It’s been another long season in New York with the Knicks, at 26-41 entering Tuesday’s action, likely on the way to another lottery appearance. Their coach, Jeff Hornacek, admitted as much Tuesday, telling the media, “The playoffs may not be in reach, but this could (be a time) for some of our other guys who might get some time to show what they really can do and build something for next year.” 

He continued, saying, “Until you’re mathematically done you’re always going for it. But sometimes it’s realistic. Many, many things will have to happen for that to happen (to make the playoffs).”

Understandably, the frustration over the constant losing seems to have gotten to the Knicks’ young unicorn, Kristaps Porzingis. In his first two years at MSG, Porzingis has only seen 58 wins, and after losing Sunday to their lowly crosstown rivals, the Brooklyn Nets, Porzingis sounded off to the media. Via ESPN:

“We’re really basic [with] what we do,” Porzingis said. “A lot of times it’s -- especially one on one -- whoever it is, myself, Carmelo [Anthony], Derrick [Rose], Courtney [Lee], we try to make something happen and that’s not how it’s supposed to be. It’s very random.”

“We’ve been switching things up because at any point of this season we [haven’t] played like we wanted to,” Porzingis said. “It was like, ‘maybe this will work, maybe this will work.’ So we’re kind of looking for stuff. Coaches, they obviously try to do the best job they can and [are] giving us as much as they can so we have the information. But we never really got it all together and were able to execute the way we should have. It’s been a lot of confusion.”

Tuesday, in addition to his comments about the playoff race, Hornacek acknowledged Porzingis’ comments. Via the New York Daily News:

Still, Hornacek acknowledged there was merit to Porzingis’ frustration, even as the coach tried to pass off the problem as normal in a season.

“I think part of it is we have changed different things. We changed the defense in the beginning. The offense has changed a little bit midseason. But that’s part of a long season,” Hornacek said. “Teams make different adjustments. It’d be nice to play the same way the whole time, but when things aren’t working you got to try some other things. It hasn’t been the same thing all year, but I think that’s where he was coming from.”

For any player, especially a young one like Porzingis, it’s difficult to deal with losing on a consistent basis. However, it becomes easier to handle if there’s a clear path forward, and everyone is on the same page. If you go into work every day believing you’re doing the right things for the future, then you can live with the bumps you take along the way. 

The Knicks’ plan, however, have been all over the map this season, as Porzingis noted. Early in the season, Hornacek wanted to move away from the triangle offense. After the All-Star break, however, the team decided to recommit to Jackson’s pet offense. But just last week, however, Phil Jackson put on his coaching shoes to teach the triangle offense in a way that was different from what Hornacek and the coaching staff had been showing the team. 

That kind of constant change of direction does not inspire confidence in players, and can make it seem like the whole year has been a waste of time. And when players feel like they’re wasting their time, they’re going to get frustrated, which is exactly what Porzingis expressed on Sunday.