New York Knicks head coach Jeff Hornacek praised his players for committing to the system and fighting to never make the same mistake twice.
The New York Knicks began the 2017-18 NBA regular season in a somewhat polarizing manner. For every encouraging home win was a disparaging road loss, with fans often questioning the team’s level of commitment due to its lack of energy and intensity.
As the season has progressed, however, the Knicks have done an outstanding job of addressing and correcting existing flaws.
New York is far from a perfect team, but resilient is a word that even the most jaded of critics would likely use to describe this group. Despite playing five games without Kristaps Porzingis and eight without Tim Hardaway Jr., the Knicks are 16-13 entering Monday’s clash with the Charlotte Hornets.
According to Ian Begley of ESPN New York, head coach Jeff Hornacek noted that he and his players aren’t making the same mistakes twice.
"“We’re improving every day, it seems like,” said New York head coach Jeff Hornacek. “We’re not having the same mistakes [repeatedly], so I think the guys are getting it and they’re feeling good about what they’re doing.”"
While Hornacek is a gregarious coach who would be happy to give the credit to others, he deserves a significant measure of it himself.
Thus far in 2017-18, Hornacek has hammered home the notion that wins and losses aren’t the only way to measure progress. He and the front office have an eye on the bigger picture, and the actions taken by the coaching staff have reflected that vision.
That’s no more true in the way Hornacek has utilized his rotations in the wake of the injuries sustained by his top two scorers.
Whether or not Hardaway or Porzingis have been playing, Hornacek has been generally true to a nine-man rotation of players.
That much is displayed by the fact that Michael Beasley has started for Porzingis in each of the five games that the franchise player has missed. Beasley has justified the opportunities, but he’s also been at the back-end of the rotation on the nights he isn’t starting.
The strategy that Hornacek has employed in regards to those decisions has established firm and unwavering roles for his players, thus creating an identity for the team.
"“We were trying to establish a certain way we play, a certain way we handle things. And you don’t know how long that’s going to take,” Hornacek said. “Now we kind of fell into that grove knowing what we’re doing, what we expect from them, and they’re performing.”"
There have been highs and lows in 2017-18, but Hornacek’s handling of the rotation has enabled the Knicks to experience such a strong start to the season.
Rather than changing a key rotational cog’s role every time an injury absence arises, Hornacek has managed to keep their status the same. That’s enabled the Knicks to develop a sense of stability and continuity during the months of the season.
In turn, the Knicks have won both with and without their featured players, thus preparing themselves for a potential push for the postseason.
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Only time will tell how many games the New York Knicks can win, but head coach Jeff Hornacek is doing everything in his power to maximize his team’s potential.
That all starts with never committing the same mistake twice.