Did someone kidnap Steve Novak on the bus ride to Hartford Saturday? In the preseason game against the Celtics at XL Center, Novak was 1-of-6 from 3-point land and 3-of-5 on 2-pointers. That’s a statistical oddity that deserves an investigation.
Coach Mike Woodson explained it yesterday, saying the 3-point specialist has added a dimension to his game — creating shots off the dribble. Novak was a catch-and-shoot machine from 3-point territory last season, leading the NBA in 3-point percentage (47.8). But that became the only way he could score.
“In the last game, he made a couple of shots off the dribble,’’ Woodson said. “That’s something we didn’t see [last season]. That’s something we talked about in the summer about developing. All it is, is two, three escape dribbles to get your shot. He’s been working on that. The next step is get him to take it all the way to the hole and make him get knocked on his [butt] and get to the free throw line.’’
Well, that may not happen anytime soon. Novak, who was 7-of-7 from 3-point range during he preseason opener in Washington, is as good at penetrating to the bucket as Alex Rodriguez is at avoiding attention.
“I don’t think it’s something you’ll see me do as my go-to stuff, but it’s just as good a weapon,’’ Novak said of creating his shot off dribble penetration.. “Put it on the floor, one, two dribbles. Nothing major.’’
It could be a major issue come playoff time. Last season, Miami shut down Novak, as the Heat never left him open at the 3-point stripe. Novak became a non-factor, hitting only four 3-pointers in the five-game series.
Novak is acutely aware of the criticism he received against Miami.
“There’s a lot of talk about the Miami series,’’ Novak said. “Obviously we wanted to play better. But we’re moving on. We’re improving from it, working harder this summer. It keeps coming up. There’s no doubt it left a bitter taste in our mouth. We’ll be better for it.’’
* While Jeremy Lin is on the cover of GQ, Carmelo Anthony is on the cover of November’s Slam Magazine and now ESPN The Magazine’s NBA preview issue. Anthony probably wasn’t thrilled to hear of Lin’s latest magazine cover, as Anthony’s jealousy of Lin last season has been well-documented. In the preview issue, the dynamic is rehashed, with one new detail: Lin warned Anthony he wouldn’t get the ball if he weren’t open.
“Jeremy is a tough guy,” an anonymous source said. “He told Carmelo under no uncertain terms, ‘I’m not going to give you the ball unless you create space and run the plays.’ None of the other guys had a problem with it. Tyson [Chandler] didn’t, Amar’e [Stoudemire] didn’t. They knew they had a better chance with the ball in Lin’s hands in the last few minutes.” … As expected, the Knicks exercised their third-year option on Iman Shumpert’s rookie contract. Shumpert was named to the NBA All-Rookie first team last season.