Ohm Youngmisuk, ESPN Staff Writer 9y

Knicks need healthy Calderon to lead

GREENBURGH, N.Y. –- Jose Calderon says his calf injury is nothing to worry about.

Calderon left in the first quarter of the Knicks’ 120-107 loss to the Bucks after just four minutes.

The Knicks point guard did not practice on Tuesday but he and head coach Derek Fisher both said the injury is no cause for alarm.

“I think at that point I felt something in my calf and I didn’t want to risk anything,” said Calderon. “It looked like it was nothing important. So just going to be day by day. It feels OK today.”

If his calf feels better, Calderon said he will play against the Washington Wizards in a preseason game on Wednesday at the Garden.

The Knicks need Calderon healthy for next Wednesday’s season opener against the Chicago Bulls. Calderon will be a vital piece for the Knicks.

The pass-first point guard helps Fisher’s triangle offense run smoother and his perimeter shooting will be a weapon for the team. He could very well be a glue-type player for the Knicks this season.

Calderon’s personality and demeanor, by all accounts, will be a positive influence on the Knicks’ locker room.

“He is one of the most beautiful leaders I’ve ever been around,” said Toronto coach Dwane Casey, who coached Calderon in Toronto. “Very knowledgeable… he’s a guy that you remember as a player, he was a big part of what we started here and kind of set the tone.”

Calderon will be an extension on the floor for Fisher, a former point guard who played against Calderon often.

“It wasn’t always fun playing against him because he could always shoot the ball so well and he never turned the ball over,” Fisher said recently. “And he just always had a composure and a poise about himself that was always impressive as a competitor.”

“He’s a shot maker, he’s a great decision maker, he’s a quiet leader who has a brand of toughness that doesn’t require a lot of words,” Fisher added.

One knock on Calderon is the 6-3 guard’s defense. Will the 33-year-old be able to stay in front of quicker and more athletic point guards?

“Defense is about five guys on the team,” Fisher said. “I was personally persecuted in a sense in L.A. for many years that I couldn’t play defense individually. And it’ always about how five guys play defense.

“In the NBA there’s really not the same level of one-on-one just cover your man type of defense,” Fisher continued. “So I think Jose will be fine. He competes hard. So I’m not concerned about whether or not he can play defense, it’s whether or not we can play defense.”

Judging by Casey’s praise, Calderon will have the Knicks in the right spots on the court.

“I always tease him about does he want to get into coaching,” Casey said of Calderon, who owns a pig farm business in Spain. “Hopefully he is smart and doesn’t do it and stays with his pig business over there in Spain.”

“Jose is a leader, a vocal leader,” Casey added. “He is kind of that spirit guy with a team. Any team that he’s on is lucky to have him.”

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