Rasheed Wallace may or may not be a long-term coaching consultant for the Knicks, but he’s certainly worth keeping around for the time being, especially if he continues to have the impact he has had so far.
The former Knick and world champion with the Pistons spent the last few days working with project center Mitchell Robinson, who responded with perhaps his best performance of the season in Monday night’s 115-96 triumph over the Nets at Madison Square Garden.
The win snapped a five-game losing streak and Robinson’s performance earned him several ovations. The 7-foot-1 rookie was a presence at both ends of the floor, scoring 11 points, blocking one shot and grabbing three rebounds in 15 minutes of duty. He was 5-of-5 from the field with most of his points coming off dunks, some of them spectacular. His signature play of the night came when he stole a pass intended for Nets center Jarrett Allen and went the length of the floor before powering through a one-handed dunk that gave the Knicks a 58-44 lead.
“Mitch is kind of tentative sometimes because he’s new,” Tim Hardaway Jr. said. “It’s good to have Sheed, a guy that’s loud, that’s active and brings the best out of you. That’s what he did with Mitch and Mitch showed it tonight.”
Wallace worked extensively with the 20-year-old Robinson at practice on Sunday and before Monday’s game. It’s part of Fizdale’s plan to have selected former NBA players share their knowledge with his young team. Fizdale has already reached out to former Pistons and Knicks guard Chauncey Billups to work out a date when he can visit with his Knicks. Hall of Famer and current Georgetown coach Patrick Ewing paid an earlier visit as did Knicks legend and two-time world champion Walt “Clyde” Frazier.
“They can give them perspective that I can’t,” Fizdale reasoned. “I didn’t play in the league. I didn’t go through the ups and downs of the league from a player’s perspective. There’s a lot of guys in this league that you crossed paths with or have been a part of this organization long before me that I feel like have an insight that I can never give them about being a New York Knick and about being an NBA player.”
Good on Fizdale for checking his ego and allowing different voices to influence his players. It certainly can’t hurt for any basketball neophyte like Robinson to gain knowledge from the likes of Frazier, Ewing and Wallace even if today’s players may have never seen them perform. A respect for history breeds respect for the game and respect for the opportunity they have now. Not to mention the last time the Knicks had a 50-win season in 2012-2013 Wallace was the vocal leader.
“Sheed’s energy is infectious in the gym,” Fizdale said. “He’s got a great perspective. He’s a world champion and he’s one of the smartest basketball players I’ve ever been around. He has an extremely high basketball IQ.”
Robinson wore a headband Monday night, but not as a tribute to Wallace. “I just wanted to try something new,” he said. His play was more of a tribute. Robinson’s footwork, positioning and leverage were much improved. “I was thinking in my head about everything he was telling me, like get behind the defense and use my voice,” Robinson said. “That’s what I did.”
Wallace actually critiqued some of the players before he started working with them to know what he was getting into and to get on the same page as Fizdale about toughness, work ethic, professionalism, discipline and practice habits.
“Sheed knows how to communicate that very well,” Fizdale said. “This is almost a college team. I want to give them all the resources and all the education that I can possibly give them and hopefully that fast tracks them through this year.”
It seems to have worked for Robinson.
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