Through the first half of the 2015-16 NBA season, the Knicks already won three more games than they did in all of the 2014-15 season. This doesn't begin to explain why coach Derek Fisher is on the hot seat.
Fisher's Knicks are one of this season's great turnaround stories and are threatening to make the playoffs, which could make Fisher a Coach of the Year candidate.
But apparently, the Knicks coach could be fighting for his job this season, according to an ESPN podcast between reporters Brian Windhorst and Zach Lowe via Pro Basketball Talk.
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"I'm going to wave a yellow flag on Derek Fisher, as well," Windhorst said. "Just hearing some rumbling that there isn't a lot of -- it's not all rainbows and lollipops there. Just a yellow flag, not a red flag."
Lowe concurred, although he then added that he may not be privy to the discord.
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"I agree with you that there's some rumblings," he said. "I haven't heard them maybe like you have."
The Knicks finished with a 17-65 record last season in Fisher's first campaign as coach. The longtime Laker had just retired as a player and had no prior experience as a coach -- even as an assistant.
Why he would be on the hot seat would involve a second part to the question: Why would Knicks team president Phil Jackson hire someone with no previous coaching experience and give him such a short leash?
"He's in just his second year of coaching, let alone as a head coach," Pro Basketball Talk indicated. "He seems to be improving.
"It's not all rosy. Players have reportedly questioned his grasp of X's and O's. But credit Fisher for delegating to assistants and motivating the team. Diagramming plays needn't be his specialty -- especially if he works well within his limitations.
"Like other areas of his coaching, Fisher has grown as a strategist. It's logical he continues to progress."
The Knicks are 20-21 through the midpoint of the season and one game out of eighth place in the Eastern Conference -- the last position to earn a playoff spot.
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