Phil Jackson and the New York Knicks have come under fire in the wake of another season with no postseason berth, and I’m a bit appalled at the way Phil has been unfairly denigrated as being misguided and incompetent by both the New York and the national media.

Moreover, the hypocrisy of so many in the media would be amusing if it wasn’t so ludicrous.

Back on Jan. 20, the Knicks beat the Utah Jazz to bring their record to 22-22. That’s when even his most vociferous current critics declared Jackson to be a genius, and that the Knicks could potentially challenge for a playoff berth.

In truth, qualifying for the playoffs was never a realistic goal for New York. They achieved .500 mostly because of a favorable recent schedule. In addition, several of the Knicks were temporarily playing at levels they couldn’t sustain.

When the schedule became more difficult and the high-flying players came back down to Earth, the Knicks losses began to accrue.

But the media then began to castigate the Knicks for not living up to the fantasies that the media had so foolishly created. And it was all Jackson’s fault.

Somehow, the fact that the team won 15 more games this season than they did when Jackson first took command was totally neglected. Actually, a season-to-season jump of 15 games is significant. Compare this improvement to how several other basement-dwelling teams have done over the last two seasons.

The 2014-15 Lakers won 21 games, and won only 17 this season.
The Sixers went from 18 wins to 10.
The Timberwolves were the only sad-sack team to better their record — from 16 wins to 29.
So, given that rebuilding a ball club is a long process, the Knicks’ 15-game jump is a considerable one.

Moreover, the media has another collective gripe: Throughout the season and culminating in Phil’s search for a new (or old) coach, his insistence on running the triangle has been ridiculed for being old-fashioned. Of course none of these critics has the slightest idea of how the triangle operates, and couldn’t differentiate between a screen/roll and a Kaiser roll.

But because Jackson’s tried and true game plan bears no resemblance to the way the Warriors play, the triangle must necessarily be obsolete.

Another criticism holds that the triangle only worked in Chicago and Los Angeles because of Michael Jordan, Scottie Pippen, Shaq and Kobe. Some have even claimed that anybody — including they, themselves — could’ve coached those teams to championships.

One need only to remember the 1993-94 Bulls season when MJ was playing baseball. For sure, Pippen was still there, but he was always much more of a facilitator than the kind of go-to scorer that MJ, Shaq and Kobe were. Even so, the Bulls executed the triangle to perfection, won 55 games and would’ve advanced to the conference finals (and perhaps beyond) if not for that infamously bogus foul call by Hue Hollins.

The point being to prove the dictum articulated by Tex Winter, the sainted representative of Basketball Jones here on Earth: Good teams that efficiently run the triangle can always beat great teams.

So, then, in building a house, the basement must be finished before the walls and roof can be added. And with the likes of Kristaps Porzingis, Robin Lopez, Jerian Grant and Carmelo Anthony — plus the hopeful return to health of the vastly underrated Tony Wroten, and the strong possibility of resigning the rapidly maturing Derrick Williams — Jackson has certainly built a firm foundation, and he’ll make the appropriate acquisitions this summer to keep adding to it.

Have faith, Knick fans. Sooner rather than later, the best is yet to come.

Ah, but there’s another reason why so many among the New York media are always ready and willing to dump on Jackson: their foolish loyalty to another Knicks coach. That would be the long-departed, power-playing Jeff Van Gundy.

However, that’s another story.

In short, Charlie Rosen is a blow hard idiot. But he's Phil's mouthpiece, so maybe that means Phil is the blowhard...

nixluva wrote:While I admire Charley Rosen's devotion to his friend Phil Jackson, I think he's not helping things when he writes articles in Phil's defense. It only gives the other media guys more fodder to attack Phil. Especially when he resurrects the old Jeff Van Gundy Feud.

Phil Jackson and the New York Knicks have come under fire in the wake of another season with no postseason berth, and I’m a bit appalled at the way Phil has been unfairly denigrated as being misguided and incompetent by both the New York and the national media.

Moreover, the hypocrisy of so many in the media would be amusing if it wasn’t so ludicrous.

Back on Jan. 20, the Knicks beat the Utah Jazz to bring their record to 22-22. That’s when even his most vociferous current critics declared Jackson to be a genius, and that the Knicks could potentially challenge for a playoff berth.

In truth, qualifying for the playoffs was never a realistic goal for New York. They achieved .500 mostly because of a favorable recent schedule. In addition, several of the Knicks were temporarily playing at levels they couldn’t sustain.

When the schedule became more difficult and the high-flying players came back down to Earth, the Knicks losses began to accrue.

But the media then began to castigate the Knicks for not living up to the fantasies that the media had so foolishly created. And it was all Jackson’s fault.

Somehow, the fact that the team won 15 more games this season than they did when Jackson first took command was totally neglected. Actually, a season-to-season jump of 15 games is significant. Compare this improvement to how several other basement-dwelling teams have done over the last two seasons.

The 2014-15 Lakers won 21 games, and won only 17 this season.
The Sixers went from 18 wins to 10.
The Timberwolves were the only sad-sack team to better their record — from 16 wins to 29.
So, given that rebuilding a ball club is a long process, the Knicks’ 15-game jump is a considerable one.

Moreover, the media has another collective gripe: Throughout the season and culminating in Phil’s search for a new (or old) coach, his insistence on running the triangle has been ridiculed for being old-fashioned. Of course none of these critics has the slightest idea of how the triangle operates, and couldn’t differentiate between a screen/roll and a Kaiser roll.

But because Jackson’s tried and true game plan bears no resemblance to the way the Warriors play, the triangle must necessarily be obsolete.

Another criticism holds that the triangle only worked in Chicago and Los Angeles because of Michael Jordan, Scottie Pippen, Shaq and Kobe. Some have even claimed that anybody — including they, themselves — could’ve coached those teams to championships.

One need only to remember the 1993-94 Bulls season when MJ was playing baseball. For sure, Pippen was still there, but he was always much more of a facilitator than the kind of go-to scorer that MJ, Shaq and Kobe were. Even so, the Bulls executed the triangle to perfection, won 55 games and would’ve advanced to the conference finals (and perhaps beyond) if not for that infamously bogus foul call by Hue Hollins.

The point being to prove the dictum articulated by Tex Winter, the sainted representative of Basketball Jones here on Earth: Good teams that efficiently run the triangle can always beat great teams.

So, then, in building a house, the basement must be finished before the walls and roof can be added. And with the likes of Kristaps Porzingis, Robin Lopez, Jerian Grant and Carmelo Anthony — plus the hopeful return to health of the vastly underrated Tony Wroten, and the strong possibility of resigning the rapidly maturing Derrick Williams — Jackson has certainly built a firm foundation, and he’ll make the appropriate acquisitions this summer to keep adding to it.

Have faith, Knick fans. Sooner rather than later, the best is yet to come.

Ah, but there’s another reason why so many among the New York media are always ready and willing to dump on Jackson: their foolish loyalty to another Knicks coach. That would be the long-departed, power-playing Jeff Van Gundy.

However, that’s another story.

http://www.todaysfastbreak.com/nba-east/new-york-knicks/rosen-phil-jackson-knicks-getting-bad-rap/

I have no problem with this article at all really. Is he laying it on a little thick? Yes, but i don't have a problem with it and i do think Phil takes a lot more heat from the media and fans than he should be cause people just gloss over the fact that this was his first year of making any significant additions and starting the rebuild but because of a couple of the choices Phil has made hasn't worked in his favor they overlook what choices he's made that have helped our Knicks.

Phil deserves two more years to get the players in here to finish whatever his idea of his finished product of a team is.

I do understand the frustrations of the fans that it hasn't happened quicker cause of course we all would love to of seen a better team on the floor this season with more wins and with a head coach that we can all have faith in and i have frustrations just like any of the fans but Phil still deserves more than one year of actually building this team. I know a lot of fans wanna say he's had 2 1/2 years to build but you have to be truthful about this and admit that last year was the year of breaking this team down and getting rid of the bad people and bad contracts which he did and this past year was year one of building the team back up.

newyorker4ever wrote:

nixluva wrote:

smackeddog wrote:One thing I do agree with- the media's BS with regards to expectations. Before the season EVERYONE said we would win 30 something games and miss the playoffs. All of the media kept pushing that no team went from 17 wins or whatever to 40 etc etc. Then when we got to .500 they did say Phil was a genius, how great all his moves were etc. Now the season is over we performed exactly at expectations, in fact KP has performed way beyond expectations, yet they are pushing it as if it has been a disastrous season and we're in crisis.

The Media LOVES the "same old Knicks" themes. So yeah they were singing a different tune when the Knicks were playing well. It really did look like the Knicks were about to exceed expectations. They might've won more games if the Melo Trip over that Ref didn't happen. They lost 5 games right after that where Melo didn't play any significant minutes. They may have eventually fell off but for a time the Media was convinced they were having a breakout year.

In any event the team is headed in the right direction after the Teardown. The thing is there isn't likely to be any big name splashes this summer and so the Media can continue their narrative of negativity.

Your last point is exactly what i don't think the media and some fans are ready for in that there most likely won't be any big names signing and not because of Phil or Melo getting older or whatever else people are gonna blame it on if it doesn't happen but because there's not that many star players that will be out there to get this year after most re-sign with there current teams and others just don't fit what we need so people need to expect players like E.Turner or J.Green type players and hope for the best that we can somehow get a legit guard and get the right type of mid level players that can help us and work well with our front court of Melo, KP and Rolo.

YES! The real source of our stars will likely be the internal development of our own draft picks and young players. I have hopes for Grant and Wroten next year. I think they have a lot of talent and if they can be developed that along with KP and hopefully Willy can give this team a talent boost outside of Free Agents we sign this summer.

StarksEwing1 wrote:

nixluva wrote:

newyorker4ever wrote:

nixluva wrote:

smackeddog wrote:One thing I do agree with- the media's BS with regards to expectations. Before the season EVERYONE said we would win 30 something games and miss the playoffs. All of the media kept pushing that no team went from 17 wins or whatever to 40 etc etc. Then when we got to .500 they did say Phil was a genius, how great all his moves were etc. Now the season is over we performed exactly at expectations, in fact KP has performed way beyond expectations, yet they are pushing it as if it has been a disastrous season and we're in crisis.

The Media LOVES the "same old Knicks" themes. So yeah they were singing a different tune when the Knicks were playing well. It really did look like the Knicks were about to exceed expectations. They might've won more games if the Melo Trip over that Ref didn't happen. They lost 5 games right after that where Melo didn't play any significant minutes. They may have eventually fell off but for a time the Media was convinced they were having a breakout year.

In any event the team is headed in the right direction after the Teardown. The thing is there isn't likely to be any big name splashes this summer and so the Media can continue their narrative of negativity.

Your last point is exactly what i don't think the media and some fans are ready for in that there most likely won't be any big names signing and not because of Phil or Melo getting older or whatever else people are gonna blame it on if it doesn't happen but because there's not that many star players that will be out there to get this year after most re-sign with there current teams and others just don't fit what we need so people need to expect players like E.Turner or J.Green type players and hope for the best that we can somehow get a legit guard and get the right type of mid level players that can help us and work well with our front court of Melo, KP and Rolo.

YES! The real source of our stars will likely be the internal development of our own draft picks and young players. I have hopes for Grant and Wroten next year. I think they have a lot of talent and if they can be developed that along with KP and hopefully Willy can give this team a talent boost outside of Free Agents we sign this summer.

yeah i have always been a supporter of building from within by drafting. Not having our picks this year really sucks though

StarksEwing1 wrote:

nixluva wrote:

StarksEwing1 wrote:

nixluva wrote:

newyorker4ever wrote:

nixluva wrote:

smackeddog wrote:One thing I do agree with- the media's BS with regards to expectations. Before the season EVERYONE said we would win 30 something games and miss the playoffs. All of the media kept pushing that no team went from 17 wins or whatever to 40 etc etc. Then when we got to .500 they did say Phil was a genius, how great all his moves were etc. Now the season is over we performed exactly at expectations, in fact KP has performed way beyond expectations, yet they are pushing it as if it has been a disastrous season and we're in crisis.

The Media LOVES the "same old Knicks" themes. So yeah they were singing a different tune when the Knicks were playing well. It really did look like the Knicks were about to exceed expectations. They might've won more games if the Melo Trip over that Ref didn't happen. They lost 5 games right after that where Melo didn't play any significant minutes. They may have eventually fell off but for a time the Media was convinced they were having a breakout year.

In any event the team is headed in the right direction after the Teardown. The thing is there isn't likely to be any big name splashes this summer and so the Media can continue their narrative of negativity.

Your last point is exactly what i don't think the media and some fans are ready for in that there most likely won't be any big names signing and not because of Phil or Melo getting older or whatever else people are gonna blame it on if it doesn't happen but because there's not that many star players that will be out there to get this year after most re-sign with there current teams and others just don't fit what we need so people need to expect players like E.Turner or J.Green type players and hope for the best that we can somehow get a legit guard and get the right type of mid level players that can help us and work well with our front court of Melo, KP and Rolo.

YES! The real source of our stars will likely be the internal development of our own draft picks and young players. I have hopes for Grant and Wroten next year. I think they have a lot of talent and if they can be developed that along with KP and hopefully Willy can give this team a talent boost outside of Free Agents we sign this summer.

yeah i have always been a supporter of building from within by drafting. Not having our picks this year really sucks though

Yeah it's tough but hopefully Phil can work his magic and find a pick. This draft isn't that amazing at the top anyway.

that would be nice. Phil has his flaws but one strength i like is finding good draft picks. Despite everything that has happened to cleananthony early ive always been a fan of the pick. Eveeyone knows im a big jerian grant fan and i praised that trade from day 1. Obviously KP is the best move we have made in 15 years. Im also a fan of willy hernangomez. So i do have confidence phil can work something out at the draft

nixluva wrote:

StarksEwing1 wrote:

nixluva wrote:

newyorker4ever wrote:

nixluva wrote:

smackeddog wrote:One thing I do agree with- the media's BS with regards to expectations. Before the season EVERYONE said we would win 30 something games and miss the playoffs. All of the media kept pushing that no team went from 17 wins or whatever to 40 etc etc. Then when we got to .500 they did say Phil was a genius, how great all his moves were etc. Now the season is over we performed exactly at expectations, in fact KP has performed way beyond expectations, yet they are pushing it as if it has been a disastrous season and we're in crisis.

The Media LOVES the "same old Knicks" themes. So yeah they were singing a different tune when the Knicks were playing well. It really did look like the Knicks were about to exceed expectations. They might've won more games if the Melo Trip over that Ref didn't happen. They lost 5 games right after that where Melo didn't play any significant minutes. They may have eventually fell off but for a time the Media was convinced they were having a breakout year.

In any event the team is headed in the right direction after the Teardown. The thing is there isn't likely to be any big name splashes this summer and so the Media can continue their narrative of negativity.

Your last point is exactly what i don't think the media and some fans are ready for in that there most likely won't be any big names signing and not because of Phil or Melo getting older or whatever else people are gonna blame it on if it doesn't happen but because there's not that many star players that will be out there to get this year after most re-sign with there current teams and others just don't fit what we need so people need to expect players like E.Turner or J.Green type players and hope for the best that we can somehow get a legit guard and get the right type of mid level players that can help us and work well with our front court of Melo, KP and Rolo.

YES! The real source of our stars will likely be the internal development of our own draft picks and young players. I have hopes for Grant and Wroten next year. I think they have a lot of talent and if they can be developed that along with KP and hopefully Willy can give this team a talent boost outside of Free Agents we sign this summer.

yeah i have always been a supporter of building from within by drafting. Not having our picks this year really sucks though

Yeah it's tough but hopefully Phil can work his magic and find a pick. This draft isn't that amazing at the top anyway.

what magic has he worked before?

nixluva wrote:

mreinman wrote:

nixluva wrote:

StarksEwing1 wrote:

nixluva wrote:

newyorker4ever wrote:

nixluva wrote:

smackeddog wrote:One thing I do agree with- the media's BS with regards to expectations. Before the season EVERYONE said we would win 30 something games and miss the playoffs. All of the media kept pushing that no team went from 17 wins or whatever to 40 etc etc. Then when we got to .500 they did say Phil was a genius, how great all his moves were etc. Now the season is over we performed exactly at expectations, in fact KP has performed way beyond expectations, yet they are pushing it as if it has been a disastrous season and we're in crisis.

The Media LOVES the "same old Knicks" themes. So yeah they were singing a different tune when the Knicks were playing well. It really did look like the Knicks were about to exceed expectations. They might've won more games if the Melo Trip over that Ref didn't happen. They lost 5 games right after that where Melo didn't play any significant minutes. They may have eventually fell off but for a time the Media was convinced they were having a breakout year.

In any event the team is headed in the right direction after the Teardown. The thing is there isn't likely to be any big name splashes this summer and so the Media can continue their narrative of negativity.

Your last point is exactly what i don't think the media and some fans are ready for in that there most likely won't be any big names signing and not because of Phil or Melo getting older or whatever else people are gonna blame it on if it doesn't happen but because there's not that many star players that will be out there to get this year after most re-sign with there current teams and others just don't fit what we need so people need to expect players like E.Turner or J.Green type players and hope for the best that we can somehow get a legit guard and get the right type of mid level players that can help us and work well with our front court of Melo, KP and Rolo.

YES! The real source of our stars will likely be the internal development of our own draft picks and young players. I have hopes for Grant and Wroten next year. I think they have a lot of talent and if they can be developed that along with KP and hopefully Willy can give this team a talent boost outside of Free Agents we sign this summer.

yeah i have always been a supporter of building from within by drafting. Not having our picks this year really sucks though

Yeah it's tough but hopefully Phil can work his magic and find a pick. This draft isn't that amazing at the top anyway.

what magic has he worked before?

I was simply referring to him getting additional picks where we had none. Perhaps you remember that when he came here we had very few picks but we ended up getting picks in each draft. Just cuz you're jaded about the team doesn't mean nothing good has happened during Phil's tenure. Perhaps you would be even more unhappy had Phil not drafted any of the extra players and he just let the draft go by? His history suggests that he may again look to add a pick even tho he goes into this draft without any.