Fisher has endured a miserable first year as coach…
New York Knicks coach Derek Fisher has responded to president Phil Jackson’s criticism of the players showing a lack of effort by insisting that they are.
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Jackson delivered a cryptic message of sort on Twitter on Monday, but essentially his frustration was aimed at his perceived lack of effort from the players on the court.
It has been a miserable season for all concerned with the Knicks this year as they have traded players, lost Carmelo Anthony to injury and have been unable to string any wins together which leaves them at 10-45 for the season.
They’ve now lost eight straight games entering Wednesday’s game at Boston, and Fisher has looked to defend his players in the hope that he can get some kind of reaction out of them down the stretch of the regular season.
“I’m not really taking those as specific to any particular player, players, persons,” Fisher said, according to ESPN.
“Phil is the president of the team. He has his opinions. When you guys see him, you can, I guess, talk to him or ask him exactly what they mean. From my standpoint, I think our guys are trying and giving effort. But it’s a hard game. And we’ve been through a lot. It’s been a tough year.”
The Knicks are undoubtedly now in rebuild mode after trading both JR Smith and Iman Shumpert to the Cleveland Cavaliers last month, with the pair coming back to haunt their old team with impressive performances at the Garden on Sunday.
Melo opted to undergo knee surgery shortly after the All-Star Game, and so Fisher has a real task on his hands to salvage anything from this season with a depleted roster that is devoid of confidence.
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