The triangle, created by the post, wing and corner players, revolves around seven guiding principles: the ball handler reading the defense; correct decisions based on the defense; penetration through a pass into the post; separation of 15 to 20 feet for all the offensive players; movement through sharp cuts; interchangeability in positions; and balance for defensive transition.
The triangle differs from more traditional N.B.A. offenses because it presents more options for the five players on the court. There are no set plays, just many possibilities. And when all else fails, the triangle summons a player like Bryant or Jordan to create his own scoring opportunity. Jackson installed the offense in Chicago with Winter as an assistant to neutralize the Detroit Pistons’ defensive strategy of isolating and physically challenging Jordan. Rambis served as an assistant under Jackson and alongside Winter in Los Angeles.
via In Triangle Offense, Cuts Are Sharp and So Is Learning Curve – NYTimes.com.
The real crux of this article for me, though, is this section:
The offense can seem to be mystical and mythical. To some, it is easily digestible. Others claim it is too lethargic for the fast and frenetic N.B.A. Despite the triangle’s success — 10 of the last 19 N.B.A. champions showcased the offense — few possess the time, trust or diligence to install it.
Their reasons are plentiful, and skeptics are quick to point out that Coach Phil Jackson captured all 10 of those titles with Michael Jordan or Kobe Bryant at his disposal. (For three of them, he had Bryant and Shaquille O’Neal.)
This has to be weird for Lakers and Bulls fans. You can say the player was transcendent, but then the system isn’t as incredible. Y0u can say the system is so ingenious, but then the player’s greatness is marginalized. The answer is probably somewhere in the middle, but…
NO.
I’m sorry, but you have a system that allows for the best player on the floor to make decisions that lead to him using the fact that he’s the best player to be the best player. And this is rocket science?
So when a coach running the triangle HAS the best player in basketball, he wins a championship, and when he doesn’t have the best player in basketball, he doesn’t win the championship, yet there’s no correlation between winning a championship and having the best player?
But then, Kevin Garnett was the best player for years and didn’t win one. History’s rife with those situations. Maybe that’s what Jackson does best, via the triangle. He doesn’t prevent greatness from happening. And in the meantime, he uses greatness to make players that are average to below-average seem like great players.
Maybe Rambis will be the first one to make it work without elite talent. Maybe he’s just getting his legs under him. After all, they beat the Jazz last night. But they beat them with Flynn, when the point guard isn’t a central component. We’ll have to see if his devotion to the paradigm is stronger than the pull of desperation.
