Knicks' unlikely savior: How Latrell Sprewell saved Jeff Van Gundy (SN Archive — 1999)

This article, "Step aside, Patrick. The Knicks are Spree's team" by Dave D'Alessandro, originally appeared in the June 14, 1999 issue of The Sporting News. 

These are not your father's Knickerbockers, that much is certain. In fact, they may not even be Jeff Van Gundy's vision of what the Knicks should be.

Stylistically, in just four weeks, the team has undergone a transformation that is the basketball equivalent of a Volkswagen outfitted with twin turbos. And Van Gundy deserves credit for inserting the key, plotting the direction, jamming it into gear and going along for what has been a remarkable postseason ride in New York.

As the Knicks take these unlikely but inexorable strides toward the NBA Finals, everyone agrees the change they've undergone has been good. The change has made them winners. But the change also is likely to produce some unusual consequences — on the roster and coaching staff.

Who says so? Dave Checketts says so, every time he refuses to extend Van Gundy's contract.

Who says so? Van Gundy says so, every time he refuses to stake his claim as the rightful coach of this team.

Who says so? Latrell Sprewell says so, every time the Knicks' best player passes up the chance to express his satisfaction with the new status quo.

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For months, Sprewell, the Knicks' sixth man, had waged a passive campaign to jin the starting lineup — passive because the dutifully obnoxious New York media would ask him daily how he felt about coming off the bench. Sprewell would invariably respond negatively.

“We don't always see eye-to-eye,” Van Gundy says. “I don't know if we ever will.” The tension between Van Gundy and Sprewell hasn't been mitigated by success, insiders say. It's not hard to see what they mean.

Van Gundy is conspicuously reticent when set up with a softball question designed to solicit praise for Sprewell. Similarly, Sprewell hasn't exactly gone out of his way to say anything nice about his otherwise popular coach since the Knicks took Sprewell off the scrap heap back in January.

No one can check Spree in this league. He's the best open-court player there is.

- Marcus Camby

Sprewell's primary objection is related to his role: He wants to start. Van Gundy cannot understand why he is so headstrong on this issue. And whether these two can resolve it will go a long way toward deciding the future of this team.

The change, lest you forget, was not necessarily embraced by everyone. Certainly not by the old guard, judging by all the brooding Patrick Ewing did for two months.

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But the change is now permanent, given Sprewell's popularity, Marcus Camby's speed, Ewing's immobility and the team's success. It can never go back to the way it was.

“I don't think it can, to be honest with you,” Allan Houston says.

“We weren't playing with confidence back then; we weren't winning,” Sprewell says. “But I always believed if we had done those things, we wouldn't have developed into the type of team we are today.”

Even assistant coach Don Chaney believes the future is clear. “I think Allan and Spree have to be the key people,” he says. “Patrick will be a big part of it, but not as big a role in terms of putting the team on his back. And it should be that way.”

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That is precisely why Van Gundy's job status remains uncertain. That is why Checketts uses cryptic phrases with regard to Van Gundy, though he cannot be plainer. “I have every intention of being fair to everybody here — not just Jeff,” Checketts, the Garden president, says. “I have a lot of questions I want to ask him that aren't fair to ask during the playoffs. And then I want to decide.”

Among those questions: Can Van Gundy and Sprewell get along even if Sprewell continues to come off the bench against his will?

Does starting him mean Houston must be traded?

Can Van Gundy live with the inevitable Ewing phase-out?

Can Van Gundy really be comfortable coaching this style?

Can they play this way even if the Pacers or Spurs prove it to be futile?

If Van Gundy answers “yes” to each question, he is likely to stay. If he equivocates or expresses doubts or harbors resentment over the way he has been treated this season, both parties will agree to part.

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That would be a shame because the Knicks have turned into one of the great sports stories of the year, with Sprewell as its main character. He is not a great shooter. He is not always a disciplined defender. He can be turnover-prone.

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But where Sprewell is unique, where he beats the world, is in his ability to force tempo. He gets into a race-against-the-universe mode, one in which a deflection or a long defensive rebound leads to a bust out dribble and five-long, turbocharged strides that can leave the entire defense in his wake. On the gallop and in the air, he invariably finishes with a flourish. Sprewell plays at a different rhythm than most players — a wild, pulsating, fearless style that makes crowds hyperventilate.

It's easy to understand why: At his best, you can't keep your eyes off him. It is a quick-strike, run-and-stun quality that can be intimidating to opponents. “No one can check Spree in this league,” Camby says. “He's the best open-court player there is.”

Indeed, few players in the East have this gift. Allen Iverson and Vince Carter are just two. Darrell Armstrong is showing signs of being another. But it has been Sprewell, and only Sprewell, who has been able to take his team on this mad dash into mid-June.

Keep in mind, only two people saw this coming. One was former G.M. Ernie Grunfeld, and he was thrown overboard April 21 partly because Van Gundy was reluctant to aerate his offense and call all those isolation plays he's now giving Sprewell.

The other was Pat Riley, who two days later called the Knicks “a ticking bomb,” perhaps mindful that it would explode or implode. It ended up exploding in Miami's face, as Sprewell laid some “Showtime” on Riley's world in the first round.

Then he wrecked Atlanta for 26 points a game during the second-round sweep. Through the weekend, the Pacers had kept Sprewell from dominating, but the Knicks were still leading the conference final series, 2-1.

Again, it has been a wild ride, and no one can be certain how and when it will end. Not Checketts, the executive who has a lot on his mind. Not Van Gundy, a superb coach who may lose his job despite guiding the team to the Final Four. And not Sprewell, a former pariah who now holds all the cards after resurrecting a moribund franchise.

American Dream, indeed.