The season isn’t a week old, but Knicks president Phil Jackson already felt it was necessary to meet with players to discuss their comments to the media, writes Frank Isola of The New York Daily News. There were complaints about the offense and defense following a lopsided opening-night loss in Cleveland, but Jackson’s meeting and Saturday’s win over the Grizzlies may have quieted things down for now. New point guard Derrick Rose was advocating more pick-and-rolls over Jackson’s traditional triangle approach. Rose, as Isola points out, missed most of the preseason because of a civil trial over sexual assault allegations in Los Angeles.
There’s more this morning out of New York:
- The trade for Rose and the offseason signing of Brandon Jennings has made the Knicks a far more interesting team, contends Newsday’s Neil Best. New York now has scoring threats at the point guard position that it lacked last season. “Man, I’m happy I got it out of the way,” Rose said of his first home game at Madison Square Garden. “The crowd was great, energetic, they were in it from the jump.”
- Joakim Noah showed Saturday that he hasn’t lost the emotional intensity that defined his game in Chicago, writes Al Iannazzone of Newsday. The Knicks’ new starting center, who joined the team on a four-year, $72MM contract this summer, pounded his chest a few times, yelled at Zach Randolph and was serenaded by the crowd in his home debut. “It’s really special to play at home, just trying to stay in the moment because it’s real easy to get caught up in everything that’s going on around you,” Noah said. “This building means so much to me. There were a couple of times, it was very emotional for me. I was very nervous. But it was the best, it was the best feeling.”
- Carmelo Anthony said again Saturday that he enjoys having high-profile teammates like Rose, Noah and Kristaps Porzingis to share the scoring load, relays Ian Begley of ESPN. Anthony had 20 points against Memphis but suffered through a poor shooting night, making just 5 of 15 from the field. “You don’t see me complaining about it,” Anthony said. “You didn’t see me out there making a face. [It’s] something that I embrace. I look forward to just being out there with guys who can control the game and make plays, and when it’s my time, it’s my time.”
When did the knicks get their second loss???
It’s been fixed. Thanks for catching the error.
I think the Knicks need to start running the offense primarily through Porzingis. Using Melo as a point forward during parts of the game can make this team a threat. Also, the Knicks need to spread the floor more for D Rose. The man is a machine when healthy! I think a pick and roll triangle hybrid would be deadly! Using the triangle in certain plays for Porzingis and Anthony, while keeping the P
The right lineup closed the game for them…rose, lee, thomas, melo, porzingis. Let’s see how long they stick with it…it’s fine running some triangle sets in certain half court situations, but otherwise, this team should be running more pick and rolls, and trying to push the pace a little, and spread the floor