Phil Jackson is starting to loosen the reins on the triangle offense philosophy that he has adopted in New York. The very first thing he did was bypass Kurt Rambis after firing Derek Fisher, then he proceeded to hire Jeff Hornacek, which was a move that surprised many.
He is not, however, letting the triangle offense completely disappear. It has won him over two handfuls of rings and he feels deep down inside it still has it's place in today's NBA.
But Jackson does think that the triangle needs some tweaks, and if he can do it successfully it can get the New York Knicks back into the playoffs, as he explains to ESPN:
“The 3-point line has become our affection, because it means more when we make a 3-point shot. So the spacing has changed dramatically. So the triangle can still be a part of that, but it has to adapt.”
Coach Hornacek will have to work with Rambis on how he can best integrate his vision along with what Jackson is looking for in the Knicks. The 3-point shot has been woefully unkind to the Knicks, who have ranked between the bottom 10 teams in the league in 3-pointers made the last two seasons.
Jackson seems confident it can work, and he believes from evaluating the Eastern Conference that the Knicks have as good of a shot as any other team to make the playoffs next season. He told NBC's Bruce Beck:
“Why not? I don't know what's so great about what's out here in the East. We can fill that role.I think so. I think we're getting experience. Kristaps [Porzingis] is still a young player; he may need another year of experience, But we have some experienced guys who can play.”
The Knicks have still been emphasizing the Triangle to younger players, and have about $18 million to sign free agents.
[button width=”full” button size=”bigger” color=”custom” align=”center” textcolor=”#ffffff” texthcolor=”#ffffff” bgcolor=”#8b0000″ link=”https://clutchpoints.com/carmelo-anthony-looking-forward-playing-new-knicks-coach-jeff-hornacek/”]NEXT: Carmelo Anthony explains why he is so looking forward to playing under new Knicks coach Jeff Hornacek[/button]
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