Jeff Hornacek says associate head coach Kurt Rambis won’t run Knicks defense this season

After struggling on defense last season, the Knicks defense will no longer be run by Kurt Rambis.

BY
STEFAN BONDY
NEW YORK DAILY NEWS
Wednesday, September 27, 2017, 3:10 PM

Kurt Rambis is no longer the lone voice of the defense.

After his defense devolved into shameful last season, Jeff Hornacek said the coaching staff will teach as a group this time around, rather than Rambis serving as the "one voice," as he was described.

"We've worked all summer — all of us — on how we want to do things. And we want to tell guys, 'Hey, if you have a question on defense, ask these three guys or ask me,'" Hornacek said. "Offensively, it's a couple of guys or ask me. We've got a good balance of guys that are working with different positions too. So it's kind of everybody."

The Knicks were jumbled defensively at the start of last season and, as a result, Hornacek promoted Rambis to defensive coordinator after just six games. In other words, players and assistant coaches reported to Rambis about any defensive concerns.

The Knicks were one of the league's worst defensive units, surrendering an average of 108 points per game.

It was not a successful reign, as New York's defense tumbled to 24th in the NBA by allowing 108 points per game.

Hornacek brought back the same coaching staff as last season, minus assistant Josh Longstaff. Rambis still holds title of associate head coach, but apparently will not take over the defense.

"We, I, put him in that position last year. We started the season that way, a certain way and then we tried to change and it was too difficult," Hornacek said, acknowledging it as an issue for the first time. "But we had a summer of working on it and talking and meetings so we're not changing midseason any more."

fishmike wrote:remember... players not liking Rambis doesnt make him a bad coach. The old regime was buddy buddy. This is a young team and they need to take some direction. Rambis voice has a place here. Sorry kids, your gonna have to clean your phucking rooms. No maids.

Players not liking him has nothing to do with him being a bad coach but his poor record does....Whether the players like him or not, Rambis is only here, not by the choice of the HC, but because of phil jackson. Was hoping he was shown the door with big chief triangle to wipe the slate clean...

buddapaw wrote:Why is he still here?

Nalod wrote:

GustavBahler wrote:Good move. Players didnt like an arrogant coach who doesn't have the laurels to be a hard case in a player's league. Sitting next to Phil doesnt count.

And winning chips as assistant coach

If Rambis had accomplished anything in this league as a coach other than having the good fortune of being on Phil Jackson's good side, I would have been more than happy to mention it.

The Lakers' DEFENSIVE funnel vision

Rambis was given task of improving team's defense, and his ideas, predicated on forcing the ball to one side of the court, are working
November 28, 2008|Mike Bresnahan | Bresnahan is a Times staff writer.

It's been sitting there, sausage, mushrooms and mozzarella, all but ignored because the Lakers' defensive coach is on a roll.

The black ballpoint pen is flying as Rambis draws up defensive schemes, scrawling out Xs and O's on the wax paper that covers a table at an Italian bistro.

He talks about steals, blocked shots and overloading one side of the court. He emphasizes the necessity to jump into passing lanes to intercept skip passes. He talks and draws, and then, finally, he eats. His work is done . . . at least on paper.

It was a given that the Lakers would score gobs of points this season, but Coach Phil Jackson wanted to put a stop to all the points being dropped on them (the team's defensive rank last season: 18th).

So Jackson gathered his coaches before training camp and told them he was appointing a defensive coach, something he hadn't done in his previous 18 years of coaching in the NBA.

"We didn't want to announce it and make a big deal about it like Boston did with their guy," Jackson said. "But Kurt is real good at this and he's willing."

Ah, yes. Boston.

The Celtics' defensive coach, Tom Thibodeau, made numerous headlines for his shut-it-down success last season, creating a template for championship-caliber teams via an unforgiving defense.

The Lakers could have used such a thing in the Finals, when the Celtics ended the Lakers' fairy tale by crushing them with Paul Pierce's slow, methodical, back-'em-down-the-lane style.

It has created a slow burn in the Lakers for, oh, about 164 days since their 131-92 humiliation in Game 6 of the Finals.

The Lakers began working on the new defense during training camp and continue to practice it almost every day. The results have been a boon.

The Lakers (12-1) are third in the league in opponents' shooting percentage (42.2%), sixth in points given up (92.7 a game), and first in point differential (14.3 a game).

The players have eaten it up, finding an appetite for steals (a league-best 10.4 a game) and blocked shots (6.2 a game, sixth-best in the league) that matches their zest for alley-oop dunks and three-on-one breaks.

"The thought process is that you want to win a championship. In order to beat a Boston, you've got to be a better defensive team than Boston," Kobe Bryant said. "If you want to hoist that trophy at the end of the year, we've got to be a great defensive team. That's the only way to get it done."

Rambis, in his seventh season as a Lakers assistant coach, had been in Jackson's ear for a while, pointing out an opportunity to take advantage of the NBA rule changes in 2001 that allowed zone defenses. Jackson ultimately relented over the summer.

"Kurt's been pestering me for a year or so about doing some things defensively that I was reluctant to do," Jackson said. "I come from the old school where you play man [defense], and you have that man and that's your primary goal."

The Lakers now use a lot of zone principles and try to keep the ball on one side of the court.

They put pressure on the ballhandler to try to force him to a particular side and then often overload the area by sending an extra defender to stand down near the post, essentially shifting the defense from man-to-man to zone.

Skip passes to the undermanned side can hurt the Lakers, but their defense has been quick to jump into passing lanes and create turnovers.

Crucial to their defensive success is extreme pressure on the ballhandler. Without that pressure, the ballhandler can see the court and find open teammates.

"We've got guys that have the capability of being a very disruptive defensive team," Rambis said. "We tried to give them goals to start training camp. They should be among the league leaders in defensive field-goal percentage, rebounds, shot blocks, steals, point differential. If you're among the league leaders in those categories, you're going to give yourself a chance to win."

The dramatic changes in personnel since last year's training camp have definitely helped.

Kwame Brown no longer patrols the middle -- er, tries to patrol the middle -- after being replaced by the younger and longer Andrew Bynum, who is gaining experience and confidence by the day.

Next to Bynum is fellow 7-footer Pau Gasol, who is fairly fluid for his size and is back to his natural position of power forward after playing center in Bynum's absence last season.

Bryant is an eight-time member of the All-Defensive team. The antagonistic, rangy forward Trevor Ariza is healthy after an injury-marred end to last season.

Word is spreading around the league.

"Their defense is much better than it was last year," New Orleans Coach Byron Scott said. "I think they learned from the Boston Celtics that you have to play defense to win championships. They really have done a heck of a job just getting after people, closing the lanes down and forcing people to shoot jump shots. When you get by them, you've got two 7-footers back there contesting shots."

Rambis, 51, has been an assistant with the Lakers for 10 seasons and has filled in for Jackson for medical reasons on a number of occasions.

He was in charge of the Lakers' defense last season and was credited with the Lakers holding the Orlando Magic to only 91.2 points a game in the NBA Finals en route to winning the franchise's 15th championship.

Jackson gathered the Lakers coaches before training camp last October and told them he was appointing a defensive coach, something he hadn't done in his previous 17 years of coaching in the NBA.

"Kurt is real good at this and he's willing," Jackson said at the time.

TheGame wrote:

nixluva wrote:Rambis is the only one on the staff that won a Title as a Defensive Coach! To blame Rambis for the D last year kind of misses the fact that we had some absolutely putrid defenders for him to work with and he took over that responsibility after Camp. I think Jeff made this change mostly to take the Bullseye off Rambis back as the LONE guy responsible even tho I'm pretty sure he's still the main tactician.

The Lakers' DEFENSIVE funnel vision

Rambis was given task of improving team's defense, and his ideas, predicated on forcing the ball to one side of the court, are working
November 28, 2008|Mike Bresnahan | Bresnahan is a Times staff writer.

It's been sitting there, sausage, mushrooms and mozzarella, all but ignored because the Lakers' defensive coach is on a roll.

The black ballpoint pen is flying as Rambis draws up defensive schemes, scrawling out Xs and O's on the wax paper that covers a table at an Italian bistro.

He talks about steals, blocked shots and overloading one side of the court. He emphasizes the necessity to jump into passing lanes to intercept skip passes. He talks and draws, and then, finally, he eats. His work is done . . . at least on paper.

It was a given that the Lakers would score gobs of points this season, but Coach Phil Jackson wanted to put a stop to all the points being dropped on them (the team's defensive rank last season: 18th).

So Jackson gathered his coaches before training camp and told them he was appointing a defensive coach, something he hadn't done in his previous 18 years of coaching in the NBA.

"We didn't want to announce it and make a big deal about it like Boston did with their guy," Jackson said. "But Kurt is real good at this and he's willing."

Ah, yes. Boston.

The Celtics' defensive coach, Tom Thibodeau, made numerous headlines for his shut-it-down success last season, creating a template for championship-caliber teams via an unforgiving defense.

The Lakers could have used such a thing in the Finals, when the Celtics ended the Lakers' fairy tale by crushing them with Paul Pierce's slow, methodical, back-'em-down-the-lane style.

It has created a slow burn in the Lakers for, oh, about 164 days since their 131-92 humiliation in Game 6 of the Finals.

The Lakers began working on the new defense during training camp and continue to practice it almost every day. The results have been a boon.

The Lakers (12-1) are third in the league in opponents' shooting percentage (42.2%), sixth in points given up (92.7 a game), and first in point differential (14.3 a game).

The players have eaten it up, finding an appetite for steals (a league-best 10.4 a game) and blocked shots (6.2 a game, sixth-best in the league) that matches their zest for alley-oop dunks and three-on-one breaks.

"The thought process is that you want to win a championship. In order to beat a Boston, you've got to be a better defensive team than Boston," Kobe Bryant said. "If you want to hoist that trophy at the end of the year, we've got to be a great defensive team. That's the only way to get it done."

Rambis, in his seventh season as a Lakers assistant coach, had been in Jackson's ear for a while, pointing out an opportunity to take advantage of the NBA rule changes in 2001 that allowed zone defenses. Jackson ultimately relented over the summer.

"Kurt's been pestering me for a year or so about doing some things defensively that I was reluctant to do," Jackson said. "I come from the old school where you play man [defense], and you have that man and that's your primary goal."

The Lakers now use a lot of zone principles and try to keep the ball on one side of the court.

They put pressure on the ballhandler to try to force him to a particular side and then often overload the area by sending an extra defender to stand down near the post, essentially shifting the defense from man-to-man to zone.

Skip passes to the undermanned side can hurt the Lakers, but their defense has been quick to jump into passing lanes and create turnovers.

Crucial to their defensive success is extreme pressure on the ballhandler. Without that pressure, the ballhandler can see the court and find open teammates.

"We've got guys that have the capability of being a very disruptive defensive team," Rambis said. "We tried to give them goals to start training camp. They should be among the league leaders in defensive field-goal percentage, rebounds, shot blocks, steals, point differential. If you're among the league leaders in those categories, you're going to give yourself a chance to win."

The dramatic changes in personnel since last year's training camp have definitely helped.

Kwame Brown no longer patrols the middle -- er, tries to patrol the middle -- after being replaced by the younger and longer Andrew Bynum, who is gaining experience and confidence by the day.

Next to Bynum is fellow 7-footer Pau Gasol, who is fairly fluid for his size and is back to his natural position of power forward after playing center in Bynum's absence last season.

Bryant is an eight-time member of the All-Defensive team. The antagonistic, rangy forward Trevor Ariza is healthy after an injury-marred end to last season.

Word is spreading around the league.

"Their defense is much better than it was last year," New Orleans Coach Byron Scott said. "I think they learned from the Boston Celtics that you have to play defense to win championships. They really have done a heck of a job just getting after people, closing the lanes down and forcing people to shoot jump shots. When you get by them, you've got two 7-footers back there contesting shots."

http://articles.latimes.com/2008/nov/28/sports/sp-lakers28

Rambis, 51, has been an assistant with the Lakers for 10 seasons and has filled in for Jackson for medical reasons on a number of occasions.

He was in charge of the Lakers' defense last season and was credited with the Lakers holding the Orlando Magic to only 91.2 points a game in the NBA Finals en route to winning the franchise's 15th championship.

Jackson gathered the Lakers coaches before training camp last October and told them he was appointing a defensive coach, something he hadn't done in his previous 17 years of coaching in the NBA.

"Kurt is real good at this and he's willing," Jackson said at the time.

http://articles.latimes.com/2009/aug/06/sports/sp-lakers-rambis6

Well, this year he has no excuses. We got rid of all the worst defenders (melo and rose) and brought in our new defensive pg. If the team still plays bad defense, it is time put the blame on the coaches.

I would agree. I do expect improvement tho.

TheGame wrote:

nixluva wrote:Rambis is the only one on the staff that won a Title as a Defensive Coach! To blame Rambis for the D last year kind of misses the fact that we had some absolutely putrid defenders for him to work with and he took over that responsibility after Camp. I think Jeff made this change mostly to take the Bullseye off Rambis back as the LONE guy responsible even tho I'm pretty sure he's still the main tactician.

The Lakers' DEFENSIVE funnel vision

Rambis was given task of improving team's defense, and his ideas, predicated on forcing the ball to one side of the court, are working
November 28, 2008|Mike Bresnahan | Bresnahan is a Times staff writer.

It's been sitting there, sausage, mushrooms and mozzarella, all but ignored because the Lakers' defensive coach is on a roll.

The black ballpoint pen is flying as Rambis draws up defensive schemes, scrawling out Xs and O's on the wax paper that covers a table at an Italian bistro.

He talks about steals, blocked shots and overloading one side of the court. He emphasizes the necessity to jump into passing lanes to intercept skip passes. He talks and draws, and then, finally, he eats. His work is done . . . at least on paper.

It was a given that the Lakers would score gobs of points this season, but Coach Phil Jackson wanted to put a stop to all the points being dropped on them (the team's defensive rank last season: 18th).

So Jackson gathered his coaches before training camp and told them he was appointing a defensive coach, something he hadn't done in his previous 18 years of coaching in the NBA.

"We didn't want to announce it and make a big deal about it like Boston did with their guy," Jackson said. "But Kurt is real good at this and he's willing."

Ah, yes. Boston.

The Celtics' defensive coach, Tom Thibodeau, made numerous headlines for his shut-it-down success last season, creating a template for championship-caliber teams via an unforgiving defense.

The Lakers could have used such a thing in the Finals, when the Celtics ended the Lakers' fairy tale by crushing them with Paul Pierce's slow, methodical, back-'em-down-the-lane style.

It has created a slow burn in the Lakers for, oh, about 164 days since their 131-92 humiliation in Game 6 of the Finals.

The Lakers began working on the new defense during training camp and continue to practice it almost every day. The results have been a boon.

The Lakers (12-1) are third in the league in opponents' shooting percentage (42.2%), sixth in points given up (92.7 a game), and first in point differential (14.3 a game).

The players have eaten it up, finding an appetite for steals (a league-best 10.4 a game) and blocked shots (6.2 a game, sixth-best in the league) that matches their zest for alley-oop dunks and three-on-one breaks.

"The thought process is that you want to win a championship. In order to beat a Boston, you've got to be a better defensive team than Boston," Kobe Bryant said. "If you want to hoist that trophy at the end of the year, we've got to be a great defensive team. That's the only way to get it done."

Rambis, in his seventh season as a Lakers assistant coach, had been in Jackson's ear for a while, pointing out an opportunity to take advantage of the NBA rule changes in 2001 that allowed zone defenses. Jackson ultimately relented over the summer.

"Kurt's been pestering me for a year or so about doing some things defensively that I was reluctant to do," Jackson said. "I come from the old school where you play man [defense], and you have that man and that's your primary goal."

The Lakers now use a lot of zone principles and try to keep the ball on one side of the court.

They put pressure on the ballhandler to try to force him to a particular side and then often overload the area by sending an extra defender to stand down near the post, essentially shifting the defense from man-to-man to zone.

Skip passes to the undermanned side can hurt the Lakers, but their defense has been quick to jump into passing lanes and create turnovers.

Crucial to their defensive success is extreme pressure on the ballhandler. Without that pressure, the ballhandler can see the court and find open teammates.

"We've got guys that have the capability of being a very disruptive defensive team," Rambis said. "We tried to give them goals to start training camp. They should be among the league leaders in defensive field-goal percentage, rebounds, shot blocks, steals, point differential. If you're among the league leaders in those categories, you're going to give yourself a chance to win."

The dramatic changes in personnel since last year's training camp have definitely helped.

Kwame Brown no longer patrols the middle -- er, tries to patrol the middle -- after being replaced by the younger and longer Andrew Bynum, who is gaining experience and confidence by the day.

Next to Bynum is fellow 7-footer Pau Gasol, who is fairly fluid for his size and is back to his natural position of power forward after playing center in Bynum's absence last season.

Bryant is an eight-time member of the All-Defensive team. The antagonistic, rangy forward Trevor Ariza is healthy after an injury-marred end to last season.

Word is spreading around the league.

"Their defense is much better than it was last year," New Orleans Coach Byron Scott said. "I think they learned from the Boston Celtics that you have to play defense to win championships. They really have done a heck of a job just getting after people, closing the lanes down and forcing people to shoot jump shots. When you get by them, you've got two 7-footers back there contesting shots."

http://articles.latimes.com/2008/nov/28/sports/sp-lakers28

Rambis, 51, has been an assistant with the Lakers for 10 seasons and has filled in for Jackson for medical reasons on a number of occasions.

He was in charge of the Lakers' defense last season and was credited with the Lakers holding the Orlando Magic to only 91.2 points a game in the NBA Finals en route to winning the franchise's 15th championship.

Jackson gathered the Lakers coaches before training camp last October and told them he was appointing a defensive coach, something he hadn't done in his previous 17 years of coaching in the NBA.

"Kurt is real good at this and he's willing," Jackson said at the time.

http://articles.latimes.com/2009/aug/06/sports/sp-lakers-rambis6

Well, this year he has no excuses. We got rid of all the worst defenders (melo and rose) and brought in our new defensive pg. If the team still plays bad defense, it is time put the blame on the coaches.

and replace them with even worse defenders (beasly, McDermott, kanter, thj) ,