While Phil Jackson has constantly harped on the Knicks not implementing the triangle offense as much as he would like, New York's real problem this season has been on the defensive end. Giving up 108.6 points per 100 possessions, the Knicks are one of the worst defensive teams in the league. And with New York being so woeful on defense, Knicks coach Jeff Hornacek wishes he had more defensive-minded players on the team.
Adding these type of players is on Hornacek's offseason wish list and he believes the Knicks' front office will look to address their issues on defense through free agency.
From ESPN’s Ian Begley:
“I think if you look at our defense this year, we can use some more defensive players,” Hornacek said. “[Management] will look at that. [General manager] Steve [Mills] and [president] Phil [Jackson] and those guys will look at whatever can help us out. We know we need some help there.”
The Knicks do have some solid defensive players with Courtney Lee, Justin Holiday, Lance Thomas, Kyle O'Quinn and Kristaps Porzingis. But other than those players, their roster doesn't have a lot of standouts on the defensive end of the floor. Derrick Rose especially, is not a good defender by any stretch of the imagination and Carmelo Anthony as well isn't that strong defensively.
Hornacek is putting the onus on Phil Jackson and the rest of the Knicks' front office by saying this though. It is up to Jackson to actually assemble a roster that can defend and fit Hornacek's system. That may be a tall order for Jackson but the Knicks do have cap space, a potential top-1o draft pick so they are more than capable of fulfilling Hornacek's wishes. Whether the Knicks actually do it though, remains to be seen.
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