Former New York Knicks star Carmelo Anthony said the triangle offense is difficult to execute in the modern NBA, which is why Phil Jackson’s tenure with the organization failed to yield a playoff spot.
Anthony explained during an appearance on The Old Man and the Three podcasts with New Orleans Pelicans guard JJ Redick that Jackson rebuilt a roster with players who could fit the Triangle’s play style, but failed to deliver the same results as he did. did with the 1990s Chicago Bulls and 2000s Los Angeles Lakers:
“The game is getting faster. The kids are getting faster. The kids are jumping out of the gym. It’s like, ‘No, we can’t slow it down when we have a breakaway. We can’t play front two guards when we have Derrick Rose and Raymond Felton, you can’t do this.
“… Again, we start to slow down the game. That’s where you see the kids didn’t feel comfortable in that situation, and I was one of them.”
Anthony said he tried everything to master the triangle, highlighted by contacting Michael Jordan and Kobe Bryant for advice, but while he was comfortable with the concepts, trying to implement it with the Knicks talent (or lack thereof) and the increase in the pace of the opponents proved elusive.
He added that it was difficult for Jackson to fully commit to the process as he was working as team president while Derek Fisher and Jeff Hornacek served as head coach.