Knicks @ Suns 12-13-16

[Hoop Head]

Saw this today, didn't know whether or not to post it in the "Around the NBA" thread or start a new one but since we just played the Knicks it fits here.

http://clutchpoints.com/scout-shocked-simplicity-new-york-knicks-offense/

It's a summarization of a longer Bleacher Report article on the simplicity of the offense Hornacek is running in NY. I can't link the BR article because it keeps trying to turn into a video but there is a lot more in that article and it's linked in the clutchpoints article linked above.

Here is an exert from it...

I was a little shocked at how little creativity there was in the offense, it was very strange. There were a lot of isolation post-ups, some very standard pick-and-rolls. I was expecting more.

“I’m not out there coaching so I don’t actually know what the game plan is, but, based on Jeff’s experience, and how Phil is always preaching about moving the ball, I guess I was just expecting more."

I don't think it surprises any Suns fans that watched during the Hornacek era to hear a scout describe Hornacek's "offensive system" like that. He ran virtually the same freestyle pick and roll system here. I think him running this team with virtually no real system for almost 3 years set us back a lot and we're still seeing effects of that now. I know Watson is the coach and has had a training camp to try to install a better system but when the majority of the players here played with no real system for 3 years he had to start from scratch and as a rookie head coach that's a lot to do. It's not like when Gentry took over after Porter's failed attempt at coaching the team for half a season when he just went back to the D'Antoni style and built on that every summer. Watson has to create a system, implement it, and also get some of our young guys to buy in when they've been given little to no direction throughout their NBA careers.

That has to have hurt the development of raw talent like Len who need direction and structure and helps explain why it's taken him a while to turn the corner as a player. Guys like Warren and Booker came into the league after playing at big time programs in college so it didn't hurt them as much, plus they have more natural talent than Len. They had no discipline or direction for too long, which created bad habits and stunted some their growth as players.

I'm not saying Watson should be let off the hook entirely but he definitely had an uphill battle with this team. I hope he's given the time to turn us around, potentially at least. Having Bob Hill on as a lead assistant last year when Watson took over makes more sense, I wish they would have kept someone like him with the team as an assistant this year because having an experienced head coach helping guide Watson would benefit the team as a whole.

 

[sunsfan88]

I thinks Watson and Hornacek are similar when it comes to basketball Xs and Os. Their systems look similar.

Watson is the better preacher and philosopher between the two, that's all.

 

[Errntknght]

What baffles me is that they both must have all sorts of plays stored away in their brains but they refuse to use them. With a veteran team you don't have rely on them so much but young guys need some structure. They'd be lost if you tried to implement the triangle offense in one training camp (most coaches would be lost as well.) But there sets with a half dozen options that stand alone just fine. Heck, just start with two options then flesh out the others after they've gotten those two down. Or one could start by focusing on the various kinds of screens - how to set them properly and how to recognize the circumstances where they can be profitably employed. The oldest play of all, the give and go, would be a start - heck, the Princeton offense is built around the give and go - or pass and dive as they refer to it. The pinch post maneuver is just an elaborated give and go.

The key to successful basketball is team play and designed plays or systems like the triangle and other motion offenses are simply ways to achieve better team play - crutches, if you will.