Is Evan Fournier Knicks' Secret, Desperate Weapon For a Comeback vs Heat?
Seemingly unable to do anything acceptable by conventional NBA standards, even the New York Knicks' sense of immediate nostalgia is warped.
The Knicks' season opener against Memphis feels like an eternity ago. Like a long-standing television series' first episodes starring characters that disappear without explanation (i.e. Sarah Spooner from "The King of Queens," Chuck Cunningham from "Happy Days"), it's bizarre to see the names responsible for the thrills provided at tip-off: current Portland Trail Blazer Cam Reddish had 22 off the bench (including a triple that sent the game into overtime) and Evan Fournier was in the original starting lineup.
Seven months and 91 games later, Reddish is best known as the cheap price of admission to the Josh Hart show while Fournier, a Knicks history-maker to the tune of a single-season record 241 successful three-pointers last season is among the celebrities seated courtside at Madison Square Garden to take in the Knicks' ongoing playoff run.
Such celebs (including Jessica Alba, Hank Azaria, Aaron Rodgers, Ben Stiller, and Garden mainstay Spike Lee) might have to adjust their social calendars after Wednesday night: the Knicks are on the brink of postseason oblivion, down 3-1 in their best-of-seven Eastern Conference Semifinal series against the Miami Heat. A chance to extend the series ... or the not-so-grand finale ... lands on Wednesday night in Manhattan (7:30 p.m. ET, TNT).
Desperate times call for desperate measures ... does that include a surprise Fournier cameo as the apocalypse looms?
Let's get one thing clear: the lack of Fournier (who has not touched the floor in any of the Knicks' nine postseason games) isn't the primary reason why the Knicks are down 3-1. New York has allowed Jimmy Butler to do Jimmy Butler things despite a sore ankle that kept him out of Game 2 (the Knicks' lone win to date). After the Knicks drained the life out of the Cleveland Cavaliers with interior antics, Miami (namely Bam Adebayo) has flipped the script, the forced taste of home cooking perfectly defined by a tiring 7-1 advantage on the offensive glass in Game 4's final period on Monday.
But one look at the box score has provided the Knicks a bizarre reminder: you can't win when you can't score. Through four games, the Knicks have averaged 99.8 points (last among the eight conference semifinal participants and are shooting less than 30 percent from three-point range.
The modern NBA has made it clear that some semblance of an outside attack is necessary to press forward in its postseason. Miami has realized that, as their three-point quotas have been met by Max Strus (12) and Gabe Vincent (10) with Butler slightly hobbled.
That's where Fournier can come in.
Fournier was exiled from the rotation for a reason, namely his defensive lapses (which eventually turned his starting job over toe Quentin Grimes). As much of a sharpshooter as he may be, Fournier probably couldn't do much about a period that saw the Knicks shoot over 76 percent from the field and still emerge with a larger deficit (as was the case in the third quarter on Monday). He also shouldn't be relied upon to make up for the lack of the injured Immanuel Quickley, which hasn't helped close the gap in a 116-62 advantage in bench scoring for the Heat (paced by 53 for a rejuvenated Kyle Lowry).
But it's clear the Knicks need an outside spark, especially considering they played like it was 1994 in the worst connotations: a 20 percent output from three-point range in Game 3 (8-of-40) was tied with the infamous deep efforts (or lack thereof) in Game 7 of the doomed Finals against Houston for their worst success rate in a playoff game where they tried at least 20.
Not only does Fournier have the outside prowess having served as a deep-depth threat that has allowed him to build a decade-plus-long career in the modern NBA, but he knows how to succeed in defenses overseen by Miami head coach Erik Spoelstra. Thanks primarily to his days with the Orlando Magic, Fournier has faced Spoelstra-led groups 31 times, averaging 15.7 points in those meetings.
Even with all that considered, it's probably not wise to expect Fournier to see the floor on Wednesday. He wasn't even granted entry when the Knicks went up big on Cleveland, those glorious garbage minutes instead offered to similarly exiled veteran Derrick Rose and Westchester standout DaQuan Jeffries.
But head coach Tom Thibodeau hinted that rotational surprises could surface as midnight approaches. Before Game 4, Thibodeau declared that "everything's on the table" in terms of Quickley-free lineup decisions, though the biggest departure from the norm wound up being a handful of minutes for Miles McBride.
Long removed from any hint of a rotational role, Fournier has still proven he's capable of an in-game takeover. When injuries ate away at the Knicks lineup in the early portions of the calendar year, he put up a 17-point game against Philadelphia that he famously compared to a "one-night stand."
If the Knicks are going to keep their season alive, perhaps one more get-together might be necessary.
Geoff Magliocchetti is on Twitter @GeoffJMags
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