Billy Knight regains form
NBA CENTRAL
By
BILL NICHOLS
Billy Knight has gone from starting guard to a backup in the backcourt to forward in this up-and-down season for the Indiana Pacers.
He also has gone from Coach Jack McKinney’s penthouse to his doghouse and back to at least the high rent district.
Since the Pacers sold forward Mike Bantom to Philadelphia, Knight has been moved back to the position at which he had his finest moments, quick forward.
“With Bantom gone we needed more scoring from the front line,” said McKinney when he made the move.
Knight, a seven year pro from the University of Pittsburgh, led the Pacers in scoring last season with an average of 17.5 points per game. He began the current campaign as the off guard alongside point man Don Buse. Quick-footed Johnny Davis was put on the bench. Davis and Knight switched roles after 12 games.
Then his basketball life took a downer and Knight went from first guard to second and then third, at the shooting guard spot. Butch Carter moved up to No. 2 behind Davis.
Suddenly, the basket became very small for Knight. The shots refused to drop. Now, slowly, but surely, the touch is returning and his role, once again, is to put points on the board.
“The situation is he plays when we need points,” said McKinney. “It was tough getting him in when Bantom was playing. Now, he is getting the opportunity.”
Knight looks at his role philosophically. “It really doesn’t matter what position I play,” he said. “It depends on the situation.
“I still have confidence. That’s what is important.”
In early January there were rumors that Knight was about to be traded, but they were silenced when Bantom was sold.
“I don’t let that kind of stuff bother me,” said Knight. “I know other teams are interested in me. I’m trying to keep a positive attitude. It’s a little easier for me because I’ve been around and I’ve got some security whether I play or whether I don’t play.”
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The Milwaukee Bucks, who are getting next to no competition in the division title race, have been playing hurt. Junior Bridgeman came off the injured list, played parts of two games and then suffered a hamstring pull. Bob Lanier missed four January games with back spasms, Mickey Johnson is playing with a stiff neck and Marques Johnson strained his right Achilles tendon after hitting his first six shots in a game with Denver. Guard Brain Winters has helped pick up the slack. In one stretch of three straight away games he scored 20, 40, and 19 points. He also hit seven of 11 three-point shots and was connecting on 61 percent of his field-goal attempts during this stretch… Chicago center Artis Gilmore has now played in nine pro All-Star games, including five in the old ABA… Bulls forward Orlando Woolridge is having rookie problems. He scored 19 points in one night and the next time out he was scoreless in five minutes of action.
The Bulls resemble a faulty automobile engine, starting and stopping. They have had three four-game losing streaks and three three-game winning streaks…. Forward John Drew has been on a tear for the Atlanta Hawks. Over a 14-game period, Drew averaged 23.8 points while shooting .533 from the floor.
Atlanta power forward Dan Roundfield missed his second consecutive NBA All-Star game because of injuries. This season it was a torn muscle….In January, Wayne (Tree) Rollins averaged 3.08 blocked shots per game and ranks eighth overall with 2.06 swats per night….Two of former ABA standout Freddie Lewis’ career records with the Indiana Pacers were wiped from the books. Don Buse passed Lewis when he handed out the assist No. 2,712 and George McGinnis reached 11,048 points to surpass the former backcourter.
Detroit Pistons guard John Long was the center of some controversy after a game with Philadelphia January 5. Three days later Long was quoted in a Detroit newspaper, “I was fouled on a shot I took and when we ran back down the court, I told Earl (referee Earl Strom), I think you missed a foul. I was hit. He said, “I know I did but it was too late when I decided to blow my whistle. I’ll make it up to you.’ A little while later he (Strom) called a foul on a shot Isiah Thomas took and turned to me and said, “I didn’t give it to you, but I gave it to Isiah.’ “ With this, the NBA went into action and conducted an investigation. Strom denied any wrong doing and later Long refused to comment. The league said there was no evidence of a “makeup foul.”
Victories have been nearly extinct for the Cleveland Cavaliers
this season, a campaign filled with chaos. All the turmoil notwithstanding,
the Cavs’ 110-103 victory over Golden State was like a
golden delicious. Guard Geoff had his finest game as a pro,
scoring 24 points and handing out a club-record 27 assists,
two shy of the NBA mark. Prior to the game, the players became
restless. High priced free agent center James Edwards said,
“I think there are some guys on this team who figure we
are going to lose even before we go into the games. It’s
hard playing with three or four guys when you’ve got some
of them quitting early in the game. We have some people doing
just that, and it makes it rough on the rest of us.”…
Although Cavs Owner Ted Stepien said that Chuck Daly would be
retained until the end of the season, another series of defeats
could mean the end for the coach. If Daly, goes prematurely,
look for Bill Musselman, who was dropped as a coach last season,
to return to the bench. That prospect doesn’t excite the
local media and few fans who even care about the team anymore.
Milwaukee Coach Don Nelson pulled a little switcheroo with a
couple of his frontline substitutes. He used backup center Harvey
Catchings more as a power forward and Pat Cummings more as a
high-post center than reserve power forward… Rookie Al
Wood, the first senior selected in last years draft, played
just 238 minutes in 19 games with the Hawks before they traded
him to San Diego along with veteran Charlie Criss for Freeman
Williams, a unanimous choice on the All Me-Generation team.
Wood was averaging under five points per game with Atlanta after
coming back from a shoulder injury… The week before he
was traded, Wood walked over five miles in a snowstorm to the
Omni for a scheduled game against visiting Milwaukee. On direct
order from the Commissioner Larry O’Brien, the game was
postponed. The contest was rescheduled for March 8.
This article by Bill Nichols
appeared in The Sporting News February 13, 1982
Reproduced with permission of the author.