“Just because somebody’s aggressive, I have to be just as aggressive.”ALLAN HOUSTON Sometimes you understand why the Knicks made Allan Houston rich enough to live in a big house in Greenwich.
And then sometimes you wonder if Houston gets lost in the house the same way he does on the court.
After having chilled the Heat with a powerful 22-point, 9-of-13 shooting performance in Game 1 of this first-round series, the 6-foot-6 Houston skittishly became a silent partner in the Knicks’ 83-73 loss in Game 2 Monday.
Just when the Knicks needed a John Starks-like boost, the $56 million Houston scored only 12 points on 4-of-13 shooting in, get this, 42 minutes.
With Dan Majerle and Keith Askins not playing so nice (e.g. being aggressive) in defending Houston, the Knicks’ occasional star guard seemed to lose his confidence.
“Just because somebody’s aggressive, I have to be just as aggressive,” Houston said yesterday after practice at Purchase College.
Realizing Miami won’t change its strategy on him in Game 3 tonight at the Garden, Houston said he will make sure to be more assertive.
Though rarely interested in stepping into the painted area (it’s dry, Allan), Houston suggested he will look to drive more to the hoop to draw fouls.
“If they’re going to play like that, I have to take advantage and get some free throws out of it,” he said.
After the great ball movement the Knicks showed in their 20-point, Game 1 victory, Houston seemed to be annoyed by how the team reverted to its usual, methodical, poor-passing style.
Whether he was directing this at Patrick Ewing or not, Houston repeated how important it was for the Knicks to be unselfish.
“We have to spread the ball around and look to pass to each other,” said Houston, 28. “That’s what opens up those shots for everyone. When you think about how you are going to get your shot, no matter who’s [guarding you], we can’t afford to do that. This is team basketball.
“The more we play unselfishly, the more everybody gets involved, the flow of the game is better and then in turn it comes back on me and [Latrell Sprewell] and everybody else.”
While refusing to say Houston played timidly in Game 2, Jeff Van Gundy made clear he was disappointed with his performance. Actually, that was obvious during a timeout Monday when Van Gundy was seen yelling at Houston about not stepping into the lane to stop a Heat drive.
“He had some turnovers [six], had some missed opportunities,” Van Gundy said. “I don’t think he probably played as well as he would have liked offensively.”
In his third season with the Knicks, Houston has shown moments of greatness, like when he busted loose for 30 points in the Knicks’ series-clinching Game 5 win at Miami last season. But then there are times he disappears, like in Game 2 Monday.