CLEVELAND — Jeremy Sochan’s transition to the Knicks has not gone smoothly on the court as he tries to recover game conditioning and gets comfortable with his teammates.
But he’s confident it will turn around.
“It’s a process. It’s my fourth game here,” Sochan said in an interview with The Post. “So we’ll figure it out. We’ll be good.”
Sochan managed just two rocky minutes in the first half of Tuesday’s 109-94 loss to the Cavaliers, then was benched until garbage time while finishing with no points.
Sochan, who was signed as a free agent during the All-Star break, had been given a rotational opportunity by coach Mike Brown, who said he wanted to give the forward a chance to determine his fit before the playoffs.
But Sochan’s third-quarter shift Tuesday went to rookie Mohamed Diawara, who had been surging before Sochan’s signing but struggled in Cleveland while missing three of his four 3-point attempts.
“It’s my first time adjusting to a different dynamic,” said Sochan, who spent his first three full seasons with the Spurs. “So it’s going to take some time to figure out and, of course, I haven’t been in a lot of game shape. So altogether there are going to [be] ups and downs. But I’m blessed and excited to be in this situation. And I truly believe I can add to this team.”
In four appearances, Sochan is averaging one point and one rebound in 7.5 minutes.
“I think it’s just learning how everyone wants to play. The vibe on the team and all those sorts of things,” Sochan said about his biggest adjustment. “And I think it’s pretty easy for me to learn the playbook. But now it’s learning everybody’s tendencies. What they like and what don’t like. Just trying to figure out that part. That’s offense and defense, too.”
Fitness was also a hurdle after spending most of this season on the bench with the Spurs.
“[Tuesday] I felt a little better than Chicago [on Sunday] and the other two games. There’s nothing you can really do to get into game shape,” Sochan said. “That’s a whole different story. But it only takes a few games and then you start feeling better.”
Kenny Atkinson isn’t focused on beating the Knicks in the playoffs because he doesn’t want to make the same mistake as last season, when his top-seeded Cavs were prepping for a Celtics showdown but got upset in the second round by the Pacers.
“You have to be careful. I know last year we were thinking ‘Boston, Boston, Boston,’ and we got Indiana,” Atkinson said Tuesday. “I thought, ‘We’ve got to beat Boston.’ As a head coach, I do keep an eye on what those teams are doing, the Knicks or Boston, teams that are in our wheelhouse. Detroit, I’ll keep an eye on. But I think it’s a mistake just to focus on one team because the roulette wheel could just drop on another team.
“I’m aware of what’s going on with those teams more than, say, teams at the end of the standings.”
The Knicks and Cavs entered the season as favorites in the East but the Pistons and Celtics emerged as surprising top two seeds nearing the end of February.
Credit: Source link
