As the New York Knicks prepare for their first season under the watchful eye of Phil Jackson, they must also adjust to running the triangle offense with head coach Derek Fisher. The triangle offense helped bring out the best from the greats like Michael Jordan and Kobe Bryant and the Knicks are hoping the same goes for their stars, but the preseason has been a bit of a struggle adjusting to the new way of doing things and it shows on the court.
Carmelo Anthony admitted that adjusting to a new offense has certainly been a challenge. No one has ever picked up the offense immediately as the star admits the team is a work in progress. The issue is that New York does not have a ton of time to make all of the necessary adjustments as the pressure is on to be prepared when the season begins in a few weeks.
"It's an adjustment," Anthony said, via ESPN.com. "it's an adjustment because I'm used to taking my time and seeing where the defense is coming from. And even now, it's a medium that you've got to play with. Sometimes you can hold it a little, sometimes you don't have it, (you have to) get it out quickly. So it's an adjustment for me."
A lot more will be expected of Anthony in the new offense. In previous years, the guard thrived in isolation whereas in this system, he will need to move the ball around continuously and find the open shot himself. One person that has total faith in his team and Anthony is point guard Jose Calderon. The veteran's future is not totally certain as many believe he could be traded next offseason in favor of some bigger names. However, right now Calderon believes he has a lot to offer.
"Well, I want to be better," Calderon said. "I don't know if it's going to be because of me. I'm going to try to do my best for this team to do the best we can do, go as far as we can go. It's not only one thing. I think we are a team, too many things to say only one position, one weakness. Last year, I don't know how many wins they had - 30-something - don't think it's only one guy."
While figuring out the triangle offense, the Knicks still have to determine their starting five as their could be a competition at the shooting guard and forward positions. Phil Jackson told ESPN that Samuel Dalembert will likely get the nod over Amar'e Stoudemire while JR Smith, Iman Shumpert and Tim Hardaway Jr battle at the guard spot.
