Phil Jackson doesn't 'know what's so great about ... the East'
Phil Jackson thinks the New York Knicks, following a hoped-for spree in the free agent market, have enough to make the playoffs.
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You have heard this before, unluckily for you this isn’t still 2014 and the words “presumptive nominee” still precede Donald Trump’s name in every bit of wire copy, but this is also a new era in New York Knick basketball. Yes, Jackson claimed prior to 2014-15 that his new team would have all it needed to make that year’s playoffs prior to a 17-win season, but this turn (like every single one of Patrick Ewing’s infamous NBA championship guarantees) is different.
It’s less about the Knicks, this time, and more about how much the East stinks. From a talk on Monday with WNBC in New York, via ESPN New York’s Ian Begley:
He was asked by the interviewer if he believed the Knicks could make the postseason and "maybe go even further."
"Why not?" Jackson said. "I don't know what's so great about what's out here in the East. We can fill that role."
The Knicks improved to a 32-win team in 2015-16, taking in a mostly-healthy season from star Carmelo Anthony alongside a fun rookie year from teenaged phenom Kristaps Porzingis. Competency at other positions helped as well, as center Robin Lopez played solid basketball, though the team did lose a bit of momentum down the stretch when former interim head coach Kurt Rambis notched a 9-19 record following the deposed Derek Fisher’s 23-31 start.
Rambis, in a major surprise, has been replaced by former Phoenix Suns head coach Jeff Hornacek, though it remains likely that Jackson will attempt to push his family friend and longtime assistant onto the Knick bench. Hornacek did well to push what was expected to be a rebuilding Suns team nearly into the Western playoff bracket in 2013-14 before infighting and poor player personnel choices unraveled his best efforts with the franchise, leading to his firing earlier this season.
Jackson is correct about the East, though. It’s an entirely different animal than the West.
Hornacek’s near-playoff turn in 2013-14 saw his Suns winning 48 games, a mark that would have left Phoenix tied for the East’s best record that season. The lowest-ranked Eastern playoff club this year came from Detroit, who scored 44 wins in comparison to the 41 that the eighth-seeded Rockets managed this year, but those Rockets were legitimate championship contenders that managed to pull a Mr. Belvedere-styled topple from relevance due to their own apathy, while the Pistons were allowed to puff up its win total against lacking Eastern competition in the form of teams like, well … the Knicks.
However, the East’s unending commitment to mediocrity might prove to be an obstacle. Everyone’s out for 48 wins.
There is a chance, however slight, that the Pistons or Charlotte Hornets could fall victim to the Plexiglas Principle in 2016-17, but by and large they boast two solid rosters and standout head coaches. The seventh-seeded Pacers might act as a bit of an experiment in Nate McMillan’s first year running the show, but a full year of Myles Turner and Paul George in his prime should be enough to keep them in the running.
Unless injuries hit, the Miami Heat and Toronto Raptors don’t feel like drop-out candidates, and unless the Atlanta Hawks give in to a rebuilding project they don’t figure to fall much. Meanwhile, the Milwaukee Bucks are looking to return to the playoffs after that aforementioned Principle hit them in 2015-16, and the Washington Wizards and Chicago Bulls (considered Eastern contenders last fall) are also moving to return to postseason play following a disappointing 2015-16.
None of those groups will give Stephen Curry’s Warriors any reason for pause, but the East does at least boast 11 solid postseason contenders, with the Philadelphia 76ers also apparently ready to cash in on living on Asset-Only Island for three years. Boston acts as an actual successful version of what the 76ers hoped to be, while the Cavaliers (don’t laugh) could be in a tied NBA Finals by Friday night.
And the Knicks don’t even have a draft pick.
The team does have cap space in a summer filled with teams featuring plenty of cap space, in a market that looks less appealing by the hour, and don’t think Jackson isn’t aware:
Jackson was asked on SNY about the Knicks' priorities in free-agency.
"You name it, we've got it, basically. We're just out getting talent," Jackson said. "Players that fit what we try to do, have a collective thought. Team players."
Jackson, perhaps reeling from the massive free agent commitment he made to Carmelo Anthony’s 30-and-onward years, worked this sort of piecemeal approach during the last offseason – signing Lopez and Arron Afflalo (though the latter did not work out) to moderate contracts after the heavy hitters gave New York a miss. If 45 wins and a chance to host LeBron James at Madison Square Garden twice in late April is the goal, this will probably be the same approach Jackson takes as he warms to his third full year of a five-year, $60 million deal to act as Knicks president.
It’s a low bar, but this is just how the East has been goink since Phil Jackson’s final year in Chicago.
Later on Monday the once self-described ‘maverick’ appeared at a promotional function for a credit card company.
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Kelly Dwyer is an editor for Ball Don't Lie on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at KDonhoops@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter! Follow @KDonhoops