What the New York Knicks can learn from the 2017 NBA Finals
By Eric Snyder
The New York Knicks, under the direction of Phil Jackson, have a lot to learn. Examining the teams in the 2017 NBA Finals is a great place to start.
A blind man can see the New York Knicks are not on the same level as the Golden State Warriors. Similarly, the only commonality with the Cleveland Cavaliers are the former Knicks who became champions in 2016.
The history of the Warriors and Cavs isn’t too far away from the present situation of the New York Knicks. Both teams had long stretches of losing that ended in the NBA Draft spin-cycle. Ultimately, both the Cavaliers and Warriors earned championships in a relatively short time frame.
Between 1994 and 2012, the Warriors had only one year in the playoffs and spent many of those years at the bottom of the league. Likewise, from 1996-05, the Cavs made the playoffs once (1997-98), lost in the first round and also spent much of those years as NBA basement dwellers.
For the Knicks, it has been just four seasons since their last playoff appearance. Although things look quite messy this offseason, the sky is not falling in New York…yet.
If Phil Jackson and James Dolan can swallow their pride and be willing to learn from others, there is still yet hope. What can they learn?