SUPER STEVE: Suns guard Steve Nash isn’t slowing down, and given his good relationship with Knicks coach Mike D’Antoni when both were in Phoenix, Nash could call the Garden home next season. (
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Amar’e Stoudemire is off to the worst shooting start of his NBA career, and the Knicks offense has been as disjointed and dysfunctional as it has been under coach Mike D’Antoni. The team’s need for a point guard has never been clearer than in this three-game skid, and tonight they welcome the Suns and Steve Nash. Isn’t that ironic?
The Knicks (6-7) come into tonight fifth-worst in the league in both shooting (41.7 percent) and assists (18.0), and Stoudemire is the poster child for those woes. His 42.0 percent shooting is the most inaccurate of his career — other than his three-game 2005-06 campaign — and he and D’Antoni said his lack of production is a result of the team’s lack of chemistry.
“That’s a confidence thing, a rhythm thing, with a lot of guys struggling,’’ D’Antoni said. “We have no rhythm out there. Being new, young at certain points, maybe that’s it. We don’t know for sure. We just have to keep trying to clean things up, get it better.
“He [Stoudemire is] a product, a lot of guys are a product of flows, and if you’re not on the top of your game going one-on-one, you really look bad. The offense has to help you get to the top of your game, which is confidence. … But right now, our flow is not good.’’
Because point guards Toney Douglas and Iman Shumpert ineffective and inconsistent, respectively, Baron Davis’ return can’t come soon enough. Stoudemire is adjusting to playing power forward and seeing his pick-and-rolls called for Tyson Chandler, something D’Antoni said he believes Stoudemire can work through.
“I’ve been a screen-and-roll guy, getting baskets my whole career, so it’s a little bit different now,” said Stoudemire, citing rust because of recovering from his back woes. “But it’s very early and the lockout plays a big factor. It just takes time for me to get back into a rhythm.’’
The Knicks just need to look at the other bench tonight to see what their offense is supposed to look like. Nash, who ran D’Antoni’s system to perfection, was averaging an NBA-high 10.1 assists before last night’s 118-97 loss to the Bulls, even though he will turn 38 next month. That’s why The Post has reported the Knicks plan to target Nash (along with Jameer Nelson and Raymond Felton) with this summer’s $5 million mid-level exception.
“You’ve got a guy by the name of Steve Nash who’s orchestrating the offense,’’ Stoudemire said. “Things seem to run a little smoother when he’s got control of the ball. But we’ll get there.’’
When? D’Antoni said if Davis can start practicing by the end of this month it should help.
“I just don’t want to go there yet until I see him [Davis] on the floor,” D’Antoni said. “In this league point guard play is very, very important for success.’’
Hence their expected pursuit of Nash, who lives in Manhattan during the offseason.
“Nash is one of the best. They run our offense; or we run their offense, either way you want to look at it. But maybe we’ll learn how to run it,’’ D’Antoni said with a rueful chuckle. “He and Grant [Hill] are both amazing. I don’t know how long they could go, but it doesn’t look like they’re slowing down. I hope forever, because it’s fun to watch them.’’
In the Knicks’ case, it would be even better to sign one of them.