Phil tries new ’angle
ORLANDO, Fla. — Jeff Hornacek acknowledged Knicks president Phil Jackson has influenced him into using more triangle offense — especially to enhance the team’s defense.
And Jackson has a supporter in Kristaps Porzingis, who thinks the club should have used the triangle a lot more at the beginning of the season instead of Hornacek’s combo attack.
“[Phil and I] talk about it a lot,’’ Hornacek said. “The different things in the triangle you can do, calling it in out-oftimeout plays, some of the things Phil had said, some plays he used. We’re talking all the time. That came up in one of the discussions. It does give you better balance. We had guys getting stuck in the corner. That was part of [the decision].’’
Jackson’s theory on the triangle as a defensive helper is it establishes better floor balance with a two-man front and makes it easier to get back in transition. The Knicks’ transition defense has been poor all season, especially after Derrick Rose fails to convert on a drive.
A source said when the Knicks’ young players come in early to work out, Jackson gets on the court with them to show them triangle nuances.
Roland Lazenby, author of the Jackson biography “Mind Games,’’ said the Zen Master always has believed in the triangle being a buttress for the defense.
“You can win a lot of games just by getting back,’’ Lazenby told The Post.
Former Knicks coach Larry Brown said on the radio this week Jackson should coach the club if he wants a certain system in place.
Knicks owner James Dolan told The Post’s Mike Vaccaro last month he wants Jackson to fulfill his five-year contract as team president. With that vote of confidence, Jackson apparently decided, if he’s going to be here for a while, the club might as well try his system if Hornacek’s two-pronged, blended attack isn’t producing a winning team.
Hornacek said Tuesday the players will be judged on how they adapt to the system in what’s left of the season.
There’s been an even greater focus on the triangle coming out of the break. However, according to Hornacek, the usage rate is “still not close to 50 percent of the time.’’
Porzingis, who made it back from a sprained ankle Wednesday after missing the previous two games, said he’s all for it.
“We should’ve been playing it from the beginning of the season,’’ Porzingis said. “We’re a little behind. I don’t know when we can finally start using it properly and making an impact.
“The whole first season we played nothing but the triangle. I know it pretty well. I like the offense. It can only work if everyone believes in it and everyone executes it the right way. We’re starting to learn it the way we should.’’