TRI, TRI AGAIN
Jackson instructs Knicks guards on his favorite offense
There are those around the NBA who have suggested, some more pointedly than others, that if Phil Jackson is so unwavering in his devotion to the triangle offense, he should get back on the court and coach it himself. Well, he did. Jackson, six years since he last formally held the title of “coach,” instructed the Knicks guards Thursday on aspects of the offensive system. Coach Jeff Hornacek, who said he welcomed the input from the team president, noted the lesson had been planned but did not include the team’s big men.
“He had our guards out there just showing them a couple things that are probably further along in the triangle process that we’re at now that he wanted to show them, just to give them an idea of things that could happen,” Hornacek said. “I wouldn’t call it a triangle session. It was more for the guards to work together.”
So if you had any doubts about the triangle’s inclusion in the Knicks future, trash them. It’s not going anywhere.
Sasha Vujacic, who played 5½ seasons for Jackson with the Lakers, was the only player to speak to the daily media Friday. After the team prepped for Saturday’s game at Detroit, Vujacic raved about Jackson and the lesson. How’d it go?
“Honestly? Amazing,” Vujacic said. “It was a really good session. We were told the right things, we were taught the right way, and it felt good.
“Come on, we’re talking about Phil. His record speaks for itself. Just to have him there yesterday and seeing the young guys and the other guys just being amazed by it. The way he talked to them. I’ve seen that before. … You can take someone trying to teach you something for years, months, whatever, and then have someone like that [who] in halfan-hour explains things that might be a spaceship to other people. So it was amazing.”
Jackson, before hiring Hornacek who employed a faster-paced offense in Phoenix, conducted a triangle seminar for players last offseason. Hornacek noted Jackson occasionally — like once a month — has instructed at practice. Hornacek insisted he has
no worries about players getting instructions from different voices. And face it, coaches never gripe publicly about team presidents.
“If he said, ‘This is the play you need to run’ or ‘This should be the set,’ he’s not doing any of that. He’s just giving different options than what we’re showing,” Hornacek said. “[Thursday] he probably showed maybe five things.
“Periodically he’s done that before, just come out and shown little different things. He doesn’t do it very often but it seems, once a month maybe, he’ll pop out there and do it.
“It was [helpful] because we’ve covered a lot of things. There’s a lot of things you can do in the triangle offense that usually takes a year or two to do. We’re still trying to do some of the basic stuff as well as we can. This is a little more kind of advanced, couple options. Just so they see it and have it in their heads. It’s good to 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.”
After the All-Star break, the Knicks began reemphasizing the triangle, a system that is not universally adored by team members. So Jack- son and the coaches got out there to guide.
“[Thursday] was something very, very basic about the guards to understand the spacing. They were confused,” Vujacic said. “A lot of guys were confused so hopefully they got a lot of clarity … and hopefully it will help.
“We did only basic guard spacing, full-court. It’s not about reading, it’s about being there. It’s something that it’s hard to explain. Everybody was just excited about it. To see all the guys learning and being taught by one of the best of all time was just great.”