The New York Knicks have been dismal on the defensive end so far this season, currently ranked last in points allowed per 100 possessions. Alarmed with those numbers, head coach Jeff Hornacek addressed it immediately by handing the keys on defense to his assistant, Kurt Rambis.
From Newsday's Barbara Barker:
Hornacek: “I just felt we’re probably better off with just one voice, so Kurt, we are going to have him be the voice on the defense.”
Hornacek explained the coaching staff's decision and also said that each one of them still has their own tasks to account for:
“It could’ve been anybody. It could’ve been Jerry (Sichting), could have been Corey (Gaines). We all talk as a coaching staff about the same things, so Kurt had some of these guys last year. Just felt it was better to put him in that.” […]
“We’ve had all the coaches do their own game in terms of what we want. I just felt that we’re probably better off with just one voice, so with Kurt, we are going to have him be the voice on the defense,” Hornacek said. “The other coaches will still do the reports, what they feel, they’ll talk with Kurt and Kurt will talk with me. That’s how we’ll go about that, just so there’s one voice, not three or four guys talking.”
His decision has not been the most popular, to say the least, especially to the team's superstar, Carmelo Anthony.
Rambis is an experienced coach but he's never been acclaimed for his defensive brilliance, which leaves the 32-year-old forward without much optimism:
Carmelo on Rambis taking over defense: “Whether we’re comfortable with it or not, it is what it is so we have to buy into it." #Knicks
— Barbara Barker (@meanbarb) November 8, 2016
At this point, it would definitely help if Anthony keeps an open-mind with the changes the Knicks are going through and think of them as growing pains. If they get accustomed to the style their coaches want them to play, they'll eventually adjust and win more games.
If there's any good news for them, there's nowhere else to go but up for their defense.
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