New York Knicks‘ head coach David Fizdale is entering the 2019-20 NBA season with young talent and hope. There is hope for improvement in the atmosphere and hungry Knick fans can’t wait to see the young developing talent on the basketball court.
There are some whispers that Fizdale is a better salesman than he is an actual coach. However, the Knick head coach is respected around the league by NBA vets. He also has a decent track record excluding last season with the Knicks. There will be moderate pressure on Fizdale entering this 2019-20 NBA season.
Fizdale is definitely a good salesman towards the media. He’s good at giving the politically correct answer when the cameras are rolling, however, behind closed doors when dealing with the players, you’ll get an entirely different Fizdale. He is definitely the voice of this young Knicks team.
There were complaints about how Fizdale worked the lineup rotation during last season. People were complaining about one particular payer in Emmanuel Mudiay. The frustrated fans wanted to know the reason behind Mudiay receiving plenty of minutes at point guard. They’d often ask why doesn’t Frank Ntilikina receive those minutes instead. Some fans hated the fact Tim Hardaway Jr. never came off the bench. There were fans who thought Kanter should barely get playing time due to his defense, then quickly forgets when Kanter scores a monster double-double.
The huge point people tend to miss is that the New York Knicks went through last season with intentions to improve and treat the regular season like practice. Number one goal last season was to gain experience for young players like Knox. Dennis Smith, Allonzo Trier, and Mitchell Robinson. Another goal which worked out for the better was obtaining a lottery pick in the 2019 NBA draft.
Overall, David Fizdale must be somewhat of a salesman with the media. Of course, it’s part of the job especially if you need players to buy into the system you’re coaching. The plus side is if the coach didn’t believe in his vision, he most likely would believe he could coach the team.