The New York Knicks are receiving support from NBA legends turned analysts. This time around, it was former rival Kevin McHale who praised the Knicks.
The New York Knicks have embraced a new identity. Team president Phil Jackson has accepted the need to adapt to contemporary standards by hiring a head coach, Jeff Hornacek, who is close to mastering the art of modern execution.
Reggie Miller isn’t the only New York rival who believes the Knicks are on a postseason trajectory.
Kevin McHale and the Boston Celtics met the Knicks in the NBA Playoffs in 1984, 1988, and 1990. McHale helped Boston overcome Bernard King in 1984 and Patrick Ewing in 1988 and 1990.
According to Marc Berman of The New York Post, McHale believes that his former foe will return to the playoffs in 2016-17.
"“I think they’ll make the playoffs, I really do,” McHale said Tuesday on a TNT conference call. “They got to make another 10, 12 wins out of the 32-win team last year. I think it’s there for them. Does that make them a force in the East? I don’t know. But you got to start somewhere, get some of the young kids playoff experience. I know playoff experience doesn’t mean much to Carmelo. At this stage, he wants to make a run and compete for a championship. I don’t think they’re at that level.”"
McHale knows a thing or two about making the playoffs in the NBA.
McHale was a key player on three championship teams during the 1980s. He appeared in 17 postseason games during the Celtics’ run to the 1981 NBA championship and became a star-caliber contributor in 1984.
In 1986, McHale averaged 24.9 points, 8.6 rebounds, 2.7 assists, and 2.4 blocks during the Celtics’ run to a third title.
McHale made the All-NBA First Team in 1987 and won the Sixth Man of the Year award in 1984 and 1985. He received six All-Defensive Team selections and was a seven-time All-Star.
McHale was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1999.
McHale has also spent extended time as a head coach. He’s accumulated a career record of 232-185 in the regular season and led the Houston Rockets to back-to-back 50-win seasons in 2013-14 and 2014-15.
McHale coached the Rockets to the Western Conference Finals in 2015.
If that’s not enough, it was McHale—then a general manager—who drafted Kevin Garnett to the Minnesota Timberwolves. That decision resulted in the T-Wolves making eight consecutive postseason appearances.
Thus, if anyone is an expert on what Phil Jackson is going through as team president, McHale qualifies for the conversation. He’s been a winner at every stage of his NBA career.
For that reason, it’s encouraging to know that McHale believes that Jackson made the right decision by hiring Jeff Hornacek as head coach.
"“Jeff was a good hire,’’ McHale said. “As GM, you do have a style of play you want to have in your head. Phil had so much success in the triangle, but that was his system. As a GM, you got to give up some of that control and look at the coach and say: ‘What are you comfortable bringing?’”"
Keep in mind: McHale has coached against Hornacek.
McHale’s endorsement doesn’t guarantee a postseason appearance, but he knows what it takes to win in the NBA. That should provide Knicks fans with some form of comfort and peace of mind.
The question is: can the Knicks make good on McHale’s prediction?
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With less than two weeks until the start of the 2016-17 NBA regular season, we’ll soon find out.