Fields has found himself playing 32 minutes a game on a playoff team which is usually equipped with an 8-man rotation. Since the preseason practices and scrimmages in Milan, Italy Fields has impressed the Knicks coaching staff with his tremendous hustle, defensive awareness, ability to shoot the ball from behind the arc, and rebounding.Fields is averaging 10.3 points per game in his first 30 games and is collecting 7.6 rebounds. On Christmas day he recorded his 8th double double of the season in a Knick victory over the Bulls. His work ethic and hustle has already made him a fan favorite at the Garden and his Rookie of the Month award in November caused experts heads to turn.
John Wall, selected 1st overall in the 2010 Draft has suffered knee problems and have held him back this year. Wall seemed to be the preseason favorite to win the NBA Rookie of the Year, but do the injury and the unexpected great play by Fields it almost seems like Wall has fallen off the radar.
Many sports websites have Fields second in rookie ratings only second to the finesse big man Blake Griffin. Griffin who missed all of last season do to a knee injury leading to surgery he sustained in a preseason game last season. Unless injury's become an issue for Griffin again he is the probably the leading candidate for Rookie of the Year.
Knicks general manager Donnie Walsh said "Talking to some people today, he reminds them of John Havlicek when he first came into the league. And I think that's right on. [Havlicek was] like that, a great athlete, known as a defensive player who improved his shooting as he got along, but was always a good all-around player who just kept getting better." Although I don't completely agree that Fields is as good as Havlicek was (at least not yet) I do see the similarities.
Fields is playing on a much improved Knicks team. With the recent additions of superstar big man Amare Stoudemire and the scrappy point guard Raymond Felton; and the former developing Knicks like Wilson Chandler and Danilo Gallinari it seems Fields has already jelled nicely into the rotation becoming the X-factor in many games this season. Although Fields probably won't ever be considered a superstar in the league I believe he will be a known name in the NBA for a long time. He reminds me of Bruce Bowen, someone known around the NBA, not really about his scoring but about his defensive plays and rebounding. And if Amare finds himself doubled up down low Fields is a reliable spot up shooter to kick the ball out to.
Only time will tell if Fields can consistently play like he did the first 30 games of his career, but there is one thing we know for sure, he has New York fans excited... including Spike.
