(Theknicksblog)
And after Tuesday's loss, Rambis openly talked about the defensive deficiencies of point guard Jose Calderon and forward Derrick Williams.
"We know that real quick, explosive point guards are going to cause Jose some problems," he said of Wall, who at times was defended by the 7-foot-3 Kristaps Porzingis. "We have to continue to find ways to support him and help him defend pick-and-rolls and quick guards. No team is perfect at all your defensive positions. You have to figure out where the weakness and matchup problems are and then you have to support your teammates."
Calderon went scoreless and managed just 6 assists and 3 rebounds.
"I've got to continue to urge Jose to be aggressive offensively because I want him to be not only a faciltator and an organizer, but he's gotta be a scorer for us, too," Rambis said.
The truth is, no matter who the Knicks coach is, if their guards are outplayed by opposing backcourts more often than not, they are not going to be a very good team.
Calderon, Galloway and Sasha Vujacic are just not as athletic and explosive as most teams' guards. And Rambis may have given an early indication about his rotation preferences by giving rookie Jerian Grant a DNP-Coach's Decision.
Rambis made similarly frank comments about Williams' defensive liabilities -- something Fisher would never have done.
"He's does have to do more things and be better connected to his teammates," Rambis said. "There's time defensively where he misses his assignments."
Asked what it felt like to be back on the sidelines as the head man, Rambis said, "It is a lot of fun, it really is."
But the fun won't last if the Knicks continue to fall from the playoff race. And Rambis said he cautioned his guys about sitting around and not staying in shape over the break.
With 10 days off before their next game in Brooklyn, Rambis had a strong message for his guys.
"My message to them was to make sure that they just don't lay around over the break," he said. "They've gotta continue to keep up their cardiovascular conditioning and they've gotta be able to get into a gym. I don't expect them to pound themselves and go through two-a-days, but they can't just lay around for 10 days and then come back and expect to get off to a great start."
