NEW YORK -- Phil Jackson has offered a second mea culpa to New York Knicks fans. He told the New York Times in a story published Tuesday that "so far, my experiment has fallen flat on its face."
The team offered further evidence to support Jackson's point when it lost 108-97 to the Boston Celtics on Tuesday.
One issue Jackson addressed in the interview with the Times was the idea that he forced first-year coach Derek Fisher to run the triangle offense. Jackson said Fisher was free to adjust the offense as he saw fit.
Fisher expanded on that before Tuesday's game.
"That's my job to do that. I'm not trying to duplicate or carbon copy exactly what he did," Fisher said. "The same way he didn't do that to Tex Winter [a Chicago Bulls assistant under Jackson], the same way Tex didn't do that to the coach and the folks that he developed it from and how he added the innovation and his own ideas. So it's my job to do that now.
"He hired me to coach the team, so I have to do what I think is best for these guys, and we're going to continue to evolve in that fashion."
Jackson won an NBA-record 11 titles as a coach, all while running the triangle offense. But others haven't found anywhere near the same success with it.
Jackson disciples Jim Cleamons (28-70), Bill Cartwright (51-100) and Kurt Rambis (32-132) all struggled while trying to run the system. Fisher is 10-39 in his first season on the bench.
Jackson also addressed several other Knicks issues, including free agency, in his interview with the Times.
He suggested the Knicks would shy away from trying to land a top-tier free agent such as Marc Gasol or LaMarcus Aldridge this summer.
"You do need great players to win the championship, but having to always chase the best talent in free agency eventually becomes a mind-set of, well, the best talent wins, as opposed to who plays the best team basketball, which is what San Antonio showed last season," Jackson said. "Their play was special, a team that really values passing, a system where they're not just standing around, spacing out shooters. That's also what Atlanta and a couple of other teams are showing this year.
"We're looking for multiple talents, drive, intelligence, guys that will play defense. We hope to develop a team, and there are a lot of agents out there looking to find a good spot for their players."
Melo says Knicks 'dead': Carmelo Anthony said he and his teammates were fatigued Tuesday night against Boston. They trailed the Celtics by as many as 16 and allowed Boston to hit 54 percent from the field.
"I don't think we had it from an energy standpoint. It seemed like, just, dead out there," Anthony said. "No energy. Boston, they beat us tonight. They came out from the jump, they made plays, and they kind of set the tone from the beginning."
The Celtics outscored the Knicks 14-2 to open the game ... Pablo Prigioni did not dress due to what Fisher said was a hip injury. The Knicks, according to ESPN's Marc Stein, have expressed interest in trading the veteran guard.
Question: What do you think has been Phil Jackson's biggest mistake? What does he need to do to turn the Knicks around?