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Knicks Camp Report: Day 2 Features Visit From The Captain & Attention To Details

The Captain & When The Garden Was Eden
As the Knicks were taking part in a spirited training camp practice, The Captain, Willis Reed spent some time speaking with the media in attendance. The legend covered a variety of topics, including being surprised Phil Jackson returned to New York, his belief in Derek Fisher, Carmelo Anthony, and the Knicks jumping back into the postseason this year.

“If anybody can change the fate of the New York Knicks, I think Phil will do it,” Reed confidently stated.

Reed’s presence was part of a message sent to the team to remember the history of the Knicks franchise, especially the championship years in the 70s. The squad watched the upcoming ESPN documentary, ‘When The Garden Was Eden,’ on Tuesday night, which details the title runs for the Knicks and what it meant to New York City. The squad also joined the cadets for lunch prior to practice in another team building exercise.

“Today everybody was still talking about that from the film to the lunch with the cadets today. It’s the same message, regardless of what we are doing, whatever event we are going to, it’s the same message is one team, and that’s what we are trying to create here,” Anthony explained.

Baby Steps and Details
Carmelo Anthony admitted the team is taking baby steps throughout the first couple days of training camp but the attention to detail is the most important aspect of this week-long journey at West Point. On Wednesday afternoon, the team completed its third training camp session in two days.

“I think these past couple of days, we’ve been really focusing in on details from an offensive standpoint and a defensive standpoint. The way we want to play, the way we are going to try to play is very detail oriented. We are taking baby steps but we’re going to get there,” Anthony said.

Despite being the rookie on the team, Cleanthony Early seemed like a seasoned vet when discussing the learning process during training camp. Early actually has a leg up on the veterans due to his experience running the Triangle Offense and working under head coach Derek Fisher during Summer League in Las Vegas this past July.

Early expressed his approach and the team philosophy in camp, “It’s always a step-by-step process and that just depends on the type of person you are.”

Finishing Games
Yesterday, the discussion was all about defense. Fisher said the team remained focused on the defensive side of the floor for a majority of Wednesday’s practice but also spent some time working the Triangle and end-of-game situations.

“You finish [practice] with a defensive drill because part of our mindset is you have to finish every game with a stop,” Fisher acknowledged. “We lost 15 games last season by five points or less, so if you can get stops at the end of games, more of those games will go in your favor.”