The triangle offense has certainly been a point of contention in New York throughout the season.
After calling Knicks-Clippers last night, Shaquille O’Neal shared his take on the seemingly failing system. The big fella defended Phil Jackson, putting blame on the players for not implementing the blueprint correctly, perhaps taking a heightened jab at Carmelo in the process.
In O’Neal’s opinion, the team needs to better embrace the offense by being more unselfish and allowing things to flow better.
Per NY Post:
Shaquille O’Neal, in a stout defense of Jackson’s ridiculed offense, said Knicks players need to stop being “stubborn,’’ break old habits and move the basketball. He said the triangle didn’t succeed in Chicago and Los Angeles just because of Jackson’s four future Hall of Fame players.
…
‘It works,’ O’Neal said. ‘When you’re a player, you’re used to doing something one way, and you bring in a system, a lot of guys don’t like to give up their habits. But the triangle, the ball can’t stop. It can’t stop.’
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“Even with Jordan, my favorite clip with him is playing Utah, and Michael said, ‘I keep getting doubled,’’’ O’Neal said. “Steve Kerr said, ‘Kick it to me, I’ll be open.’ So I have three championships because of the triangle and also because of Derek Fisher, ‘Big Shot Bob’ [Robert Horry] and Rick Fox. Because of the triangle, they were able to be involved in the offense. When you got a guy who holds the ball, nobody’s moving the ball, everything is out of whack.’’
Shaq went on to claim that, though he “has three championships because of the triangle”, it didn’t come together overnight:
“Guys are stubborn — it took us awhile to break it, too,’’ O’Neal said. “When we first started, we were doing terrible. I had to look at the mirror and say, ‘OK, I was probably one of the main problems.’ Because I like to get the ball and tell everyone to move out of the way and get to work, so I had to look at the mirror and say, ‘Let me try it.’ It became easier. I get it. [Guys] cutting, and it opened up for me and made it easier for me.’’
Thus, despite all the adversity, O’Neal hasn’t given up hope that Phil Jackson can make it work in NY:
“He’s not used to it,’’ O’Neal said. “He’s definitely taking a beating, definitely have to make changes this summer. He’s a strong guy. You’re not going to really hurt his feelings. Just another chapter and challenge in his life. When you’re dealing with certain people, everybody has to be on the same page.”
Related
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