Knicks have no excuse to pass on Iverson

Straight Shooting

The Knicks absolutely must sign Allen Iverson. Critics of this possibility offer several spurious reasons why Donnie Walsh should pass on A.I. Iverson isn't a good "fit" with the rebuilding Knicks. But how can such a tried-and-true explosive scorer not be a good fit with a 1-9 team that needs offensive help? Indeed, Iverson's penchant for hoisting up questionable shots would be a perfect fit. His poor practice habits would be contagious. But Mike D'Antoni's practices are infamous for their leisurely pace and undemanding requirements. If anything is contagious it might be Iverson's courage, tenacity and willingness to play hard for every minute of every game. Iverson's presence would impede the development of the Knicks' young backcourt — Toney Douglas and Wilson Chandler. But Chandler is already impeding his own development, and playing Iverson at shooting guard would remove a great deal of the do-it-now pressure from Douglas. The one-year deal A.I. would require would only be a gimmick to keep the fans interested until the free-agent circus begins in July. But what's wrong with putting some pizzazz into an increasingly moribund season while the Knicks fans are waiting for LeBron/Godot? So far this season, the Knicks have already lost nearly everything they have to lose — except cap space for next summer. That's why signing Iverson would at worst be a harmless yet interesting diversion.

Vox Populi

What is the importance of a go-to move? I've noticed that good players always have a go-to move, while lesser players "freelance" around. — Mike A go-to move is essential for any player who has to establish himself as a scorer. It might be a step-back jumper, a crossover and shoot, a jump-hook, or whatever. But it's a move that the player is confident can be used with success against an individual defender. Having such a move makes the defense react. Not having such a move makes the offensive player have to react. After a while, however, the offensive player eventually has to establish a counter-move off his go-to move, just to keep the defense guessing. For example, when Hakeem Olajuwon first came into the NBA he brought with him a dependable, devastating drop-step jumper. When the league caught up to this move, Hakeem would fake the drop-step, then spin toward the middle to release his jumper. He got by on these go-to and counter moves for several seasons as he gradually succeeded in expanding his arsenal.

One of the biggest problems with young players who come into the NBA with only a year of college competition is that they've been able to dominate purely on the basis of their talent. Every move they've made in high school or as freshmen was successful, so when they face experienced NBA defenders these youngsters have no idea of exactly what they can and cannot do. Jermaine O'Neal is a prime example. It took him five seasons to pare down his offensive possibilities and develop his turnaround jumper as his go-to move. Some young players — Andray Blatche, Andrew Bynum, Tyson Chandler, Gerald Green, Spencer Hawes, Jeff Green, Darko Milicic, Jamario Moon, Patrick O'Bryant — have yet to figure this out.

Travels with Charley

From time to time, I've been contacted by a player (or his representative) and asked to further explain some criticism I'd written concerning a certain aspect of his game. A couple of years back, one of the Wizards public relations staff called in response to my pointing out that Gilbert Arenas tended to turn his head on defense and was burned by two or three backdoor plays every game. Arenas wanted to know, the PR guy said, what he could do to prevent this, and what other pieces of his game I thought could be improved. Although this was the provenance of his coaches, the PR guy diligently took notes as I discussed how to avoid being back-doored. Actually, it's just by adhering to a fundamental defensive principle — open up until you can see both the ball and your man. If the specific angles prohibit this, then watch the ball while keeping some physical connection — a hand on the nearest hip will do — with your man. Anything else? I talked about Arenas' shot selection, and his frequent domination of the ball. Anything else? Yes. I wasn't particularly fond of the way Arenas spun the basketball prior to releasing his free throws. Remembering how Arenas had botched a pair of last-second free throws that cost the Wiz a playoff game against the Cavs back in 2006, the PR person was eager to relay my advice to Arenas. The problem with spinning the ball the way Arenas does is that he doesn't end up with the same grip as he prepares to shoot. Sometimes his fingers are aligned with the seams and sometimes not. And shooting free throws is all about duplicating the same pre-shot posture and preparation, the same grip, the same rhythm, and the same stroke on every shot. Even the slightest variation requires a slight adjustment that destroys the groove the shooter seeks to maintain. As good a natural shooter as he is, Arenas should also be at least five percentage points higher than his lifetime free-throw accuracy of 80.9 percent — 77.3 percent in the playoffs. Paying more attention to being consistent rather than flashy was the answer. OK! Arenas would be thrilled to hear all of this. Thanks. Glad to be of help. The next time the Wizards played, I zeroed in on Arenas' defense. Nope, he still lost visual and physical contact with his man in order to follow the bouncing ball. Nope, he still massaged the ball too much and took bad shots. Ah, but on his first trip to the stripe, he avoided circling the ball around his waist and made sure that his hands were in optimum position on the ball before releasing his shot — which hit the rim softly, made two complete circles, and then dropped off. On his second free throw, Arenas was back to his great-circle routine. The shot was good. The experiment was over forever. So far this season, he's shooting 72.9 percent from the stripe.