New York Knicks: How To Make The Jeff Hornacek Era Successful
By Cory Adelson
This offseason, the hiring of former Phoenix Suns head coach Jeff Hornacek raised many questions. How can the New York Knicks make the most of Hornacek’s tenure?
Hardcore basketball fans had a reason for excitement after the hiring of Jeff Hornacek. Prior to his falling out in Phoenix, he led a team of relative unknowns to a 48-win season. Shockingly, the Suns fell short of a playoff appearance that year, but Hornacek showed his coaching potential right then and there.
That year, Eric Bledsoe only played in 43 games, and P.J. Tucker was second on the team in total minutes, yet Phoenix nearly won 50 games.
The 2013-14 Suns team finished top-10 in the league in 3-point shooting, something that the last great Knicks team excelled at. This team also had a top-10 pace and had the 15th ranked defensive rating.
Long story short, this Suns team played fast, shot well, and played well enough on defense to win games. Not bad, right?
So, I ask this: how can the Knicks follow Hornacek’s original blueprint?
The Offense
Comparing the current Knicks team to Hornacek’s first Suns team is tricky, yet one can see that Goran Dragic was the centerpiece of his 48-win squad. While not an exact replica of the then 27-year-old Dragic, the 28-year-old Derrick Rose fits the bill as an athletic, high usage point guard to lead the offense.
Whether Rose sticks around is another question.
Carmelo Anthony is a mainstay for this Knicks team, and that’s not necessarily a bad thing. Gerald Green, a player not known for his defensive prowess, was third on the Suns in total minutes in 2013-14.
Kristaps Porzingis fits the bill as a Markieff Morris type of stretch four, albeit, KP is a much better player. As you can see: this Suns team doesn’t exactly scream talent.
Courtney Lee is a great complementary 3-and-D player, but in order to compete with the 3-point shooting trend in today’s NBA, the Knicks should look to add another 3 and D specialist.
By bringing in a P.J. Tucker type of small forward, the Knicks can push ‘Melo to the 4, a position he plays very well, and KP to the 5. The ripple effect here could be an increase in pace on offense, as Anthony and Porzingis (at the 4 and 5) automatically create matchup nightmares.
All in all, this Knicks team has the tools to be a good, if not great offensive power.
The Defense
The biggest difference between these two teams is that the Suns had five guys that had their Defensive Win Shares (DWS) total over 2.0, whereas the Knicks currently have zero.
One has to assume guys like Lee (1.92 career DWS) and KP (2.9 DWS last season) will step up their defensive play to bring their current DWS to respectable numbers (currently at 0.6 and 1.5). With that being said, an addition of a defensive-minded forward could help the Knicks.
Anyone who has watched the Knicks at all this season knows that the defensive lapses are unbearable. A veteran who emphasizes defensive effort could help, but the only true fix here will be an influx of defensive talent, coupled with expected improvements from the younger guys.
Looking to free agency, veterans such as Tucker and Thabo Sefolosha are fits, but a lesser-known name like Joe Ingles (2.2 DWS and .621 TS%) may be the most cost-effective (and maybe even the best) fit.
The Knicks can also look to the draft with three projected top-40 picks and can target one of the NCAA leaders in DWS (Nigel Williams-Goss of Gonzaga, and Jordan Bell of Oregon, ranked #68 and #60 on NBADraft.net’sTtop 100) with their two second-round picks.
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After releasing Brandon Jennings and signing guard Chasson Randle, the New York Knicks have shown they are beginning to rebuild.
If they can follow the blueprint of head coach Jeff Hornacek’s earlier squads, the rebuild doesn’t need to be long or painful.