Knicks' Galloway Providing Surprising Production In Supporting Role
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) -- The Knicks are off to a better start than most anyone predicted, due in large part to the development of guard Langston Galloway.
Heading into Tuesday night's home game against the Charlotte Hornets, the Knicks are 5-6 but just two games out of first place in the Atlantic Division. And this is after winning just 17 games all of last season and coming off an offseason in which they spent a lot of money, but did not find that second scoring option next to star Carmelo Anthony.
Yet Galloway, who played part of last season in the D-League, has quickly become the Knicks' best outside shooting option. He's converted 48 percent of his attempts from the floor, including a tremendous 56 percent of his 3-pointers (20-for-36). Overall, he's averaging 11.3 points in 27 minutes per night.
Galloway averaged 11.8 points in nearly 33 minutes of playing time over his 45 games last season.
"It's never going to change. I think I've still got a lot to prove," Galloway told the Daily News on Monday. "It's only the beginning."
Galloway is making a paltry $850,000 this season, a meager sum when you consider the Knicks shelled out a combined $96 million during free agency to Robin Lopez, Kyle O'Quinn, Arron Afflalo and Derrick Williams. He's also had to prove his worth behind starting point guard Jose Calderon and rookie Jerian Grant, who the Knicks traded for after he was selected No. 19 overall by Washington.
So far so good, as Galloway -- a former standout at Saint Joseph's -- has spearheaded a Knicks bench that was ranked fourth in the NBA in scoring heading into this week, the Daily News reported.
The Knicks' schedule picks up the rest of November, with a pair of games against both Miami and Houston, in addition to tilts with Oklahoma City and Orlando. Expect head coach Derek Fisher to continue relying on Galloway and going deep into his bench in search of offense to complement Anthony's 23.5 points per game.
"Everybody gets an opportunity. Can you capitalize on it? Then once you capitalize on it, can you continue?" Fisher told the newspaper. "Langston's doing so. And it's impressive because it's not easy to do. It really requires a commitment and a discipline that's not easy to maintain."
