Checklist for Jeff Hornacek's 1st Season as New York Knicks Head Coach
After the team finished 13th in the NBA Eastern Conference this past season with a 32-50 record, it's tempting to give the New York Knicks' new head coach just one task: change everything. Yet there are a number of positive things to take from last year, so Jeff Hornacek's to-do list can be a little more focused.
The team's ball movement, rim protection, rebounding (from starters) and overall talent level improved in 2015-16. Plus, Carmelo Anthony had the best all-around season of his career, evolving from star to leader, ball hog to assist man, court matador to pressure defender.
He also slimmed down so much my husband (a Philadelphia 76ers fan) was forced to stop calling him "Marshmallow Anthony."
New York wants more than a "most improved" certificate though; it wants a 2016-17 playoff run, followed shortly by a championship victory. What does Hornacek, who officially inked a three-year, $15 million deal Wednesday, per ESPN.com, need to do in year one to put the Knicks on their way? Here are a few items for Horny's clipboard.
Pick Up the Pace
The Knickerbockers had one of the NBA's slower, more sluggish offenses last season. It's puzzling, because the coaches had speed and athleticism at their disposal that were going to waste.
The Knicks have an agile frontcourt: Kristaps Porzingis can get from the top of the key to the hoop in a blink. (Give him a month with Hakeem Olajuwon, and he'll be able to make it from the Bronx to the bucket in two steps.) Robin Lopez can dribble and gangle through multiple defenders. Carmelo has the fastest, most deceptive pump fake in the East, and his slimmed-down frame gets him across the hardwood quickly. Kyle O'Quinn might need extra conditioning during training camp to keep up, but he's not exactly a slug.
As for flat-out speed, several Knicks were able to beat strong transition defenses—Jerian Grant, Derrick Williams and Langston Galloway foremost among them. The latter two are both free agents this summer.
They also need their own transition defense to be quicker on the uptake. If they harass opponents at every point from coast to coast, forcing them to play at a speed of the Knicks' choosing, they can recapture some of the defensive intensity they showed last November.
If Hornacek makes a faster pace part of his philosophy, he'll have the makings of a roster that can pull it off and a star forward who's on board. Melo told WNBC, via the New York Daily News: "Everybody knows [Hornacek] likes to play an uptempo pace of game, likes to get out in transition, likes to speed the game up a lot. So from that standpoint, I’ll definitely be looking forward to that.”
Practice Picking Pockets
To have a quality fast-break game, you must force turnovers. Unfortunately, the Knickerbockers didn't make opponents work hard to protect the rock last year. They were last in the league in both steals (5.7 per game) and opponents' turnovers (11.3 per game).
Steals aren't just important for powering a transition offense. They're the ultimate tool for crushing spirits. If a block is like preventing you from landing a hot date, a steal is like, well, stealing your date from you, in front of everybody, and then scoring. Coaches are forced to call a timeout after a bad steal just to give their players a chance to grab a towel and let the shame subside.
A steal stops an opponent's possession short, saving those precious seconds that help a team close a deficit quickly in clutch time. Any Knicks fan who suffered through last season remembers it: the insurmountable halftime deficit, the heroic fourth-quarter comeback, the firm belief they would storm to a thrilling victory, the buzzer that sounded while they were still a few points down and the dejected murmur of "if they just had one more minute, they'd have won."
If the Knicks had been able to generate more steals, their comebacks might not have needed so much time. That's something Hornacek must add to the arsenal in training camp.
Sharpen Backcourt Shooting
The Knickerbockers weren't exactly burning up the court with their shooting last season. Their field-goal percentage of 43.9 was 27th in the league. Much of the trouble came from the inconsistent guards.
For Jerian Grant and new point guard Tony Wroten, the first priority must be finishing at the rim when driving to the bucket. (More drives are something we should see more of next season.)
Grant had some brilliant games in his rookie year, exhibiting acrobatic slashing to the hoop and bravely drawing contact. Yet his and-1 frequency was low, because his layups sometimes didn't even scratch the backboard. He improved later in the season, but just like a school kid learning algebra, Grant will get rusty if he doesn't practice over the summer.
Wroten will be the X-factor. Cut by the Philadelphia 76ers last season after a season-ending injury, the Knicks quietly signed him in March despite the fact that he was still on the mend. Although the Sixers gave Wroten the chop, their head coach, Brett Brown, gave him a glowing recommendation, per the New York Post's Marc Berman: "With his size and athleticism, there was a wow factor. He was a little mini LeBron [James], playing downhill, attacking the basket. That’s an elite type of skill.”
Brown also said they were always trying to build up Wroten's perimeter game. So, Hornacek and Co. will need to pick up where Brown left off—by encouraging Wroten to attack the basket but sprucing up that jump shot too.
One of the most efficient shooters was Jose Calderon (45.9 percent from the field), but he was reluctant to put the ball up. Also, he's more of an outside jumper guy than a driving layup guy. Hornacek will need to figure out how to capitalize on Calderon's sharpshooting (if he uses him at all).
Perhaps the biggest disappointments, from a scoring standpoint, were the shooting guards...
Of course they might not be a problem next year, because all of them are becoming free agents. Whether Galloway, Arron Afflalo and Sasha Vujacic suit up for New York or it's three new characters, Hornacek must pass on some of his old sharpshooting wizardry. (Some new drills, a solid commitment to sinking 100 free throws before dinner and a course at the School of Acrobatics and Circus Arts ought to do it.)
Get Porzingis To Create Shots
Porzingis had an excellent rookie year, but he struggled to create shot opportunities for himself. Teammates assisted a huge percentage of his field goals—67.3 percent, per NBA.com. (Robin Lopez was 52.4 and Carmelo Anthony 36.0.)
Sure, ball movement leading to assisted scoring opportunities is how everything is supposed to work. When the defense prevents things from working how they're supposed to, though, stars must find other ways to get the job done—whatever combination of muscle, footwork, intelligence, jab steps, spin moves and pump fakes it takes.
Next year, KP must find a way to rack up the points when the guards can't feed him. He has the physical tools; Hornacek just needs to teach him more about when and how to use them.
Inspire Consistent Defensive Intensity
Anthony was an inspiration on defense early in the season. He was smart, energetic and relentless, and the rest of the players followed his lead. The Knicks began the season as a strong defensive team.
As the season went on, though, the D wavered, especially when Melo slacked off. The moment it appeared that he had slaked his thirst, most of his teammates eased off. Unless Melo was hurtling around the court blocking shots like a man possessed, they weren't particularly inspired to keep the pressure on the opposition.
That kind of effort isn't acceptable from anyone at any point in the season. None of the players on the Knicks' existing roster has the behavioral problems that Hornacek had to endure as head coach of the Phoenix Suns, so he can hold players accountable in New York without having to dodge flying towels.
I'd also recommend that Hornacek keep his back up straight and his head on a swivel—in other words, stand firm and don't let team president Phil Jackson sneak up on him unawares. NBA coaching jobs are not built on sturdy footing these days, and even if the team nabs 50 wins without the triangle offense, Horny should always keep his resume up to date.
All stats are from NBA.com. Follow Sara Peters on Twitter @3FromThe7.
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