A Plan Is Slow to Take Shape

Phil Jackson is obviously a brilliant basketball mind. Nine NBA titles are irrefutable. But after reading his comments here, it's abundantly clear that he's in way in over his head. Donnie Walsh had the Knicks on the right path and look where the team is now. The Zen Master has zero track record when it comes to building a team from the ground up and is clearly not in tune with how championship teams are currently being constructed. His hiring was a band-aid for last season's epic flop as well as an elixir to coax Melo back. Under his leadership they've taken ten steps backward. All I can say to true Knicks fans of which I count myself, is good luck and godspeed.

I watched the Knicks-Celtics, last time for the Knicks for quite a while, and the design of this Knicks team by personnel and strategy is simply poor. Hopefully Phil Jackson recognizes the need for fundamental change, but I am in no way sure.

4 point shot? Yikes!

I'd rather see a system where if a team misses a 3 point shot, the next 3 point shot the team takes loses a point and only counts 2.

That could stop cold shooting teams from standing around outside the 3 point line throwing up prayers as the clock winds down and get in the paint to take a higher percentage shot.

Sports fans and writers all talk about the "greats" as though they were pre-ordained. They were not. The combination of stellar talent, great management and yes, a huge dose of luck is the mixture that yields success whether you are talking about sports, art, or business. If Jackson had coached in Utah instead of Chicago we might be talking about Malone and Stockton as the greats, and Jordan might be comparable to Dominique Wilkins. Maybe not - but it is impossible to prove or disprove that the only reason he won his rings is because he had Jordan-Pippen and later Bryant-O'Neal.

Delusion # 1: “So I see Carmelo as a heady enough ballplayer..."

Delusion # 2: "the trust he has — from Dolan"

With those 2 sides in place, the triangle will remain imaginary.

Sharing the ball, which is the fundamental notion of the triangle, is based on the idea that a ball can be passed faster than any defender can run. Does that seem to be untrue? I would advise the Knicks to import some European players who have passing skills.

Anyone who saw the Bulls win daily knows Jackson's brilliant rep was built on giving the ball to MJ before the clock wound down who would most of the time make something positive happen an advantage no other team had.Later the Media blew him up further ignoring the dominance of Shaq,so in reality his challenge was to make this team better as a coach and if he really wants to man up he should eat Fisher's contract and try and prove his genius is justified. So far all he has done is make the worst GM in history ( Scott Layden) look better.

He has made too many errors to mention the first was hiring an inexperienced coach and trying to fit round players into a Triangle, and the second was getting rid of Chandler and then offering Calderone as the answer. He topped that off by giving away assets ( Shumpert and Smith) for no return .

Hopefully the Hawks and Spurs taught him the lesson that unless he can get lebron giving all the loot to Gasol and especially the tall jump shooter Aldridge is not the answer. Hopefully now Knick fans who believed the hype will open their eyes.

Pat Riley has taken three different teams to the finals and won championships with two of them. He has utilized multiple systems to fit the talents of the players ranging from the showtime early lakers to a more deliberate half court offense. He did not impose a system on players but rather utilized their strengths to to various systems.

Out of respect for Tex Winter, the Knicks ought to put any plans for the triangle on hold until professional basketball returns to the Garden. And that doesn't seem like any time soon.

There are tear-downs (Penn Station comes to mind) that are utter failures and there are refurbishments (Grand Central) that reveal the grandeur of the underlying architecture. As long as the vision remains clear and the resources are available, the plan will work. No matter what Phil says (and he's always said it) his teams will play defense and generate offense from that defense. It means that "Plan B" is really Plan A. He's going to upgrade the parts with part of his 2015 cap space but not break the bank -- that and pray that the lottery balls deliver him a top 2 pick. Next year's goal should be a .500 team built on sturdy, consistent defense and running the proscribed offense. If Durant won't leave home in 2016, it will be "Plan B" redux to get them back to being a consistent third or fourth seed team.

It is an offense that works well when you have Jordan, Pippen and a center with intelligence like Cartright. Or, SHAQUILLE AND Koby and other willing participants. SA Spurs Popovich has done a stellar job of distributing the ball to players who are interested in winning not scoring Carmelo, that eliminates you and JR and .........

Just ask Iman Schumpert and J.R. Smith how happy they are to have been dumped by Jackson's Knicks and to have landed with the Cleveland Cavaliers. Both are thrilled and thriving as they couldn't do in the triangle vise. In the Cavs free-flowing offense, both are playing both good defense and offense and finding their best shots (look at Smith's 3-point percentage!) And they're playing smart, creative, TEAM basketball. What a win for the Cavs!

The notion that the triangle offense is too complex for NBA players to learn and adapt their styles to really misses its point. I spent several summer weekends learning the offense from Phil Jackson and Charlie Rosen in upstate New York many years ago. I then implemented the Triangle with the middle school team that I coached. It took weeks yes, but by the end of the first season, my 6th and 7th grade players were moving beautifully, and executing the offense to great effect. If they can do it, any pro with a modicum of intelligence, and the drive to learn, can as well.

The triangle is an anachronism. Defenses today - at least the good ones - are built on quick lane-clogging movement. Precisely the sort of thing that thwarts an offense such as the triangle.

And today's most lethal offenses are high-scoring motion offenses. Precisely the types of offense that tend to generate more points per game than the triangle.

If a defense can clog up your offense, and your scoring isn't enough to keep up with the top teams, it's time to redesign your offense.

I have immense respect for what Phil Jackson has done in his career, but time has passed him by. No shame in that, happens to everyone - but unless he ditches the triangle, his stint in NY will be a failure.

I guess it has been said many times before, but, basketball, unlike any other major professional sport, by acquiring one or two key players added to your starting five, can move you quite quickly from the outhouse to the penthouse. Phil Jackson obtained his reputation by having teams and winning championships with some of the best players that ever played the game, yet, now we see the pitfalls of no longer having those exceptional players that ultimately make the coaches and management look good.

Although not widely known, prior to the hiring of Masai Ujuri, a couple of seasons ago, rumours were swirling around that Tim Lewiecke(former President Of AEG in LA and friend of Jackson) who is currently the President & CEO of MLSE in Toronto offered Jackson the job of President and CEO of what is now an up and coming Raptors team only to turn the job down because, at the time, he wanted to stay in LA and stay retired. Of course, later, when offered, he took a similar job with the Knicks.

I wonder if he is having second thoughts now?

If anything is clear to this long suffering Knick fan, the approach that current management has employed to create a quality contender has been an ongoing disaster.

In fact, the real lesson seems to be that the team reflects management.

The fact is that the Knicks are a financial success for their owner--regardless of the team's record. One can't help but wonder if that is the only management priority.

I have a hard time believing that Melo will become a team oriented offensive player who can mentor younger players. He refuses to move without the ball, and he is a terrible defender. Re-signing Melo is Jackson's big mistake.

Thank you, Harvey Araton, for an excellent article. It was free of the all too common artifice for its own sake. He didn’t overly aggressively attempt to make his own point. He told us more about Phil Jackson than most of what I've read in the past months. What I believe is that Steve Kerr inherited some elite players who were not schooled in the triangle. He wisely decided to play to their strengths, and their success is proof that this was right. He traded Chandler and Felton early on, and while we all agree Felton had to go, few have agreed that he needed to trade Chandler. Yet he seems fairly sure that Chandler was not going to be a big part of his triangular wheel.

Jackson said two more things that impressed me. First, he acknowledged that Melo may have to be shut down after the All Star break, and that he considers it fortunate that we have the first round pick following this season.

I see a pattern here: choose players who fit the system, whether as bench players or starters, trade away or waive those who don't, and find players through free agency or trades who will play best with the team, not necessarily the best players.

In the last 7 or 8 games, it's clear that Melo has played very well within the system. He hasn't slowed the ball or taken excessive shots. He can help the offense without even touching the ball by drawing two defenders. I know why he is playing more than expected lately -- he doesn't have to work as hard for his shots.

Patience.

If you have the types of rosters that Jackson had in LA and Chicago, you have the luxury of emphasizing your offensive strategy.

But if you don't, the first priorities are to hire an outstanding coach and then recruit talented players who fit well together. None of that has happened here.

So stop talking about the triangle, because that's not important right now. Get the coach and the players and then we'll worry about it.

So far Phil Jackson's offense is more like the "Bermuda Triangle"...

Yes, San Antonio played the best team ball last season. But they also had Tim Duncan, Tony Parker, Manu Ginobili and Kawhi Leonard, among others. Players like these aren't going to fall into Phil Jackson's lap anytime soon. Let's face it: he won with some of the greatest players in basketball history, and now all he has is a triangle on a whiteboard.

1. Phil Jackson was a great coach, but unproven as a front office guy.
2. Yet he isn't even functioning as a front office guy but instead attempting to coach from the stands, compelling the actual coach to install his system. That's a bad foundation for any organization. The actual coach can't function and earns no respect from the players.
3. Triangles are great; so are other schemes when in the right hands.
4. Regardless, no brilliant offensive scheme can overcome a team's inability to defend. And the Knicks don't defend.

Orginally, the NBA played a passing game, often finishing with a pass to a big man. Between 1960 and 1980, every NBA champion had a star center. Today, the PG and other ball handlers use their athleticism to penetrate and either get the ball to the basket or kick it out. All NBA champions this century have had a player playing this role. In between, during the 80's and 90's the three pointer had a smaller role and scorers dominated. That's the game the triangle emulates. If you love the three pointer, you'll hope the triangle fails. If you miss scorers likey Jordan, Bird. Dominique, Iverson, and Bernard King, you'll hope it succeeds.

I have never been to dinner with 'Melo. I've never gotten to know him, to say nothing of actually meeting him.

I can only go on what I saw happening at the Garden when 'Melo and Stoudemire were injured and on the bench and this little known point guard called Lin was asked to run the team. All that group did was beat other NBA teams with hustle, defense, and getting the ball to the open man.

As soon as Anthony returned to the line-up, so did the losses.

So imagining that 'Melo is going to be teacher and mentor to young players? Really?

Like I said, I've never met the guy. I've only seen what he's done on the court.

New York teams have all been losers . Let's face it , the Jets and Giants of late are disgraceful . Not even the Rusian oligarch can rescue the Nets . Bottom line , have patience , and wait for a miracle .

Nobody runs Tom Osborne's offenses, either. The majority of coaches have big homes, expensive lifestyles, and kids in college. Using tired, old, clichè offenses allows them a few more paychecks until they are either fired or saved by Shaq.
Phil, once he gets rid of Mello, will prosper.

My greatest concerns is whether Phil has the wherewithal to understand the Triangle may in fact be archiac whether he likes it or not. This summer, is he going to chose players for his triangle or players who can reasonably fit any style of basketball. If Gary Payton didn't want to play in the triangle, and Steve Kerr isn;t running it because of the players he has (i.e. a great PG named Stephen Curry) then maybe the Triangle isn;t the best system to run in the modern NBA. I'm afraid the next Five years are going to be spent figuring that out and the Knicks will be at the bottom again.

I wonder why Steve Kerr is not using the triangle offense this season? Possibly Kerr thought the triangle was no longer an efficient offense, I would like to know. The nature of a sport is changeable, and possibly a triangle is not the best offense at this time. Also, I still want to know how Jackson could have gotten rid of the terrific Chandler?

I'm inclined to think Holzman had it right--keep the offense conceptually simple ("hit the open man"), not because the athletes are stupid, but because what's special about them are their athleticism and instincts. I think Jackson is going to find it very difficult to be successful in any reasonable time frame. The one point on which everyone should agree is that you just can't tolerate players who won't play defense. I agree with Van Gundy that getting rid of Chandler was a big mistake.

As any great jockey will tell you, "you need a good horse under you to complete the task"..the Knicks don't have enough good horses to get it done..i would go with a young team modeled after the University of Kentucky...plenty of young, hungry talent eager to learn & follow the guru-logic of Phil Jackson's triangle or rectangular offense...the house is half cleaned out at the Garden..i'd shop Mello & the rest of the leftovers and get this young team together as soon as possible

Sport (like Empire) far too often divides itself between control freaks and freer thinking pragmatists. The control crowd (like the Yankees and the pre-Phil Knicks) stay the course, bank their profits and assume that there will always be an England. Those more flexible and less linear are the ones who transcend the mere games and make sport more. For beyond the wins and losses, sport (like Democracy) is a grand (and messy) experiment. Managers like Phil allow sport to be more and though many would choose the grinding victories of dynasty, some of us know that the inherent lessons within process (and loss) are what make short and brutal lives worth living.

Smart offensive players who also want to play strong defense is what makes the triangle work. The Bulls had the "the dobermans" - Jordan and Pippen and when they attacked the ball no player could escape with it. Phil's teams in Chicago and L.A. were an eclectic mix of pure talent (Dennis Rodman) and basketball smarts. He'll find those guys out there where least expected, and put together a great team for NY City reminiscent of the old Knicks. Patience.

I only hope that Phil Jackson can understand the mistakes he has already made so that he can go about repairing the mistakes as he pushes his offense design. That the offense design was such a failure so far is the fault of Jackson. Learn then from mistakes and move on.

I would like to understand why Chandler was traded and I would like to understand why Kerr chose to stay away. Both Kerr and Chandler were unfairly chided by Jackson.