Carmelo Anthony may be sick and tired of hearing about the triangle offense but Knicks president Phil Jackson begs to differ. In fact, Jackson believes that the Knicks are not utilizing the triangle as much as they should and frankly, he is reportedly upset about it.
Jackson is disappointed because after a busy summer that included a coaching change, the Knicks sit at 2-4 and have not had a stellar start to the season. But Jackson isn't the only one displeased with the state of the Knicks. Reportedly, several players believe the Knicks should be using more pick-and-roll plays which caters to the skill set of Derrick Rose.
From ESPN's Ian Begley:
Phil Jackson hasn't been pleased with the New York Knicks' performance on offense - particularly with the amount of times the team has run the triangle offense - during their 2-4 start, league sources told ESPN.
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According to sources, some Knicks players have expressed their displeasure over the offense because they feel it doesn't suit their personnel, particularly point guard Derrick Rose, who has traditionally thrived when using pick and rolls.
Jackson has seemingly never been happy with the Knicks since he took over. Which likely is because he himself is not coaching the team and is counting on the coaches he hires to have the same triangle philosophy as he has. Of course Jackson doesn't want to coach the Knicks as he -- mainly for health reasons -- doesn't want to deal with the grind of an NBA season. And that's understandable. But you have to think at some point Jackson will stop trying to impose his system on the coaches he hires. Coaches have their own minds and like to run their systems after all.
Compounding Jackson's displeasure is that during the offseason, he gave Knicks coach Jeff Hornacek leeway with the team's offense. Hornacek has been very transparent of his use of the triangle offense and is using aspects of it but not fully incorporating it.
So why is Jackson changing his mind now? Likely because the Knicks are losing and have not come together as Jackson likely hoped they would after trading for Rose and signing Courtney Lee and Joakim Noah in the offseason.
New York though, is a middling offensive team but has played well when using pick and rolls, like players have reportedly called for. And while the Knicks' offense isn't regarded as middle of the pack, the defense should be a cause for concern since it is the worst in the league. The defense is the main reason why the Knicks have lost four games this season. If they want to start winning, it will have to be from improvements on the defensive end of the floor.
Again, it is still early in the season but if the Knicks keep losing, expect to hear more reports about Jackson kvetching about the triangle offense. Especially since, that's the only thing Jackson seems concerned about when it comes to the Knicks.
