When asked by The Post whether the current state of the Knicks should be viewed as a glass half full or half empty, Reggie Miller took longer to answer than he needed to score eight consecutive points and beat the Knicks in Game 1 of the 1995 Eastern Conference finals at the Garden.

“I would say it’s half empty,” Miller finally summarized before the Knicks’ latest loss, a 110-94 blowout loss to the Nuggets in Denver on Tuesday night. “I wanted to go half full because of [Kristaps] Porzingis, but where do they go after this? Their coaching situation is in a state of flux. You have a superstar in [Carmelo Anthony] who is frustrated. Where do they want to go?”

NBA legends turned broadcasters Miller, Charles Barkley and Kenny Smith were in Manhattan on Tuesday for the CBS-Turner Media Day promoting the upcoming NCAA Tournament. But the uncertainty surrounding the Knicks (26-39) was a frequent topic of discussion. All three agreed the addition of Porzingis was a positive for the franchise, the rest is a mess.

For starters, the Knicks’ implementation of the triangle offense has been a failure, with Miller suggesting team president Phil Jackson needs to adjust to a more suitable offense.

“What does Phil want to do?” Miller questioned. “What does [owner James] Dolan want to do going forward with this? How do we want to play?

“Are we going to continue with this triangle crap or are we going to play a traditional free-flowing style like the Warriors play?

“I love the triangle if I have Michael Jordan, Kobe Bryant, [Shaquille O’Neal] and Scottie Pippen. I’d play the triangle all day. But if I’ve got Carmelo and Porzingis, no, I do not like the triangle.”

Barkley said he is not a fan of Jackson’s offensive system either.

“It’s all about the players,” he said. “Without Kobe, and Shaq and Michael Jordan and Scottie Pippen, the triangle is just a circle.”

Beyond the development of Porzingis, the Knicks have little to show for their season, having won just four of their previous 21 games.

It’s why Smith said he also sees the Knicks’ glass as half empty.

“To me great teams always have a style of play,” said Smith, a Queens native and two-time NBA champion with the Rockets. “When I think of the Knicks, do they play up-tempo? Some nights. Do they slow it down and run the triangle? Some nights. Are they defenders? Sometimes. To me, that dictates if your glass is half empty or half full. Right now, it’s empty because they don’t have a style of play.

“What a style of play does is it allows you to draft, trade and get free agents to come. For Golden State, this is the player I need: a guy who can spread the floor and shoot 3s but can also defend bigger than his position. Now I know what I’m looking for. But if I said that to New York, I don’t know if that guy fits in New York because there’s no style that’s been created.

“In San Antonio, I know I need a guy who has a high basketball IQ that understands he doesn’t need the basketball to be effective. Now I can pick a guy like that. In New York, I don’t know what I’m picking.”

Frustration over the Knicks’ season apparently got the best of Anthony recently when he got into it with a heckler and later apologized. That doesn’t surprise Miller.

“The guys that he came in with in his draft class are playing for championships or competing for championships,” Miller said. “When you’re on a banana boat with LeBron [James] and Dwyane Wade and those guys are showing their bling and you’re playing on the richest franchise in the NBA and you have resources where you thought you could recruit guys, but no one wants to come play for the Knicks, I think that’s all building up and it’s coming out.”

ChuckBuck wrote:He's not wrong.

Players before the system. You get the studs, you can run any system you want. You don't do it ass backwards and fit a system around misfits that are incapable of running it.

knicks1248 wrote:with everyone trashing the triangle, and the knicks playing very poor and inconsistent in it, get ready for another round of 2nd tier FA.

Do you mean 2tier player in general or 2nd tier FAs out of the FA pool for this year? I am just asking because most people consider this a 2nd tier FA class to begin with. The only real big fish is Durant

I hope we can get Brandon Jennings and another guard this summer, maybe Bazemore or Eric Gordon... but Phil is going to need to do some damage control and bring in the right coach (Walton?) - if he brings in Shaw or keeps Rambis, it's not going to go well.

This is Phil's biggest challenge - to check his massive ego and bring in someone who might use parts of the Triangle, but who can update it to be a modern NBA offense. Otherwise all this cap room we have won't mean diddly.

GustavBahler wrote:

MS wrote:Players respect these guys.

The Knicks suck and have been bad, laughing stock bad for 15 years. We literally have nothing on this team and shouldn't be running the triangle. Win as many games are you can and try to change the narrative. No one on this roster is really a keeper so it doesn't matter what system you are running.

These figure head coaches are embarrassing.

I wouldn't say that we have nothing, more like we dont have enough. Other than that I agree that we should be running a more plug n play system until this roster has the talent to run the Triangle or something else, maybe a hybrid, incorporating some new wrinkles. That would be more Zen-like.

Right now its like trying to fit a square peg in a round hole. We arent talking about being a born again Christian. Nothing heretical about the Knicks waiting for the conditions to be more ideal for what has always been a boutique offense.

plun n play system ... I like it!

and guess what, next year we are going to have a bunch of new players new to the triangle. That should be fun to watch ... bring back SAMMY D!

But what happens? Guys that claim to be knock fans use it to fuel their bull**** on some reverse racism/Donald Trump takes America ****.

Wake up yall. We suck and its not cuz of the triangle. No matter who the coach is we would still be in the same boat. This Denver lost should prove that to you because they basically ran the Knicks off the court. No the Knicks were not going to win paying melo at center and affalo at power fwd with Grant, galloway and Derrick all chucking threes playin basic ymca pick up game offense.

makes me sick how divided knick fans are.

We have a foundation in the greatest basketball mind ever trying to repair 15 years of futility. He's only been here 2 years. Like wtf do you want?

We're not in the 90s. Players want to play with their friends. They don't want to be apart of a ny come up. They would rather join other teams that already have great players. There's no competition. Is hard to win in that climate. But we're just finishing year 2 right now.

Anyway I'm just sick of the bull****

EnySpree wrote:What needs to be said right off the bat is these players hate us.....not just the Knicks. They hate ny.they hate new yorker. They hate us. Chuncey Billups Hayes ny. He hates the east coast. Reggie hates ny. He hates knick fans.

But what happens? Guys that claim to be knock fans use it to fuel their bull**** on some reverse racism/Donald Trump takes America ****.

Wake up yall. We suck and its not cuz of the triangle. No matter who the coach is we would still be in the same boat. This Denver lost should prove that to you because they basically ran the Knicks off the court. No the Knicks were not going to win paying melo at center and affalo at power fwd with Grant, galloway and Derrick all chucking threes playin basic ymca pick up game offense.

makes me sick how divided knick fans are.

We have a foundation in the greatest basketball mind ever trying to repair 15 years of futility. He's only been here 2 years. Like wtf do you want?

We're not in the 90s. Players want to play with their friends. They don't want to be apart of a ny come up. They would rather join other teams that already have great players. There's no competition. Is hard to win in that climate. But we're just finishing year 2 right now.

Anyway I'm just sick of the bull****

Now in the case of the Knicks it's not that we don't have ANY good talent. We don't have enough in the right spots. You stick a quality NBA PG and SG in this starting lineup and immediately this team is a much better team. We have some talent at the forward and center spots. We have an issue at PG and SG. Old guys that can't really get it done and young guys that are still developing. Clearly Phil is trying to improve the team. What he did wasn't enough to make this team a playoff team this year, but the process is only just getting started.

All Melo cares about is being the man in NY. He's still thinking he's in Syracuse. If you believe Steven A, he wants Dolan's connections to wall street as well (so more money).

End of the day, Lebron and Wade didn't choose being the man in a big market (neither CLE or Miami is a big market like LA/NY) over winning. This is what Melo did. He continues to do so. It's just who he is. So Reggie Miller needs to shove it.

As if the Triangle offense is the reason the Knicks can not play defense. The Triangle offense has caused the Knicks to lose 2 draft picks in 3 years under Phil's watch (both lottery picks). The Triangle offense is just a system of basketball to encourage players to play together. Which the Knicks try to do on offense. Unselfish Melo? Yes that Triangle. The 22-22 better than the talent start? Again that was the Triangle culture helping team harmony.

Why so many equate talent with system I do not know. The Triangle doesn't turn Afflalo in Jordan, Melo into Pippen and RoLo in Gasol/Shaq. But if we get major talent, when KP is in his prime, this system will show to be an asset. However we need the talent first and foremost. Did Reggie watch how the team played when Grant/Galloway/Afflalo/Williams were out there? They were running the same system. Only with speed, more guard skill and better athleticism. That's what we need with our starters now. More speed, skill and athleticism in the starting 5. I only want 3 starters at most back next year starting. We need to get more athletic, quicker and skilled in terms of handling the ball and penetrating a defense. We need the athleticism and speed for defensive purposes as well.

nyknickzingis wrote:Dwayne Wade plays with Chris Bosh, Whiteside, and a very well run organization.
Lebron James is twice the player Melo is, and plays with an all-star cast and makes sure which team he plays on has the talent.

All Melo cares about is being the man in NY. He's still thinking he's in Syracuse. If you believe Steven A, he wants Dolan's connections to wall street as well (so more money).

End of the day, Lebron and Wade didn't choose being the man in a big market (neither CLE or Miami is a big market like LA/NY) over winning. This is what Melo did. He continues to do so. It's just who he is. So Reggie Miller needs to shove it.

As if the Triangle offense is the reason the Knicks can not play defense. The Triangle offense has caused the Knicks to lose 2 draft picks in 3 years under Phil's watch (both lottery picks). The Triangle offense is just a system of basketball to encourage players to play together. Which the Knicks try to do on offense. Unselfish Melo? Yes that Triangle. The 22-22 better than the talent start? Again that was the Triangle culture helping team harmony.

Why so many equate talent with system I do not know. The Triangle doesn't turn Afflalo in Jordan, Melo into Pippen and RoLo in Gasol/Shaq. But if we get major talent, when KP is in his prime, this system will show to be an asset. However we need the talent first and foremost. Did Reggie watch how the team played when Grant/Galloway/Afflalo/Williams were out there? They were running the same system. Only with speed, more guard skill and better athleticism. That's what we need with our starters now. More speed, skill and athleticism in the starting 5. I only want 3 starters at most back next year starting. We need to get more athletic, quicker and skilled in terms of handling the ball and penetrating a defense. We need the athleticism and speed for defensive purposes as well.

EXACTLY!!! This team is losing mostly based on poor defense! Of course we need better talent but right now the failure to defend has been the biggest issues. Poor execution on Offense has led to leaving a lot of points on the floor and allowed teams to get out and run on the Knicks.

This is why we need upgrades at PG and SG so that we can get better defense on the perimeter and better execution on offense. More easy baskets by pushing the ball and driving to the basket.

For those like Reggie who are trashing the Triangle and those who are dying for Thibs, just remember this, Thibs used the Triangle too: