Phil Jackson Gave Carmelo Anthony Quirky Advice For How To Play In His Triangle Offense
Jackson believes Carmelo Anthony, one of the NBA's elite scorers, can reach heights like Michael Jordan and Kobe Bryant did in Jackson's famed Triangle offense. Thus far, the results haven't been great. The Knicks are 2-6, and Jackson and the rest of the team are preaching patience as they try to install the Triangle.
Speaking to media yesterday, Jackson commented on what Anthony needs to do better in the Triangle. In particular, Jackson stressed the importance of ball movement and gave a musical comparison:
"What's the timing about it, how do you time up this offense. This offense is run on a 4:4 beat ... you have a two-count to be a continual threat, and after a two-count, if you're still holding the ball, you're holding up the offense. So the ball's got to move and you have to move it."
The Knicks are struggling in the offense, ranked 21st in points per 100 possessions. Head coach Derek Fisher said several players look too tentative, and Jackson himself even downplayed the hype around the system. He continued on Anthony:
"It's breaking a habit [for Anthony], and sometimes that's not so easy. I think that's what Melo's going to improve [in] his game as he gets that rhythm and that knowledge of, yeah, I'm starting to be aggressive and take a shot or activate this offense in another way."
Anthony has struggled with his shot early on, averaging 20 points on 39% shooting. However, he's seemed conscious about moving the ball, taking fewer shots per game than previous years and averaging a career-high 4.4 assists per game. He scored 25 points and passed out 7 assists in the Knicks' loss to the Atlanta Hawks Monday night.