NY Knicks Rumors: JR Smith, Tim Hardaway Jr Traded After Iman Shumpert, Shane Larkin Start? Phil Jackson Slams Offense as Carmelo Anthony Confident in Comeback

Oct 30, 2014 09:33 AM EDT
JR Smith
New York Knicks guard JR Smith drives to the basket against the Brooklyn Nets in a 2014 game."

According to Phil Jackson, the New York Knicks are not ready for primetime. That became very evident in the team's season opener where the Chicago Bulls handed the team their worst defeat in a season opener with a 24-point loss. The game was an all-around struggle for the Knicks who could not find a rhythm on offense or defense and Jackson is not thrilled about the poor effort from his team.

"Not ready for showtime, were we guys?" Jackson said, via ESPN.com. "I can't say how long it's going to take."

At one point in the game, the Knicks were down 35 points. The triangle offense was nowhere to be seen and the team's biggest stars failed to show up. Could this be a sign for the future? Several players on the roster have admitted that adjusting to the triangle offense has not been easy and will certainly take time. Head coach Derek Fisher remains confident that the Knicks can easily bounce back and prepare to start winning with the new game plan.

"We're going somewhere," Fisher said. "But at the beginning of where we're going, it's going to be difficult to get wins. We have to fight really really hard to win games."

The Knicks pulled things together come the third and fourth quarter which is giving players hope that a turnaround should come quickly. However, what happens if things take longer than expected? New York is limited in the number of moves they can make, but trades could be in the team's future if players fail to pick up the changes.

JR Smith has been one of the players voicing his frustrations with the triangle offense. He also happens to be a player that constantly comes up in trade talks. With a contract easy to move, could Smith be the first to go? Jackson has already voiced his praise to Iman Shumpert and Tim Hardaway Jr who could easily replace Smith. The shooting guard is stressing that things will take time if everyone can be patient.

"When we stopped competing the end of the third quarter, fourth quarter, we could all tell," Smith said. "I think they looked at it as if they felt they smelled blood in the water. We just couldn't do anything about it. We put our heads down and tucked our tails. We can't do that at home."

Carmelo Anthony only scored 12 in the loss which is a focus point of the triangle offense. The star does not expect to lead the league in scoring this season with the new offense. Is 12 points going to be enough to keep the Knicks in contention?

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