Nobody missed point guard Jeremy Lin as much as Steve Novak did during the Knicks’ playoff series against Miami last April.
Novak’s best moments with the Knicks last season occurred during the height of Linsanity, when the former Harvard point guard smoked through the lane to draw traffic and leave Novak free at the 3-point line. More often than not, Novak buried the shot and the Garden thundered.
Novak was part of Lin’s posse that also included Landry Fields and Jerome Jordan. Novak is the only one remaining with the Knicks.
Novak said he was crushed when he found out the Knicks weren’t matching the Rockets’ revamped offer for Lin, but he isn’t complaining anymore, not after his perfect 7-for-7 outburst from the 3-point stripe Friday in the preseason-opening 108-101 win in Washington.
The Knicks face the Celtics tonight at the Hartford Civic Center.
Novak, who led the NBA in 3-point percentage last season (47.2), has a trifecta of deft point guards who can play the pick-and-roll to free him up — starter Raymond Felton, Jason Kidd and Pablo Prigioni.
After signing his four-year, $16 million contract in July, Novak is loving life as a Knick again. The Miami playoff series — when he scored just 15 points in five games, making five 3-pointers — is in the past. He notched a team-high 21 points Friday.
“Jason and Raymond, they just put it in your hands at the right times,’’ Novak said. “Those guys draw so much attention to themselves sometimes, I just stay out and let them give it to me whenever they want.’’
Not that he doesn’t wish it would have gone differently with Lin. They still speak, and did so as recently as Thursday.
“I definitely was [shocked],’’ Novak said. “I called Jeremy when I was getting close to my deal. And I said, ‘We’re going to be teammates.’ I was sure he was coming back and he didn’t.
“As a friend in anything, if you think you’re going to be back on the team with a friend, it’s exciting. And then he was gone. That to me was a bummer.’’
But Novak has no regrets about re-signing, a deal made possible by the Players Association winning an arbitration case against the NBA, which restored Novak’s Early Bird rights.
Without the June victory, the Knicks would have had to use their mid-level exception to retain Novak and would have chosen not to. (Ultimately, they got Kidd for the mid-level).
Novak, out of Brown Deer, Wis., and Marquette, could have wound up with his hometown Bucks.
“I knew that, winning the case, I honestly think it was biggest for me of all the guys’ part of it,’’ said Novak. “It affected me the most.’’
The Bucks were in the mix.
“We talked,’’ Novak said. “We talked several times when I’ve been a free agent. I never know for sure at what level. But no, I wanted to be back . If I could choose Milwaukee or New York, hands down, New York. It’s the truth.’’
Mike Woodson scoured the tapes of the Miami series to see what went wrong with Novak. And the coach doesn’t see it ever happening again.
“We learned from that, and we got Kidd, Pablo, Raymond, guys who can play off the ball in pick-and-rolls and somebody’s going to be open,’’ Woodson said. “If Novak is not open, somewhere someone else is open. I like the ballclub in terms of our point guards being able to run pick-and-rolls and will free up shooters like JR [Smith] and Novak a lot.’’
“[Miami] switched a lot,’’ Woodson added, “and they’re going to switch to him. That’s the right thing to do. And our pick and roll offense wasn’t as sharp as it will be this season. Nothing against [Mike] Bibby, but I like our new makeup.’’
Armed with a long-term deal for the first time, Novak also has a entirely different perspective at this training camp, no longer wondering if he’ll make a team. He doesn’t want to grow complacent, however.
“That’s the biggest thing I try to fight,’’ Novak said. “Because I never had that feeling. I always thought I might get cut, might not make a team, might not be good enough.’’
That, for sure, is in the past.