nyknickzingis wrote:I just remember reading one of Jackson's books a few chapters and he talked about the Triangle and how as the season wears on he increases the amount it's used and players are supposed to be more comfortable in it.

However with these Knicks it looked like they were not progressing in it. Recall saying when the Knicks were 23-26 or something like that - Phil has to be pissed. Think the team is a few wins better than that and the Triangle is not being run well. Low and behold 4 games later he's fired and we're reading that Fisher wasn't utilizing the Tri coaches (Rambis, Cleamons) much and instead leaning on the other guys.

Shows in the way the team plays as well. They run the offense much better when it's screen & roll and far worse when they try to run the Triangle. Rambis is not going to lower the Triangle dosage. Quite the opposite. Think he goes all out. He knows this season is a lost cause as does Phil, they won't be making the playoffs. But they'll try to use these 29 games left to get the reps in on offense for KP/Melo/Lopez and others on the team that will be back next year. In which case they'll have a better idea on how to run the offense next year. Like it or not, Phil is going to make sure the team will run the Triangle properly before he quits on his belief that the offense can help the team win games. Right now the team isn't really running it very well or at all other than post entry and a few screens in motion. There's much more to the offense and the team chemistry should have been much better at this point of the season had Fisher been using the Triangle in practice.

I don't think Phil had any issues with the PnR or Drag Screen stuff. As long as the team was moving and passing and winning. None of that really means they can't run the Side Triangle. I think what Phil and Rambis both stated was that they saw too much standing around and one on one stuff as the offense bogged down. They were playing slower and getting away from the Motion and Ball Movement.

Also misguided was Fisher’s stubborn insistence on having the Knicks uptempo their pace. This, even though the team lacked an experienced point guard who could be off and running and be effective. In addition, he oftentimes failed to heed specific suggestions, corrections and instructions made by the greatest coach in the history of the NBA.

If the execution of the Triangle did improve over the course of several games in mid-January, lately the half-court offense has become increasingly passive. Too much dribbling, too many harmless passes, too many loose screens and casual cuts, too many screen/rolls. Too much thinking instead of reacting — something that’s unforgivable this far into the season.

As I said. I think Rambis comes in. Tells the team to get back to being a slower paced execution team. No more pushing the ball and trying for quick layups. Don't have the point guard for that. I think what you'll see is more of what we saw at the start of the season. Slower run offense. More post entry passing. More emphasis on strong screen setting and looking for penetrating passes (Passes that get into the defense as opposed to just swinging the ball out on the perimeter).

nyknickzingis wrote:I know he didn't likely have a problem with PnR or drag screening, but I'm sure he would have liked by the 50th game mark of a NBA season where most of your roster has been healthy and together for the most part, to be executing the team designed offense better. It's not that I think that Phil was against going away from the Triangle, as much as what I said 2 weeks ago before this even happened. The Triangle is supposed to be an offense where you play better as the season goes on. However to do that, your coach must run it extensively in practice. I recall Kobe once saying his practices were 5 percent on defense and 95 percent on other aspects - film, passing, triangle execution. I don't know if Fisher ran it the same way. Think Fisher wanted to run a more modern version of the offense and didn't take to the way Rambis/Cleamons were suggesting he go. When Phil saw the team lose 9/10, he thought enough is enough. Phil wants the team to play a certain way and even when the team was competing better, I think he had his doubts. I mentioned this a few times on this board. I didn't think he could have been happy with the team running the Triangle so poorly in year 2 of Fish's coaching career and so late into the season with this group.

In regards to Rambis though, I think we'll see a high dosage of Triangle now. We'll probably see them break into the Triangle as well, but I would be very surprised if the team isn't running more Triangle in the coming games. They'll have like a 10 day layoff with all-star break and be able to get some major practices in when Melo/KP get back from the all-star weekend.

I have no idea if this will lead to more wins though. The Triangle isn't going to give us any major advantage in the coming weeks. We'll still have the same holes. If this team does better, to me it would seem that they just didn't respond to Fisher anymore and wanted a new coach.

Hopefully the same can be done for each of the core rotation players so that they can more clearly understand where they can be most effective. It seems Rambis thinks some of the players are tense and not playing loose. I would vote Jerian as one of those guys. He's just not playing ball right now. If Rambis is a better communicator that could really impact Jerian in a positive way. It should be very interesting to see what happens. There are many winnable games left on the schedule.

“He likes to make a joke,” Jackson said of Rambis. “He’s a little more relaxed in his approach to life and finds life humorous and fun in many ways. This is serious business but it’s not that serious. It’s a game. We say games are supposed to be fun, and I think Kurt brings that attitude a lot of times into it. Basketball business, he’s all business about that. But as far as the development of the group, I think you’ll see he’ll be making more jokes than he’ll be critical.”

Rambis feels if the Knicks are healthy, they have the components to win.

“That’s one of the things I told the players in the meeting: We’re a much better team than we’ve been showing lately, but we’ve got to do all the things I was talking about in order to make that happen,” he said. “We’re not so talented that we can just throw our talent out there and win games. We’ve got to put a lot of effort into it.”

This quote beats anything fisher has said in his entire time as coach..

EnySpree wrote:Here's where I think Rambis well improve over Fisher:

Substitutions: too often Fisher has wacky lineups out there at key times. He'll let the Knicks piss away a lead or watch them dig a deeper hole. He'll totally forget he has KP or Other key players on the bench for long stretches.

End game situations: he doesn't manage the clock well. There's been alot of games where Melo is still sitting on the bench with 3 mins left before he's put back in. We need 3s and defensive stops and KP and or Rolo are on the bench. Plus he starts to blindly go to Lance, Affalo and Gallo even when other guys have it going. The guy also doesn't use his time outs. No way you finish games still holding 1 or 2 time outs.

Favoritism: Melo is out (knee)and Lance is out (concussion) yet Derrick Williams becomes an after thought. He decided to go with Afflalo at the 3 with Galloway at the 2 like wtf? 30 mins one night then 12 the next... Cleananthony Early earned a spot to play yet as soon as the season starts he's back and forth between a suit and the d league.

I think Rambis fixes all of this from day one. I also think the other Jedi masters will have more imput. They will bring balance to the force

Agree. I am curious to see if he moves Jose to the second unit; because the entire league has been talking about our PG Ineptitude

nixluva wrote:

Knicks1969 wrote:

EnySpree wrote:Here's where I think Rambis well improve over Fisher:

Substitutions: too often Fisher has wacky lineups out there at key times. He'll let the Knicks piss away a lead or watch them dig a deeper hole. He'll totally forget he has KP or Other key players on the bench for long stretches.

End game situations: he doesn't manage the clock well. There's been alot of games where Melo is still sitting on the bench with 3 mins left before he's put back in. We need 3s and defensive stops and KP and or Rolo are on the bench. Plus he starts to blindly go to Lance, Affalo and Gallo even when other guys have it going. The guy also doesn't use his time outs. No way you finish games still holding 1 or 2 time outs.

Favoritism: Melo is out (knee)and Lance is out (concussion) yet Derrick Williams becomes an after thought. He decided to go with Afflalo at the 3 with Galloway at the 2 like wtf? 30 mins one night then 12 the next... Cleananthony Early earned a spot to play yet as soon as the season starts he's back and forth between a suit and the d league.

I think Rambis fixes all of this from day one. I also think the other Jedi masters will have more imput. They will bring balance to the force

Agree. I am curious to see if he moves Jose to the second unit; because the entire league has been talking about our PG Ineptitude

I was curious about Jose too but after listening to Rambis I'm not sure that he will do that. He mentioned that it's common to have a bad defender on the floor but that you have to team defend in such a way to deal with that. It sounded like he was talking about a change in the defensive scheme much more than a change of the starting lineup. He sounded like he wanted a more aggressive defense than we've seen recently. Not sure exactly what he's gonna do but it didn't sound like he was blaming things on Jose's weak defense.

I hope he doesn't make the mistake of counting on Jose. Honestly, until he is gone, I won't be very happy. Nice guy, but he doesn't do it for me as my starting PG

gunsnewing wrote:

WaltLongmire wrote:

Rookie wrote:

Tweet was deleted or there was problem with the URL:

https://twitter.com/alanhahn/status/696843744511991814

Wow. Earlier Hahn was talking on his show about how much he had grown to like Fisher as a person. It must be hard for him to be critical at this point.

So where did Kevin Ding get his info from?

Seems like more of a Lakers/West Coast guy. Could he have gotten info from Rambis or Cleamons?

Had no idea about the practice issue or the non-emphasis of D.

Also had this:

Tweet was deleted or there was problem with the URL:

https://twitter.com/KevinDing/status/696751569023406085

and he did an article on the Jackson/Rambis relationship:

bleacherreport.com
Rambis Isn't Just a Bridge to Knicks' Next Coach
Kevin Ding

In Kurt Rambis, Jackson Hopes to Find Coaching Spirit He Didn't Find in Fisher

Whatever Phil Jackson doesn't know about running an NBA front office, he absolutely does know about coaching.

So Jackson fired Derek Fisher as New York Knicks head coach on Monday morning in an effort to get the foundation of his business model right—and give the teaching opportunity to another of his disciples: Kurt Rambis.

Rambis has a real opportunity in New York, no matter his negative image from bombing as the head coach of the Minnesota Timberwolves from 2009-11.

And what an epic stage this Knicks job is.

Rambis is one of Jackson's closest friends in the world, for one.

Jackson also knows that Rambis knows how to coach. The two of them have had private discussions about what the Knicks weren't getting from Fisher, a coaching newbie who struggled to find a voice other than former player/leader.

Fisher, 41, didn't practice this unproven group long or hard enough, didn't teach or stress enough defense and didn't know how to inspire players after they grew desensitized to his speech-making skills.

Fisher sketchily leaving the team during training camp and getting into an altercation with Matt Barnes over a woman Fisher reportedly was dating—and misleading team officials in the process—also shook the trust and communication that Jackson wanted as lynchpins of his Knicks leadership group.

It didn't get Fisher fired, but Jackson went into this hoping for a glowing mentor relationship with an open exchange of ideas and grounded in real honesty. Jackson probably undermined that some himself by trying to be respectfully hands-off so Fisher was secure in his job, but Fisher clearly didn't bring an open learner's mind to this and warm Jackson's heart either.

Fisher has undeniable leadership skills, but Jackson just didn't see sufficient growth in his coaching skills—an area where Jackson is perhaps the foremost expert in the world.

So here is the much-maligned Rambis, presumed by the masses to be nothing more than a bespectacled seat-warmer for someone the way he actually was for Jackson with the Lakers in 1999.

In the years since, though, Rambis has made Jackson a true believer in how well Rambis knows the game—and the philosophies about the game that made Jackson great. The question is whether Rambis has the leadership skills to make it all apply.

Rambis, who turns 58 later this month, went 32-132 as Timberwolves coach. It was so horrible that he fell off the radar even for recycled head coaches.

The quirky Rambis failed to convey any sense of command while in Minnesota, but looking back on the people's help he most needed is interesting.

Then-general manager David Kahn has been revealed to be the ultimate clown of sports executives in the way he tried to justify drafting Jonny Flynn over Stephen Curry or Wesley Johnson over DeMarcus Cousins—or all the failed moves after those.

Kevin Love, the top player Rambis couldn't bond with, has shown to be lacking in the intangibles that make a good team leader or even No. 1 superstar.

Rambis, though, still carries stigma from that disaster to the point that people overlook his success as Pat Riley's player, Jackson's assistant and even someone willing to go learn as Mike D'Antoni's assistant with the Lakers in 2013-14.

There's a reason Jackson made Rambis one of the highest-paid associate head coaches in the NBA to help Fisher.

Everyone's assumption is that Jackson is a sage with a grand plan and he's not an interim-thinking guy. Well, his motto has always been to stay in the moment—and that's his plan here.

Give Rambis a chance to earn the job if he can reach the players, win the winnable games Fisher left on the table and maybe rally the Knicks from five games out of the Eastern Conference playoff picture.

If not, then maybe Luke Walton (not at all an East Coast guy, though) or Brian Shaw (an immediate option as a Rambis assistant, actually) become stronger considerations. Tom Thibodeau, a proven excellent coach, is less of an option because of his lack of relationship with Jackson.

Fisher was a rising son in Jackson's basketball family, but Jackson had to be honest with himself when he didn't see Fisher's ego shrinking properly to move from heralded politician to simple teacher.

The formerly .500 Knicks' listless play for chunks of the past 10 games showed Jackson that the players needed someone sharper technically—even just in having a stabler rotation to get them to know their roles and play together better.

Jackson believes in Rambis' ability in that area. "I have complete confidence in his ability to coach this team," he said at a press conference Monday.

Starting immediately, Rambis will also work more hands-on with prized prospect Kristaps Porzingis. Rambis' strength is teaching big men, and he has had a major role in center Robin Lopez's better-than-expected work for the Knicks.

Yet more than a change in Porzingis or jump-starting a hobbled Carmelo Anthony (sore knee), Jackson is in search of something simpler: a group of guys eager to play hard and play the right way.

Always embracing the idea of being a contrarian, and too respectful of the profession to want a coaching carousel with his team, the deeply loyal Jackson would love it if Rambis could rise from the dregs of the coaching business to steal the show on Broadway.

Kevin Ding is an NBA senior writer for Bleacher Report. Follow him on Twitter @KevinDing.

Interesting take from a guy who seems to have some insider info, IMO.

I'm telling you. Rambo/Shaw taking the league by storm

Kevin Ding was a Lakers beat writer for a long time, I believe. Knew the Phil Jackson Lakers (where Rambis was an assistant) very well. Probably is able to call Rambis and get some info.

That's a good story and promising.

I think the Knicks make a strong run to the playoffs.

I did not realize that Rambis worked directly with Rolo - his offensive improvement has been astounding. If he works more closely with KP... I'm sort of drooling thinking about it.

Who knows if they can gut out a win tomorrow. But having almost two weeks to practice with the team (sans Melo and KP who will be away for the ASG for part of it), I think they will come out of the break very strong and make a strong run at the playoffs.

nyknickzingis wrote:Rambis also worked extensively with Andrew Bynum in LA.

That's very interesting indeed. I did not know that.

mreinman wrote:I would really like if rambis shaved his head.