New York Knicks Jeff Hornacek Says Phil Jackson Not Meddling

New York Knicks head coach said that Phil Jackson hasn’t meddled in practice, giving Hornacek leeway to do what he feels is best for the team.

The New York Knicks enter a new era with Jeff Hornacek as head coach. Phil Jackson hired him in June after his first head coach, Derek Fisher, was fired in February. Many people thought Jackson would remove the interim tag from his friend and confidant Kurt Rambis, but instead hired Hornacek to be the head coach.

It is a move that surprised people, as Hornacek isn’t a triangle guy or a friend of Jackson; two things he said would weigh heavily in his decision. Jackson is giving Hornacek a chance to install his own offense, one that he says will still have parts of the triangle involved.

Jackson is as good as it comes to running the triangle, and no one could blame him for interjecting to give help. But, Hornacek says that Jackson has not been meddling, instead he has been hands off and helpful in the process.

"“Phil’s been great. He’s not trying to take over and make us do anything. He’s given us the leeway,” Hornacek said after practice Sunday. “There are some things that we do that aren’t the triangle stuff [such as] our early [offense]. Quite honestly, we thought he would say, ‘Let’s not do that.’ Or, ‘Let’s not do that option.’ But he hasn’t said that at all.”"

The aspects of the triangle will be there, but Hornacek has goals of his own. He hopes to get the Knicks playing faster, as they were at the bottom of the NBA in pace of play and fastbreak points last season. Playing faster would result in easier looks for the players and increase the chances the Knicks have to score.

Those increases should come with the changes that Hornacek wants to make. While they are not true to the regular triangle offense Jackson used, he has been supportive of Hornacek.

"“We talk quite a bit, but he’s been hands off,” Hornacek said. “He gives some directions here and there. If he sees something or he says, ‘Hey, let’s take a look, clean this up, this particular action.’ So it’s good.“It’s another coach out there — he’s run it for years and years, so when he sees something — really, he’s not coming in there saying, ‘Hey, change it to this,’ or ‘Change it to that.’ It’s good, additional information.”"

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Hornacek has added that Jackson is giving hints to how to run the triangle, and that the players are getting used to it.

Many teams use parts of the triangle in the NBA in their offense, but the Knicks have received a lot of backlash for their instance to use it the past two seasons. They have tried to fully immerse themselves in the triangle offense and the results have been disastrous; they have 49 wins the past two seasons.

There have reportedly been players complaining privately about the system because of the slow pace and predictable sets. Hornacek is aware of the criticisms, but also added that it is something other teams use successfully.

"“A lot of teams throw it in the post, run splits and cut and do that. So there are some other aspects of it [in many offenses],” Hornacek said, adding that some of the criticism stems from the offense’s slow pace.“If it slows you down, I think that’s where most guys [who critique the triangle] are probably coming from,” Hornacek said. “You end up being a slow-down team and never get easy buckets, and you’re running that half-court set all the time. First of all, guys don’t like to run it. Secondly, it makes it very difficult to get easy buckets early in the offense. And I think in today’s game, those early buckets are nice to get.”"

The triangle will be used sometimes to help the Knicks in the half-court, but it is something Hornacek will not use every time down the court. Hornacek said, “We’re not running it every time. We’re mixing it in here and there, and hopefully for us it’s a good thing we can do to execute a play on a dead ball that we have something to go to [in half-court sets].”

The Knicks traded for Derrick Rose and signed Brandon Jennings, two players that excel in a faster-paced game. Both can get to the basket and create for their teammates, so a faster offense would be conducive to their success.

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It will be interesting to see how much the Knicks incorporate the triangle offense this season. Their roster is full of players that should succeed and benefit from a quicker system. But there are also some that can succeed in a slowed down, half-court system. It will be up to Hornacek to find that balance and make things work.

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