GREENBURGH, N.Y. -- The New York Knicks are committed to running the triangle offense. This has been apparent over the past few weeks. The latest piece of supporting evidence came Thursday, when team president Phil Jackson spent time working with the Knicks’ guards on some triangle spacing and reads.
“He had our guards out there, just showing them a couple things that are kind of probably further along in the triangle process than we’re at now,” coach Jeff Hornacek said Friday of Jackson, confirming an ESPN report.
Some around the NBA might raise their eyebrows at the idea of a team president coaching players on the court. But this is a fairly regular thing for the Knicks. Hornacek said Jackson has instructed players on the triangle offense about once a month this season. Jackson, of course, won a combined 11 titles running the triangle while coaching the Los Angeles Lakers and Chicago Bulls.
All Knicks guards, including Derrick Rose, who has talked about the difficulty of learning the offense, participated in the tutorial. Hornacek said Jackson was teaching players some portions of the offense that are unlikely to be implemented in the final few weeks of the season.
“This is a little more kind of advanced, just so they see it and they have it in the back of their heads,” Hornacek said. “It’s good to kind of put that out there so when we do get to it at some point, whether it’s this year or next year, they’ll have seen it at least.”
Hornacek de-emphasized the triangle earlier this season but said last month that the club would run it a bit more often in the second half. He said Jackson didn’t play a major role in influencing the decision, but acknowledged that he talks to Jackson about the offense often.
“We’re always talking about different things and the amount of time we spend on showing the guards different things,” Hornacek said. “It was just something he wanted to make sure they saw for moving forward. ... Phil always says, there’s nothing really you do wrong as long as you stay in that basic [triangle] concept of three guys on one side, and two on the other."
Some veteran players have expressed frustration with the offense, in part because of its predictable nature, according to sources. New York’s issues, of course, extend beyond offense this season.
The Knicks enter play Friday ranked 16th in offensive efficiency and 25th in defensive efficiency. Hornacek said one reason the club has been playing more triangle in the second half is to improve its defensive balance. The triangle has been a lightning rod during Jackson’s presidency, partially because the Knicks have struggled while running the offense.
Some observers, such as Larry Brown, have questioned why Jackson doesn’t coach the team himself if he’s committed to the triangle.
Hornacek said Friday he welcomed Jackson’s involvement and didn’t believe Jackson instructing the players would confuse them.
“I don’t think so because it’s not coming out there [dictating which plays to run]. ... He’s not doing any of that,” Hornacek said. “He’s just giving different options than what we’re showing the guys. In the case yesterday, he probably showed maybe five things. Three of them we’ve done already. So it was a good repeat for the guys.”
Sasha Vujacic was one of the guards who participated Thursday. He played in the triangle under Jackson in Los Angeles and said Thursday’s workout was valuable.
“Honestly, [it was] amazing. It was a really good session. We were told the right things, we were taught the right way and it felt good,” Vujacic said. “... We were just being introduced to some stuff that they didn’t know; they did not get introduced to [it] in the beginning of the year. So they just learned about the very basic stuff, how to work together about the spacing and just the very basic things.”
Vujacic said Jackson was able to provide clarity on some aspects of the triangle that were unclear.
“You can take someone trying to teach you something for years, months, whatever, and then you have someone like that that in half an hour explains things that might be a spaceship to other people. So it was amazing,” Vujacic said. “...A lot of guys were confused so far, so hopefully they got a lot of clarity last night and hopefully it will help.”
Hornacek understands tanking: The Knicks are 5½ games out of eighth place in the Eastern Conference with 17 games to play. Barring a miracle, they will miss the playoffs for the fourth consecutive season. Hornacek was asked Friday if he understands the desire from some fans to tank the rest of the year.
“[Players are] trying to win every game. But you see the merit,” Hornacek said. “You see some of these teams that are now coming alive. ... . You look at Washington, where John Wall was the first pick. What was Bradley Beal, 3 or 4? Otto Porter was 3 or 4. So you get a bunch of those top picks like that. It may take some time. But eventually you can have a good team if you have the right guys.
“I’m sure people see KP [Knicks big man Kristaps Porzingis] was the fourth pick in the draft. Look what he is in his second year, with a lot he can improve on over the years, and he’s going to become a star. I understand that part. But players, coaches, we’re trying to win the games. If something comes down from management to play different guys, we want to look at different guys, we’ll do that. But we’re trying to win every game.”