Derek Fisher's faith in Jose Calderon is starting to pay off. The head coach of the New York Knicks has stressed his faith in the veteran time and time again, refusing to take him out of the starting lineup, and it is starting to show why. Calderon has been improving since his slow start to the season and the main reason is the return of Arron Afflalo who is quietly making the point guard better for the Knicks.
Calderon struggled heavily when he was paired with Sasha Vujacic at the start of the season. However, since Afflalo came back onto the court from a hamstring injury, Calderon has looked much better. in the past seven games since the shooting guard came back onto the court, Calderon is averaging 10.0 points per game. He is proving the right pace for the triangle offense and Afflalo is getting the credit as the two have improved chemistry that is making a big difference on the court.
"For sure, a 100 percent I'm feeling more comfortable out there,'' Calderon said, via the New York Post. "I'm moving better, running better, shooting the ball better. It took me a while to get back after seven months not playing a game, to the speed. Sometimes my legs went faster than my mind, or the other way around. I'm feeling pretty comfortable out there, and I got trust to my teammates. For a point guard, it's really good for guys to have your back.''
Another thing helping Calderon is the quiet stretch from Jerian Grant. The rookie point guard got off to a hot start, but has since grown quiet as Fisher is encouraging him to change his game up.Opponents are beginning to figure out the play of Grant and Fisher is making it clear that he needs to learn to adjust when the defense exposes his weaknesses.
"It's just called 'Welcome to the NBA,'" Fisher said, via the Post. "Sustaining success in this league requires you to embrace your weaknesses and the things you don't do so well. So for Jerian, he's going to have to embrace the opportunity teams are presenting him."
Langston Galloway is thriving off the bench which is pushing Grant's time on the court. On Saturday, Galloway put up 12 points in 24 minutes while Grant had six points in 13 minutes of play. The rookie point guard has certainly stalled in his improvement, but having Calderon excel means the Knicks can afford for Grant to take his time in the league.
