ve got to give Pekovic credit. He was a man out there, and I’m always saying that there’s always a badder man than you in the prison.’’
Hearing those comments, we’re betting Lopez responds with a big night against the Knicks’ underwhelming collection of big men.
But also compare Hollins’ approach to Fisher’s dance on egg shells when addressing Smith’s one-game suspension against Detroit for hitting Washington’s Glen Rice Jr. in the groin during the Knicks’ anemic home loss on Tuesday. Already the subject of trade rumors, Smith didn’t do himself any favors with his latest antics. Yet he didn’t even draw so much as a reprimand from Fisher.
“We talk to all of our guys about being smart out there on the floor, knowing the NBA is taking a hard look at everything,” Fisher told reporters. “But it’s not an alarm, as far as J.R. He’s been great this year and we don’t see this as a sign of what’s to come.”
Maybe Fisher doesn’t hear the alarm, but Smith’s history says there’s more to come. He’s always been coddled, which is why he continues to be unreliable, prone to doing stupid things, on and off the court, that sometimes impact the Knicks’ ability to win.
2. Cold ‘Melo
The Knicks’ $124-million man hasn’t done squat in the last two games, missing 32 of 45 shots. After an abysmal night in the Palace of Auburn Hills, Anthony pointed to the team’s lack of energy -- despite the fact that we’re still only a week into the season -- and even came up with a new excuse.
“Maybe it’s the Palace,’’ he said after the loss to reporters. “The building is too big."
Barclays is small and intimate, but we can see Anthony’s struggles continuing as the Knicks are still at square one when it comes to mastering their new Triangle offense. And if the Nets can take him out of his sweet spots and are physical with him, as the Wizards were able to do, those struggles will continue..
“It’s going to take some time for those guys to get used to their new system,’’ the Nets’ Jarrett Jack told me. “Melo is a veteran and it’s a new system for him and their other guys. They’re learning what their reads are. I think he’ll eventually adjust. Hopefully, they’ll figure it out Saturday, not Friday, know what I mean?’’
3. Kevin Garnett Is a Factor
After a brutal first season in Brooklyn when he looked ready for the retirement home, Garnett has shown signs that he’s got some life left in those old 38-year old legs. So far, Hollins hasn’t been afraid to pour minutes into him, which is a departure from Jason Kidd’s restrictions of last season.
So instead of just providing leadership, Garnett is giving the Nets some defense and rebounding.
“Here’s one thing they did with him last year that was not right: They limited his minutes and you can’t do that with Kevin,’’ Minnesota coach Flip Saunders told me before going up against Garnett.
Saunders was with Garnett when he broke into the league in 1995-96 and coached him when he was the league's MVP in 2003-04.
“Kevin needs to play 30 minutes to keep his rhythm,’’ Saunders continued. “If he doesn’t play those minutes, he’s got more of a chance to break down. Everyone looks at his age and thinks he’s just like guys who played ‘til they were 40, guys like Karl Malone. But Malone played four years of college. KG came right in from high school. So when you look at him, age-wise, he’s more of a guy who is 37. I could see him playing three or four more years if he ever wanted to keep playing.’"
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At this rate, all the Nets are looking for is one strong season from the future Hall of Famer.
4. Better Point Guard
It’s not very difficult to be better than Shane Larkin, who has been handling the Knicks’ starting duties with Jose Calderon still a few weeks away from returning from a calf injury. Larkin is a back-up and his back-up, veteran Pablo Prigioni, went down with an ankle injury against the Pistons. Meanwhile, Williams, who had a bad season a year ago, due to more ankle troubles and an overall regression in his play, has enjoyed a strong start.
There’s no reason to think that will change when the Nets and Knicks take the floor to see who the best team is in New York. For the moment.
Longtime New York columnist Mitch Lawrence continues to write about pro basketball, as he’s done for the last 21 years. His columns for NBCNewYork.com on the Knicks, Brooklyn Nets and the NBA, along with other major sports, will appear twice weekly. Follow him on Twitter @Mitch _ Lawrence.
