New York Knicks: Reaction To Jeff Hornacek Coaching Ranking

New York Knicks head coach Jeff Hornacek was one of the lowest ranked coaches in the NBA; do you agree with his spot in the head coach power rankings?

The New York Knicks are mere weeks away from getting the 2016-17 season underway. There is a breath of fresh air surrounding the organization, as the Knicks roster has been retooled with a new man leading the way.

Jeff Hornacek was hired to be the new head coach for the Knicks in the offseason. Derek Fisher was fired in February and Kurt Rambis took over on an interim basis, but was not given the full-time gig.

Hornacek will bring with him an offensive mindset that should benefit plenty of players on the Knicks new-look roster. Kristaps Porzingis should flourish with an offensive minded coach, while Carmelo Anthony should continue putting up gaudy stats. Derrick Rose has a chance to prove doubters wrong, while Joakim Noah is one of the best playmaking big men in the NBA.

There is optimism surrounding the team, but there are some question marks as well. How will the team perform defensively without anchor Robin Lopez? Will there be enough shots to go around? Does the second unit have enough beyond Brandon Jennings and Lance Thomas?

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These are things that Hornacek will have to figure out, and was a problem with Fisher. The Knicks never seemed to find a consistent rotation, which led to players not knowing their roles. Professional athletes are creatures of habit; not giving them specific roles could mess with them and at times it seemed to with the Knicks.

Some people are confident that Hornacek will be able to handle the job. Others are skeptical after the unceremonious way he left the Phoneix Suns, his first head coaching job. A wait and see approach is probably the fairest way to go, and that is what the guys at Sir Charles In Charge would say.

Over at Sir Charles In Charge, the NBA head coaches were ranked. Hornacek came in at 26th in their rankings; here is part of what they had to say about Hornacek:

"For one, he’s creative on the offensive end. That’s not something you question. He’s going to play at an uptempo pace and will probably produce at a high rate. Defensively, while his teams in the past have left a lot to be desired, it usually comes down to effort.And that’s a real question for any Hornacek-led team.In the end, Hornacek should probably be a lot higher on this list. But, because of the way he was forced out of Phoenix, I’d honestly play the wait and see game with Hornacek."

That is a fair evaluation for Hornacek. With the Suns he showed a lot of promise in the early going. They had success with multiple point guard linueps and he got the most out of a team that wasn’t expected to make any noise.

But, they would get worse each season under his watch. Part of this can be attributed to the Suns’ front office undermining him and giving him a mismatched roster. But, some of the blame needs to fall on him as well. He may have been handed a bad hand, but he did have a record under .500 at 101-112.

The Knicks have not been a stable organization in recent years, so there is the potential that Hornacek could be entering a disaster again. But, Phil Jackson has done a great job this offseason upgrading the talent, as the Knicks have a playoff team on paper.

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But, performing on the court is a different matter. It will be up to Hornacek to get the most out of this veteran group that has something to prove. If he is able to guide the Knicks to a postseason berth, you can expect Hornacek to shoot up this list by this time next season.

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