The Last Enforcer: Outrageous Stories From the Life and Times of One of the NBA's Fiercest Competitors by Charles Oakley & Frank Isola

Author:Charles Oakley & Frank Isola [Oakley, Charles & Isola, Frank]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2022-02-02T00:00:00+00:00

12 NEW YORK TIME’S UP

Dave Checketts and Grunfeld replaced Nelson with our assistant coach, Jeff Van Gundy, who had been initially brought to the Knicks by Stu Jackson but really made a name for himself under Riley. We were all happy for Jeff and figured it would work because Riley’s way of doing things had worked in the past. It also meant that Patrick would again be featured in the offense, and the days of Mason being the point forward were over. Of course, Mason was not happy about going back to the Riley way.

Jeff lost his first game at Philadelphia, but two days later we recorded our best win of the season by taking out Jordan and the Bulls at Madison Square Garden. It was a huge moment for Van Gundy to beat a team that would finish 72-10, but it was also a good moment for Ewing and Starks, two players who had felt lost thus far during the season.

In many ways it was a transitional year for the Knicks. In the span of ten months we were on our third coach. Also, the front office began trading away players in order to clear cap space for the free-agent summer of 1997. That meant Charles Smith, Doug Christie, and Monty Williams were traded for players with expiring contracts. The plan was to use those expiring deals to get under the salary cap and pursue free agents starting July 1. And the free agent class of 1996 was deep and talented. Management was looking ahead, but as players and coaches we had to focus on the present. Did it feel like the front office was giving up on the season? Yes. But what was I supposed to do about it? It’s not like they asked me what I thought about the plan.

I had my own problems to worry about, namely staying healthy. First it was my thumb and then on April 9, in the first quarter of our game against the Boston Celtics, I was hit by friendly fire. Patrick hit me with an inadvertent elbow that gave me a cut below my right eye that required six stitches. But it felt worse. My vision was blurry and I had considerable swelling. An X-ray revealed that I suffered a fracture of the orbital bone.

Dr. Scott said a CAT scan would determine if there was any displacement of the fracture fragments. It was the kind of injury where if you’re not careful you can lose an eye. If surgery was necessary, it would likely end my season. If surgery wasn’t needed, I would wear a mask and would return for the playoffs that were scheduled to begin on April 25.

I wasn’t crazy about wearing a mask, but if that’s what it would take to allow me to play, I was willing to try it. Van Gundy was looking to have the interim tag removed from his job title, so he was definitely in favor of me playing with a mask. Maybe I could be a superhero.

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