One good thing about the Knicks' promising start to this season is that they're getting extended coverage by various sportswriters.
And that's good because . . . they can help educate us about what is going on.

Zach Lowe's article at ESPN this week and his related 45 minute podcast, for example, helped me appreciate what a first-class job Jackson and Fisher have already done in their commitment to defense as integral to Triangle culture:

http://espn.go.com/nba/story/_/id/14262815/after-lost-decade-knicks-find-right-pa

http://espn.go.com/espnradio/play?id=14275101

Knicks are currently:

** first in NBA in 3-point shooting % defense
** fourth in NBA in total shooting % defense
** tenth in NBA in points allowed

So the Knicks already have a defense bettered only by the likes of Miami, Chicago, and San Antonio.

The Knicks are at .500 even though the offense is among the worst in the NBA. And we could reasonably expect that it would take longer to get the offensive side of the Triangle up to speed. So the fact that the defense is already a "mission accomplished" (for time being) and we can concentrate on developing the offense, is a wildly successful start to the season.

Basically: it's unreasonable to ask for more than what's actually been accomplished thru first 1/4th of this season . . .

Ah yea Friday night Knicks podcasts! Listening now!

Knicks1969 wrote:Better defense because of the likes of RoLo, Afflalo, KP and Carmelo. Certainly not because of a specific skim designed by the coaching staff

Read the Lowe article (?) He argues that it's JUST the opposite of what you say:

Derek Fisher, easing into the coaching job now, has installed an ultra-conservative shell that mimics how Terry Stotts used Lopez in Portland. The Knicks hang back against the pick-and-roll, funneling defenders toward Lopez in the floater zone:

They want to turn every pick-and-roll into a 2-on-2 play so that the other three defenders can stick close to enemy shooters instead of darting into the paint to help.

It's one big trade-off: The Knicks will concede midrange shots in order to wall off the rim and swarm 3-point shooters. And it's kind of working! Only nine teams allow a lower percentage of shots from beyond the arc and the restricted area combined, per Nylon Calculus, and New York is defending at a borderline top-five level -- and holding its own on the glass -- when Porzingis and Lopez share the floor.