The New York Knicks interim head coach Mike Miller improved his record to 8-14 on the year. With the win last night in Cleveland, Miller has doubled former coach David Fizdale’s win total this season. He was 4-18 before being out.
Now, no one is saying that Miller is the answer or even the next full-time coach of the New York Knicks. But, from what we’ve seen, it appears that the team has been playing better under Miller. Whatever you think ‘better’ is up for your own interpretation.
In many games, Miller was able to get the Knicks up for a lot of big games. They’ve remained competitive except for that miserable Phoenix Suns games last week. And in the first half last night, all players look uninterested. It wasn’t until whatever Miller said at halftime was when they got it together.
Miller hasn’t really changed much from Fizdale. He’s kept the minutes pretty much the same except for Frank Ntilikina who’s getting 6 less. RJ Barrett, Mitchell Robinson and Kevin Knox’s minutes all remain relatively the same.
However, the one major change Miller has been doing, of recent, was playing the veteran players over the young players. This has stirred up a lot of talk throughout the Knicks community.
The Knicks aren’t making the playoff and are far from it. It’s safe to say that the Knicks should start to trade off veteran pieces to contending teams who need role players. The younger players need a lot more time to develop and not playing them does not bode well for their future progression.
Miller is trying to secure his job by playing the older players but it also not helping his case. It’s a double-edged sword. The vets aren’t getting the team anywhere and the team plays better when there’s a healthy dose of both.
The Knicks have to make trades before the deadline. The season is, another, loss and Miller has to begin to develop the younger guys for the long haul. Playing the youth will save his job over playing the vets.