Before Mike D’Antoni’s speedball gangs and Steve Kerr’s record-setting Warriors, the Knicks were 3-point shooting trendsetters in the late 1980s.
The 1988-89 Knicks, under coach Rick Pitino, attempted 1,147 3-pointers, up by more than 400 from the previous league high, and made 386, to shatter the former 271 standard. Saturday, as part of the Knicks’ 70th anniversary season, “The Bomb Squad” of Mark Jackson, Johnny Newman, Rod Strickland, Trent Tucker and Gerald Wilkins staged a Garden reunion and were honored in a ceremony. The group sat for an interview session before individual pictures as well as the club’s iconic Bomb Squad promo poster.
“Congratulations, Bombinos. It was great watching all those 3-point shots,” Pitino said in a taped greeting.
“Rick turned me into a 3-point shooter. It was the last year I was a 3-point shooter,” Strickland said, laughing.
“Rick told me, ‘I will never take you out of the game for shooting, but if you don’t take the next shot that Mark Jackson passes you the ball, you will be sitting beside me,’ ” Tucker said.
Though they utilized the 3-pointer as a weapon, they had a nuclear element in their arsenal: Patrick Ewing.
“The 3-point shot was the weapon and we were doing it, but we had a big man,” Wilkins said. “Patrick Ewing. He was pretty good.”
He was so good, Jackson said, “We dared you to play small. We were going to make the adjustment and he was going to absolutely embarrass you.”
The players recalled making the playoffs and winning over the city. But they reflected on their camaraderie.
“To be able to play with this type of talent and this type of guys with the attitude they had, was special and helped me continue my career,” Newman said.
The current Knicks, despite Jeff Hornacek’s hiring, have not jumped out from beyond the 3-point stripe this season, ranking 20th in attempts (25.6) and 17th in percentage (35.5) heading into Saturday’s 111-104 loss to the Cavaliers, though their 487 treys in 52 games are far more than the Bomb Squad had in 82 games.
LeBron James spoke briefly about his recent association with the Giants’ mercurial Odell Beckham Jr., whose Miami party-boat fiasco during the playoffs owned the headlines.
“I just try to be a guidance to him, give him words of advice when he needs it when he wants it,’’ James said. “You know he can reach out to me at any time and no matter what time or what the subject is , just try to give him a piece of my knowledge. It’s up to him however he wants to take it.”
Cavaliers coach Tyronn Lue played for Knicks president Phil Jackson on the Lakers, and he continues to commend him as a head coach.
“Just his poise,’’ Lue said. “He lets his teams figure it out. He’s not an animated guy on the sideline, doesn’t go crazy. Sits back and pretty much lets his team figure it out. Just his poise and his confidence in his team to let them figure it out is a lot of what I’ve taken from him.”
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