Even in those rare years that the New York Knicks have drafted talented players like Mark Jackson, Trevor Ariza, Channing Frye and Rod Strickland, their best rookies have played like, well, rookies.
I recall Marv Albert describing an extremely fast and athletic Ray Williams careening "out of control" down the lane and losing the ball; Michael Ray Richardson launching ill-advised outside jumpers with no rebounders stationed near the basket and plenty of time left on the shot clock, and Gerald Wilkins charging into defenders whose feet were planted.
Landry Fields is the rarest of gems. A second round pick playing for an annual salary roughly equivalent to Eddy Curry's per diem rate, he captured the starting shooting guard job during the exhibition season and has proven himself to be one of the Knicks' most valuable players during their unexpected early season success.
He is not the fastest, strongest, or flashiest player. He will not make many highlight reels. Fields simply knows how to play the game. He is the stealth rookie.
You need scoring and he drops 21 points on Denver. You need rebounding and he grabs at least 10 on 1 ...
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Article written by Douglas Halpert
Landry Fields: The Glue of the New York Knicks
December 23rd, 2010 by Douglas Halpert Leave a reply »
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