For a while Derek Fisher looked like a genius, a modern-day Zen Master. His late insertion of Amar'e Stoudemire into the starting lineup for Wednesday night's season opener against the Bulls at the Garden was providing instant results.
Looking like he did in his All-Star days, Stoudemire dominated the first nine minutes of the game, fueling the Knicks to a fast start that would see the home team take an early 16-11 lead. Stoudemire had half of the Knicks points, sandwiching two dunks between two outside jump shots that energized the sellout crowd.
What Stoudemire had hoped before the game was becoming reality.
"It's time to take the hard work I've done in practice to the game," he had said.
Now he was doing just that. Or so it seemed.
It wasn't long before Fisher wasn't a genius and Stoudemire wasn't 21 again. After Stoudemire left the game at 2:59 of the first quarter with the Knicks up by five, the Bulls bench dominated the rest of the quarter, jump-starting Chicago to an easy 104-80 win.
"The start of the game we played solid," said Stoudemire, who finished with 12 points and eight rebounds. "Then once they started ramping up the defense we took a step back."
It's unclear whether Stoudemire will start Thursday's game in Cleveland or go back to the bench. He spent the whole preseason coming off the bench, which is why eyebrows were raised when Fisher announced Stoudemire would start the opener at power forward.
Fisher said he looked at the matchup against the Bulls and teams in the Eastern Conference in making his decision.
"We feel good about having the two bigs out there starting the game," he said, referring to Stoudemire and center Samuel Dalembert.
That good feeling didn't last a quarter.
"We're still discovering all of our possibilities," Fisher said after the Knicks' most one-sided loss in a season opener since losing to the Sixers 101-72 in 2000.
Fisher was a player for nearly two decades so he knows how egos can impact an NBA team. You only can hope his decision to put Stoudemire in the starting lineup was for basketball reasons and not a flip-flop by a rookie head coach to appease one player.
"He's put himself in position where he's out there to start," Fisher said before the game. "He's worked hard to be in this position."
Stoudemire validated his start by his early impact. He played strong defense against Joakim Noah, ran the floor in transition and made his first four field goals. Bulls coach Tom Thibodeau wasn't surprised.
"People tend to forget how good Amar'e is," he said.
But starting Stoudemire left the Knicks bench without many weapons other than the streaky J.R. Smith. As Stoudemire and Carmelo Anthony watched from the bench, the Bulls claimed a 39-28 lead before they re-entered the game. It got ugly from there.
Fisher will have to figure out what works best for the Knicks and not what makes his players happy. It was just a few days ago when Stoudemire seemed annoyed at coming off the bench, saying, "I'm not sure why," when asked why he wasn't being considered to start. "I need to find out."
It's unclear if he and Fisher discussed his role.
"We have an open line of communication," is all Stoudemire would say. "He has an open-door policy with all of his players.We feel confident to talk him about any situation."
If Fisher changed his lineup simply to appease Stoudemire, that's not a good sign. It's never works when the inmates run the asylum.
Stoudemire said he would be happy starting or coming off the bench. He has always been a good soldier as a Knick, and if he twisted Fisher's arm to get a start on opening night that might be expected. But it's difficult to see the Knicks winning without either Stoudemire or Anthony on the floor.
Fisher promised to do what's best for the team and that might mean Stoudemire coming off the bench. Whatever the plan, the last thing the Knicks need is an indecisive rookie head coach.
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