Veterans Day is a significant day for New York Knicks rookie Kevin Knox and his family. Chris Iseman, Staff Writer, @chrisiseman


NEW ORLEANS — The Knicks' first 15 games of the season have had a little bit of everything.

Solid defensive performances, poor defensive performances, good scoring nights, bad scoring nights. They've had games where they played fast and moved the ball freely, others where they've been stagnant and where their offense looked like it was stuck in neutral. 

Some of the ups and downs are the byproduct of a team filled with young players seeing their first extensive NBA minutes, but that isn't the reason for everything.

Did David Fizdale expect all these challenges coming into the season?

"I would say you never see all of it, but I just expected it to be a rough ride," Fizdale said after the Knicks' practice at Smoothie King Center on Thursday.

And it has been, especially lately. 

The Knicks will go into Friday night's game against the New Orleans Pelicans trying to bounce back from blowout losses to the Raptors, Magic and Thunder. They gave up an average of 123.7 points in those three games. 

Through the ups and downs, Fizdale said he focuses on staying level, not getting caught up in what's affecting the team one way or the other.

Instead he can only focus on what the team is trying to accomplish. 

"For me, as hard as it can be sometimes, I have to be the guy that’s always looking at the big picture," Fizdale said. "How do I fix it? How do I improve them? How can I help them get better today? Because it’s easy when you lose to fall into a real despair and a blame game and all of that stuff. So my job is to fight, to keep them getting better, to make sure that our culture is always intact and that we’re working the right way with each other.

"That's what this year is all about."

Only time will tell if Fizdale is successful in making them better. 

There have been encouraging early-season signs, but the recent inconsistency has overshadowed most of them. 

Regardless, Fizdale has kept to the message that this is all part of their process, everything is a lesson.

The story continues below the gallery.

Show Thumbnails
Show Captions

He's employed motivational tactics to reinforce it. 

All season he's told his team that it was "chopping a tree" as it tries to take steps forward. So last week he brought in an ax and had the entire team sign it. 

"Something I can always show them to remind them, ‘Just remember your commitment to what we’re trying to get done right now,'" Fizdale said.

The Knicks have learned plenty through the early part of the season. There's been some good, but a lot that they need to improve on. 

At some point, the Knicks have to show consistent progress. 

Get the newsletter delivered to your inbox
We're sorry, but something went wrong
Delivery: Varies
Thank you! You're almost signed up for

"Hopefully, some of it clicks," Fizdale said.

In the meantime, Fizdale is staying even keeled. 


More NY Knicks news

Will he be able to play?: New York Knicks' Mitchell Robinson back home in New Orleans

Knicks: Why the Knicks have been playing poor defense

Knicks: Fizdale shuffles lineups, but Knicks suffer blowout to Oklahoma City Thunder

Report: Carmelo Anthony and the Rockets to part ways